Heroic Henry
Two weeks ago, we reported that Henry had regressed in his training a bit, becoming unfocused and exhibiting herd-bound behavior. A new routine was established for him: stand tied in the big covered arena while Jax gets worked, followed by some moving and flagging…
Otto is Adopted!
Otto was born to the desert, raised alongside sun-warmed rocks and plump lizards in the wilds of Nevada. He was rounded up, tattooed, and, via some circumstances unknown to us, found his way to Washington. A boy of only three, some of his adult teeth still sitting…
A Bath for Moshi
Being a horse at SAFE means many things: you get fed three times a day (if not more), you always have fresh clean water, you get daily vitamins and minerals, you make new friends on two legs and four, and you learn a whole lot of things. We do our best to prepare our…
Tiva’s Journey, So Far
I’d written an article some months ago documenting Tiva’s journey with the intention of having a video to accompany it, showcasing the immense amount of progress she has made since she first stepped off that trailer over a year ago, snorting and scared. But as it has…
Summertime Bijou
As the days slide along and we begin to cruise into the summer months of long sun and warm weather, as the ground dries up and we ask ourselves ‘mud? What mud?,’ as we open our pastures and slowly introduce our herd to grass, the horses make the transition to living…
Arrow’s First Bath
The first glimpse we had of Arrow was of a slender buckskin horse curled up in the back of a paddock, sternal like a cat in the ‘loaf’ position, watching over his surroundings. He rose slowly, in no hurry to greet us, accepting our invitation to come over and say…
Brave Roy
In my time at SAFE, I’ve learned a thing or two about horses. One of the things I learned is that the majority of them love power tools. If you have to fix a fence or drill in some hardware nearby, even the more timid horses will inquire as to what you are up to. But…
Thank you Blue Spruce!
We have several retaining walls around our property and it has come time to give them a little updating. This task was originally a little daunting both because of the price of railroad ties and the amount of labor necessary, but, thanks to the Nichols family at Blue…
Blanche’s Glamour Shots
Sweet Blanche has been settling in at SAFE nicely, having a nice mellow (and quite mild!) winter. She and Dorothy love to kick up their heels in the arena together, and when she’s not hanging with her buddy, Blanche is always eager to greet you at the gate or the hay…
Introducing Champagne and Theo!
We welcomed two new faces to our herd this week, Theo and Champagne! As they both arrived at SAFE early in January 2024, they are our little babies ‘New Year.’ The name is quite fitting, for while not technically babies, they are likely both under 4 – close enough.…
Artie Loves Sweet Water
What drink comes to mind when you are asked to conjure up the most refreshing, thirst-quenching beverage? Is it a gallon bucket of water with a handful of senior and a little bit of salt? No? Well you must not be a horse then! We give ‘sweet water’ to our horses in a…
Domino’s Electric Pedicure
Every 6 weeks, our horses get pedicures. They are accustomed to the nip of the clippers and the shhhk shhhk of the rasp as it passes over the growth of their hooves, trimming them down to a healthy length. Some try silly little maneuvers on occasion, pulling their…
Lancelot’s Buddies
A stallion’s life is often a lonely one. Most of the time, aside from instances of unregulated group turnout, a stallion is kept apart from a herd. When we first met Lance back in May, he was separated from the other horses on the property, tucked away in a back…
Roy and Mirana’s Arena Time
When we close our pastures for the winter, we switch instead to arena turnout for those horses not in a larger herd paddock. While there may not be grass to much on, the arena has its own list of pleasures, including soft dry sand and a wide open space to run amok in.…
