Alder

2009 bay Morgan/Arabian cross gelding
Type of Rescue: Owner Surrender
Intake Date: 12/5/2019
Adoption Date: 11/15/2020
Length of Time at SAFE: 11 months

Alder and Pearl were rescued from a neglectful situation as yearlings. Their rescuer did her best to care for them, but physical limitations led her to seek a new home for them. He remained until spring 2020 when he entered our Horsemanship program at SAFE.

Alder is a well-built, pretty mover with a great attitude. Our Horsemanship volunteers found him fun to work with, because he’s so smart and has a lot of try, so he’s a fast learner. And after just a few months under saddle, Alder proved to be a very capable riding horse! 

Alder is Adopted!

Alder is Adopted! 

A wonderful family picked up Alder back in November. Halle, who is 16 years old, is the PERFECT energy match for this young adventurous boy. They are going to have a blast together and hopefully we’ll see him at a few WASET shows in the future. The family is wonderful and are dedicated to giving their horses a great life. So happy for Alder to have made such progress at SAFE, becoming a great riding horse thanks to Kaya’s dedication and landing an amazing loving family of his own! They are already so in love with this boy.

Joel Conner Clinic Report: Alder

Joel Conner Clinic Report: Alder 

from Kaya M.

Alder continues to impress me with how accepting he is of new experiences and learning new things. I think I have been underestimating him! I was a little nervous about the clinic because we’ve never ridden with so many other horses or horses from outside SAFE, but he was a champ! Casey and Fancy helped us both get through a little of those nerves. Alder and I rode up to Fancy and Casey pet him to show him it was okay to approach other horses. This helped us both tremendously and we were able to settle into the class with relative ease. We worked mostly on getting accurate hindquarters and front quarters, and improving our soft feel. By the end of the clinic we had a much smoother turn around and were stopping on two reins with accuracy. I’m so proud of this boy! He’s proven that he is so adaptive and ready to work with whoever is riding him. I’m so excited for his adopter to help him through the next phase of his education and build a partnership with him!

Alder July Training Video

Alder July Training Video 

Alder has done a great job during this first weeks of being a riding horse. This video was taken around the 15th ride. Since then, he’s been getting smoother transitions and a better trot for our volunteer rider. He is now available to meet prospective adopters who can continue his education and experiences as he matures as a riding partner. Fill out an application at www.safehorses.org/adopt

Alder on The Limelight Pet Project

Alder on The Limelight Pet Project 

This month, The Limelight Pet Project featured Alder in a spotlighted video as seen on Q13 News. Alder is an amazing guy and still looking for an adopter! Fill out an application if you’d like to meet him.

While Limelight was here to see Alder, they took some great photos:

Many thanks to The Limelight Pet Project and Dirtie Dog Photography for visiting SAFE and sharing the video and photos.

Joel Conner Clinic Report: Alder

Joel Conner Clinic Report: Alder 

Clinic report from Kaya M:

Alder, yet again, was an all-star in the clinic! Joel started out the weekend riding him as he had some time off right after training due to sickness. By the end of the weekend, five different people had ridden him, being flagged around the round pen. Alder is the greenest horse I’ve ever ridden at SAFE, so I had a lot to learn about how to help him figure things out. I’m so grateful for the opportunity to learn on such a thoughtful and patient guy. We still need to work on getting a balanced trot without trying to break into the canter and his front quarters need some more work. Bridling is also going to take some time and patience on my part since he has a hard time taking the bit, but I’m confident that we’ll figure these things out! I’m looking forward to working with Alder for as much time as we have together. 

I bet he’ll be adopted soon! 

Alder: Don’t Miss Out On This One! 

Alder is a 2009 Morgan Arabian cross gelding with loads of potential as your next riding horse! He has a great disposition, work ethic and try. He is a gentle horse looking for his next riding partner to put on the finishing touches and build a relationship that will last for years. 

Don’t miss your opportunity to adopt him. He will not stay long at SAFE! Apply now at www.safehorses.org/adopt

New Alder Photos

New Alder Photos 

 

Alder Makes Progress

Alder Makes Progress 

Here’s an update from Kaya, who worked with Alder while Joel Conner was in town:

Alder learned a ton during this last clinic! I’m so lucky to be able to work with this smart, sweet gelding. We worked on freeing up his feet, roping, and saddling prep. Alder even wore a saddle two of the days, before developing a saddle sore that kept him saddle free the rest of the clinic. With this sore healed, I’m excited to keep working on saddling Alder and hopefully he can be ridden for the first time at the June clinic! Alder has a lot of try and really enjoys finding the right answer. He’s going to make a great riding horse! Right now, we’re working more on changing eyes and helping Alder pick up the correct lead when going to the left.

Alder Training Update

Alder Training Update 

Thank you to volunteer horseman Kaya M for this update on Alder. Don’t tell anyone, but I think she’s in love…

Alder is a smart, thoughtful gelding with an active mind and an intense desire to find the right answer and do the right thing. Working with him on beginning groundwork exercises to eventually prepare him for a rider has been an incredibly fun and educational challenge! While he is still a little herd-bound to Pearl and has a bit of a hard time focusing around other horses, when I get his attention, he locks right in to me. He is sensitive right now and can react quite intensely sometimes, but he seems like the kind of horse that could easily become dull if his trainer isn’t careful, so this is something that I am focusing on a lot in myself. Alder seems a little unbalanced at the trot and has a hard time picking up a canter, but I’m hoping with more conditioning and groundwork it will get easier for him. At this point, he is understanding a flag really well and doesn’t seem to have an issue with ropes flying around him. I can’t wait to see his horse reach his potential and I’m so honored to be a part of his journey!

Getting to Know Alder and Pearl

Getting to Know Alder and Pearl 

Our two new bay beauties, Alder and Pearl, have settled in well to their new digs at Safe Harbor Stables. We have taken the first step in separating them, and they are now in two individual but neighboring paddocks. We never know how that first step will go when two horses have been together for as many years as these two have. But they barely missed a beat and went right on with their business in their new paddocks.

Separating Alder and Pearl is not only useful for building their individual self-confidence levels, but also for maintaining proper body weight. Alder has proven to be an easy keeper, a trait that is not uncommon among the Morab breed. We are able to put him on a more restricted diet now that he is not with his sister 24/7.

Both horses seem to be quite healthy and sound. Pearl toes in a little bit so she’ll likely be better as a light riding horse than an endurance prospect. Alder has an old wound on his right hind leg that has resulted in a large scar, but we haven’t seen any signs of lameness from it.

These two are going to be fun to work with. They are both sweet and enjoy interacting with people. Pearl is a little standoffish at first, but she warms right up. They’ll soon be getting underway in our horsemanship program with groundwork and working toward being started under saddle.