Sophie

Sophie is just reaching about 40 rides this week in her training with Joel Conner. We were all very excited when Joel surprised us and brought Sophie over to ride in the clinic here at Safe Harbor. She looked AMAZING and while he explained about her “baby stuff” that he was helping her work out, from a spectators point a view, he has this mare looking great!

While Joel said we could most likely manage to ride her here at home since she had completed the first 30 days with no real major issues, we asked if he can keep her for the full 90 days of training. These first rides are very important in the foundation work and knowing that Sophie has a ton of athletic ability and a very bright future, it is important we set her up with the best possible start to a great future.

There are many many times that I have heard Joel talking about SAFE and our program and to be honest I often get goose bumps when he explains to people attending the clinics about the work we are all doing. It is inspiring how he “gets it”, understands our mission, the work and our core values. I was very impressed when I heard him talk about Sophie. He was explaining our adoption policies and the importance of finding forever homes for the horse. Understanding that none of the horses deserved what happened to them, now that they are here at SAFE they should be adopted to homes that will be 100% committed to them for the future.

It is very excited for us to be working with someone like Joel who is both a gifted horseman but also has so much heart for horses. He wants to see the horses in well matched forever homes. Joel really likes Sophie and sees the potential in this young mare, he also knows that she ended up in a bad situation in her past and now deserves a wonderful future. She is a very special horse and she will have a great future because of SAFE and Joel’s work.

Checking in with Joel this week as she returned to work at his facility in Ellensburg he said: “She is doing great!  Just learning more and more everyday.  Working more on the collection trying not to do to much as too get her mouthy.” We are all excited to see what a great horse she becomes and seeing her as she finished out her 90 days of training at the first of the year.

Today Sophie was officially upgraded from a Prospect to a Riding Horse. Admittedly, this is a fairly minor development in Sophie’s career, but quietly behind the scenes, Sophie is making a big impact on how we think about horses here at SAFE.

As a SAFE horse, Sophie is what most of us would consider a Rescue Horse. A near-death experience was what turned Sophie into a Rescue Horse: she was impaled in the neck by an uncapped t‑post. The only way this filly was going to get the vet care needed to save her life was by being taken in by SAFE, and fortunately we got to her in time. Sophie impressed us from Day One with her gentle, good nature, which was fortunate because it made cleaning and caring for her gaping wound much easier. In time, the wound healed, and now, only a small scar remains as a reminder of the avoidable injury which almost cost Sophie her life.

So, an injury that happened in a less than a minute, plus the four days it took for her owner to call for help…and for the rest of her life, Sophie is a Rescue Horse. Nothing in that brief interlude of time was her fault. The t‑post that she was injured on wasn’t just uncapped, it was leaning into her pen at the perfect angle to impale any large animal who happened by. Sophie got hurt by a great big dose of stupid followed by a healthy slug of irresponsibility. She can’t be blamed for what happened to her.

And isn’t that true of just about every horse that comes through our doors here at SAFE? Can any of our horses be blamed for what happened to them, for the event or series of events that landed them in the care of a rescue? Of course not. But from that moment on, they’re not just race horses, or trail horses, or Curly Horses, or sport horses…they’re also Rescue Horses.

Being a Rescue Horse has its ups and downs. On the plus side, being a Rescue Horse beats the heck out of being a Hungry Horse, or a Frightened Horse, or a Dying Horse. And we LOVE our Rescue Horses! We admire their strength and beauty, we celebrate their accomplishments, and we promise them that they will be safe for the rest of their lives. Here at SAFE, we work with our supporters to give these horses every advantage possible: the best veterinary and farrier care; compassionate and comprehensive training; lovely hays and tasty tasty grain. They are cared for every day by people who treat them kindly, people who notice when they hurt themselves. I can say without reservation that being a SAFE Rescue Horse is a pretty great thing to be.

But let’s be honest: there is a stigma that comes from being a Rescue Horse. They’re seen as damaged goods, as somehow lesser than other horses. For some, adopting a Rescue Horse is an act of charity…which is a wonderful thing to do, no question! But what if that wasn’t the best reason to adopt a SAFE horse? What if people adopted SAFE horses because most of them are exceptionally well trained animals? Not because of the days in which they were neglected or abused, but because of the months that they spent in SAFE’s training program. No one should have to be defined by the misery of their past! I think Robyn Hitchcock summed it up best when he wrote “It doesn’t matter what you WAS, it’s what you IS, and what you IS is what you ARE.”

So back to Sophie…

After Sophie’s injury healed, she was put out to pasture with a couple of mares to give her time to grow up. Last May, she came back to Safe Harbor and started groundwork training. As expected, this brave and easy-going young mare was delightful to work with in hand. By September, she was ready to take the next step, and jumped into trainer Joel Conner’s horse trailer and headed for his ranch in Ellensburg. Days later, Sophie became a riding horse. Joel says she the easiest SAFE horse he’s ever started. Not only is she physically well suited to the type of riding she’s doing, she’s got a terrific mind and an amazing temperament. And she was thoroughly prepared to start her under-saddle training by all of the groundwork that was done at SAFE before she went to him. Joel is riding her walk, trot, lope, and he can also swing and throw a rope while sitting on her back. RUMOR HAS IT that Sophie met Ricky Quinn Jr a few weekends ago and that Ricky was hugely impressed after riding her and was completely surprised to learn that she was a Rescue Horse! (I call it a rumor because no one has coughed up a photo of this yet…I am more than ready to redact this if a photo turns up!)

Seeing the amazing horse that Sophie has become gets us SO excited about our training program here at SAFE. Our goal is to help all of our riding horses reach a level of skill where folks looking to buy a horse will seek out a SAFE horse because of the quality of their training. We are so fortunate for the guidance that our volunteer riders receive from Joel Conner, who comes to SAFE at least three times each year to help us develop our horsemanship skills. All of this work is done for the love of the horse, to set them up for success, and get them ready for wonderful and safe new lives.

And finally, take a look at Sophie (click the first image for a slideshow):

Sophie is doing wonderfully in her training and preparation to be started under saddle. Volunteers have been introducing her to tack and doing groundwork with her so she’ll be ready to start training with Joel Conner in August. She has been a doll for everything and we expect that it will be a very easy start since she is so level headed and accepting of new things.

Sophie had a photo shoot with Jessica Farren last week. She’s a stunning young mare and growing like a weed! We expect her to mature at over 15 hands and fill out to be a good sized riding horse. We are exited to see where the future takes this girl and to see her working under saddle the arena soon!

SEE SOPHIE IN ACTION at the 2016 SAFE Benefit Horse Show, July 30–31, 2016, at Meadow Wood Equestrian Center in Snohomish. Click here for details about the show!

Sophie had her first dental float this week! We were able to confirm that she is coming four years old this year. One baby cap came off during the float and one wolf tooth was extracted with no trouble. She needs a little work with needles for sedation but wasn’t too difficult. Her teeth looked good with no major issues.

Dr. McCracken remarked how big she has gotten since she came in last summer. She is filling out a bit and we think she may grow a bit more! We will have to get the stick out and measure her to see how tall she is currently. She also looks to have some white specks coming through in her summer coat so we may have a pretty red roan on our hands soon!

Sophie was out with Emmy at foster this winter and both came back into Safe Harbor this Monday. After she is settled into the routine we will start her back into groundwork training. Our plan is to send her to Joel Conner in July for a professional start of 60–90 days. She is very sweet girl and once she is started I don’t think she will stay long in the rescue. She is going to be a very nice horse!