Skagit Animals in Need gives local horses a second chance
Smudge
Smudge, a 14-year-old SAIN rescue in long-term foster care, with Operations Manager Cassandra Carr at Westside Stables on Saturday, May 23. Smudge is blind and will live out the rest of his days at the stables with Carr.
Krystal Koop wanted a horse since she was 6 years old.
Nearly 40 years later, her dream of owning one came true when she adopted Rocky and Boris from foster homes through Skagit Animals in Need, or SAIN.
Koop was looking for older rescue horses, and SAIN was the closest organization to her home in Ferndale.
When she traveled to Sedro-Woolley to meet Boris - who was named Ozzy at the time - she fell in love.
"He was gorgeous, and an absolute sweetheart, but he was also kind of aloof," Koop said. "As someone who's worked in rescue, I know that not all rescue animals are going to be jumping in your arms right away."
Boris had been through a lot, and by the time he came to SAIN, he had been neglected to the point of starvation. His teeth were so worn that he could no longer eat solid food.
Next, she met Rocky at his foster home in the Bow-Edison area.
Although Rocky, similar to Boris, was only able to eat mash, his situation was less extreme. His caretakers had aged with him and could no longer provide the care he needed.
Boris and Rocky
Boris and Rocky.
Koop fell in love with Rocky, too, and adopted both horses last October.
At first, her inner 6-year-old had to set aside her excitement and desire to be best friends with the horses right off the bat, she said.
It took some getting used to, but over time, Rocky got comfortable enough to develop a snarky attitude, and Boris learned to trust that there would always be the right kind of food waiting for him.
"Now I've got two horses that I'm madly in love with, and they're super bonded to me," Koop said. "I thought it was going to be pretty neat to have horses, but I just had no idea how deeply fulfilling it is to have them."
A PLACE FOR HORSES TO GO
SAIN became a nonprofit organization in 2012. Before then, horses in Skagit County didn't have a designated landing point after animal control seized them due to abuse, neglect or other circumstances.
When Animal Control Officer Emily Diaz started 21 years ago, she found herself fostering these horses, paying out of pocket for their care.
There was no county funding available to house livestock.
"At one point, I was fostering nine horses myself," Diaz said.
Throughout the course of one year, she took in 36 horses. Something needed to change, she said.
Diaz and a few others who had also been fostering created a foster home network that eventually became SAIN.
"I wanted to ensure that these animals were cared for pending criminal cases," Diaz said, adding that animals can go to auction after being seized, but that doesn't guarantee their safety.
The same year SAIN gained nonprofit status, Operations Manager Cassandra Carr bought a property west of Mount Vernon called Westside Stables.
After some renovations, she partnered with a trainer to take in horses, train and rehabilitate them.
The stables, where Carr and her husband have several horses of their own, act as a SAIN foster home where volunteers can come and help clean pens, train horses or simply spend time with the animals.
Carr has been on SAIN's board for nearly 10 years.
The organization primarily receives horses through Animal Control seizures.
Occasionally, horses come through the organization Save a Forgotten Equine, or SAFE, located in Snohomish County, after it takes in a larger group of horses seized by animal control.
Although SAIN began as a livestock rehabilitation organization, it has expanded to include programs for all animals.
The Animal Assistance Program provides emergency micro-grants to Skagit County residents facing temporary hardship, helping them feed and keep their animals healthy when finances get tight.
Another program, Skagit Pet Pantries, helps supply food banks in the county with cat and dog food through a partnership with Community Action of Skagit County.
HANDLING A VARIETY OF NEEDS
When SAIN gets a new intake, the first step is to evaluate what kind of care the horse needs, which helps determine where it will be placed.
Depending on the condition, some need more intensive rehabilitation, while others simply need day-to-day care.
When considering adopters, SAIN accounts for whether the horse and adopter will meet each other's needs. The organization wants to ensure the adopter understands the breed they'll be taking in.
Samantha Cabaluna, who has been a board member since 2019 and now serves as vice-chair, said SAIN's main concern when matching horses with potential homes is ensuring they don't get into the kind of situation that landed them in SAIN care in the first place.
For Koop, Rocky and Boris were a great fit at 35 and 25 years old. She describes Rocky as stubborn and persnickety, with a typical "pony attitude."
Carr said that when Rocky came to SAIN, he had the spunky attitude of a much younger horse.
Carr and Cabaluna regularly receive updates and pictures of the two horses from Koop.
FOSTERING AND ADOPTING
Currently, there are six horses in SAIN foster home care. Mandy and Nova, a haflinger mare and Arabian mare, are both up for adoption.
Nova, while 14 years old, is "still in her prime," according to Carr, and has been training regularly.
"She's just getting started," Carr said. "I have high hopes for her."
Nova arrived with another SAIN foster named Nevada, a 6-year-old Mustang mare working with trainer Payton Bushur to hopefully become adoptable soon.
Nevada
Nevada, a SAIN rescue in training, in her pen at Westside Stables on Saturday, May 23.
Nevada
Nevada, a SAIN rescue, eats hay from Operations Manager Cassandra Carr's hand while Vice-Chair Samantha Cabaluna stands watching at Westside Stables on Saturday, May 23.
Nevada namecard
Nevada, a SAIN rescue, at Westside Stables on Saturday, May 23. Nevada is working to be adoptable through regular training and rehabilitation.
According to SAIN's website, "Nevada's journey is a testament to the power of patient, consistent work with horses who come to us carrying fear."
One horse is at Westside Stables in long-term foster care. A 14-year-old Appaloosa gelding, Smudge, is blind and has been with SAIN for two and a half years.
At first, Carr wanted to see if he could still be trained and ridden despite his vision impairment, but after some time, it was decided that he was better off spending the rest of his days at Westside Stables.
The other two horses, a pair of 20-year-old ponies who were recovered through SAFE, are in the care of longtime SAIN volunteer Gina Falcetti.
About 10 years ago, Falcetti fostered her first horse, whom she had for nearly a year and a half before needing to put him down.
Since then, she has been consistently fostering horses for SAIN. The organization provides all financial support and equipment needed.
Volunteers offer their time and labor, which is no small task. The bond that can be created with the horses, Falcetti said, makes it all worth it.
"To me, it's very satisfying to be able to see them come in and then see what they can become," she said.
The organization has a network of foster homes ready to take in horses at any time. They do their best to ensure a placement for a seized horse, despite obstacles.
"We try really hard," Cabaluna said. "We're make-it-work kind of people."
Falcetti said horses are more work than many people realize.
"You have to want it bad enough to do the work and spend the money," she said of people who are considering permanent adoption.
Carr and Cabaluna have the greatest time commitment of the eight board members.
Although the work is hard, they said, the reward comes through seeing struggling animals come back to health and find their forever homes.
Cabaluna said horses are sensitive and resilient, with the ability to pick up on a human's emotional state.
"There's a reason they use them for therapy animals," Cabaluna said.
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This story was originally published May 29, 2026 at 5:56 PM.