Boarding FAQ
When can I come to the barn?
Our operating hours are 9 am – 9 pm every day all year long!
You are free to come and visit, ride and relax with your horse at anytime we are open. We only ask that your horse be tucked into their stall or paddock when it is time for night check (9 pm).
What is your feeding program?
At EVE we customize each horses feed program. We use triple cleaned Ontario whole oats, whole flax seed and non-molassed beet pulp to make up the basis of most of our grain rations. Each horse will also receive mineralized salt as a supplement in each meal.
Any additional supplements will be given as needed.
We feed grain twice a day at 7:30 am and again at around 4:30 pm. We have no problem feeding your horse at a different time on the days that riding or working your horse may interfere with their feeding time.
If you would like your horse to be fed a different ration, we can accommodate that at your expense. If we can get it from our grain supplier we will order it for you and simply charge you the unit price of the feed with no surcharges.
All supplements are the responsibility of the boarder, however when it is a supplement that is easy to find we will also offer to pick it up for you on an as needed basis so you do not have to worry about running out. The unit price will be charged to your bill, with no surcharges for pick up.
Can I bring my own vet/farrier?
Of course! We routinely work with Dr. Rex Crawford and Dr. Ruedi Waelchi from Dufferin Veterinary Services and Dustin Mercer as our farrier. We understand that you may have relationships with other vets or farriers which you (and your horse) are already comfortable with. We are happy for them to continue working with your horse.
We do ask that we be given permission to contact them and discuss your horses health in order to be able to help keep them as happy and healthy as possible!
What is your worming schedule?
After each first frost in the fall we worm all of the horses according to our veterinarians’ recommendation. In the spring we collect fecal samples from each horse and send them to the vet to get a Fecal Egg Count (FEC), based upon the results of this test and our veterinarians’ recommendation we deworm only the horses that require treatment. All of the horses at EVE are dewormed according to this schedule. All wormer and FEC test costs (usually only around $15) are the responsibility of the boarder.
What is a Fecal Egg Count?
"The fecal egg count exam (FEC) is really the gold standard when it comes to testing for parasitic infection in the horse," said John Donecker, VMD, MS, Dipl. ABVP (equine), senior veterinarian at Pfizer Animal Health
When a veterinarian performs a fecal egg count (FEC) exam, they are looking to establish how many parasite eggs are present in each gram of manure tested--yielding a result called "eggs per gram," or EPG.
Our veterinarian will then recommend which horses should be targeted for deworming treatment.
Why do you use Fecal Egg Counts instead of just worming every horse?
If there is no evidence that a certain horse needs treatment, why treat them? Using FEC’s we may be able to confidently reduce the amount of medication given to your horse without cause. At EVE, we have also found that using FEC’s we are able to determine how our worming program is working and also identify any ‘high shedders’ that may need extra worming.