Sharper Equine Transport

11/08/2025

The business is now officially closed.

Thank you all for your patronage and a special thank you to the many of you who personally checked in 🥰 I am very grateful to have had such wonderful clients, and it was a pleasure to have worked with all of you and your horses.

All my best,
Shannon

10/08/2025

I would like to inform everyone that due to a major life change Sharper Equine Transport will cease operations this fall, on or before Nov.30.

I appreciate the support of all of my past clients-it has been so fulfilling to be able to help literally save the lives of some of your horses. I sincerely hope someone will step in and provide this much needed service, especially for those of you on the outlying islands who have such limited options.

It has been my honor and privilege to meet and serve all of you. I will truly miss this.

Thank you again,
Shannon

08/13/2025

Available for hauling from Port Alberni wildfire evacuations. 2 large crates on board for dogs, cats, small animals.

Also have 6 box stalls and 3 paddocks with shelters, room to park trailers in Nanoose.

Please call or text, cannot respond to Facebook messages for emergencies.

250-228-0878
250-715-6290

01/16/2025

Space for 2 horses Saanich to Nanaimo area Saturday, January 18th.
250-228-0878

10/12/2024

IS YOUR HORSE WITH YOU FOR LIFE?

Do you own a horse to use / ride / breed from / compete and then sell on when they don’t suit you any more, or will they stay with you for life?

Yesterday I was lucky to attend a webinar by Mark Kennedy, Senior Scientific Manager for Equines at the RSPCA (England & Wales), who presented a preview of his team’s research into the equine welfare crisis. Mark confirmed that most of the equines in England and Wales have welfare concerns – their basic needs are not met. I knew this would be the case, but it was still heartbreaking to hear confirmation of that.

One of the major contributing factors of the current equine welfare crisis is that humans see horses as commodities. Horses are bred to be used and then passed on, as their owners don’t take lifetime responsibility. There is little or no provision for a horse’s welfare over their lifetime – no planning or care as to how they will be managed from birth to death. This can lead to premature or delayed euthanasia, abandonment and neglect. This lack of foresight extends across the whole equine industry – with elite riders & owners in all equestrian disciplines, sport horse breeders, backyard breeders, riding schools, livery yards and grass roots horse owners all at fault.

Not so long ago, the FEI’s Equine Ethics and Wellbeing Commission conducted a large scale survey and found clear evidence that 75% of equestrians and 65% of the general public have concerns about the welfare of horses in sport. However, welfare is compromised in all areas of the equine industry.

Changing our attitudes towards horses is vital. When we take on a horse they are our responsibility. Everyone should be planning their horse’s lifetime care. Of course some horse owners may have a change in their own circumstances that may mean they can’t keep them, but there should be plans in place in case that happens.

And please remember, ‘free to a good home’ rarely ends well. If you have an elderly or unhealthy horse please, please don't give them away without careful consideration of what that will entail. Even if the person that takes them on has good intentions they could end up being in a position where they can't keep the horse either. This could mean they will pass the horse on to someone unsuitable or unscrupulous.

Your horse’s life is in your hands. Do you have plans in place for them if anything happens to you?

08/29/2024

This is an awful story that illustrates why it’s so important to know how and where your horse feed is manufactured….for more information please see the author’s page or Horse Vet Corner on Facebook

Shared by Dr. Susan Marie Stidham:

“Some of you have heard about the catastrophic loss that’s still unfolding at the Beutler Ranch in Elk City, Oklahoma. This is an almost 100 year family dynasty, rodeo breeding program. At this time I understand that the death toll is at least 70 horses. This is devastating for Bennie Buetler and Buetler and Son Rodeo Company, as their breeding program has been wiped out without warning.

There have been many claims as this unfolded that these horses were “accidentally fed cattle feed,” but this is false. What actually happened is that they were fed HORSE feed that had inappropriately been manufactured with a large amount of a cattle drug known as monensin (Rumensin brand name).

This was human error somewhere along the line in the manufacturing process.

Tiny amounts of Monensin is severely toxic to horses. It will kill them. While small amounts are mixed in some cattle feeds, this was poison for the horses. And the amount that I understand was incorrectly added to the feed was enough to kill cattle as well.

Sadly, every horse that ate this feed is dead. Please understand, the family is NOT at fault. They would have no way of knowing.

This is a tragedy of human error. There will be a lot of information unfolding in the coming weeks I am sure. But the bottom line, in my opinion, is that plants that manufacture horse feed should NOT share their facilities with the production of cattle, chicken, and ruminant feed. This is not the first time I have seen this happen. Many years ago a small local facility accidentally mixed another similar ionophore, salinomycin, into some horse feed. By the time we had the necropsies and testing completed, the damage had already been done.

Prayers to the Buetler family in this loss. Prayers for all those horses who lost their lives in this tragedy of human error. If I can tell you one thing, it is to know where your feed is manufactured.”

06/29/2024

Two trips to Petroglyph Animal Hospital lately-one for major dental surgery and the most recent for an enucleation…

Charters for scheduled and emergency veterinary procedures. Service to the Gulf Islands, Vancouver Island, Abbotsford and WSU.

Text or call 250-228-0878

05/22/2024

Shout out to all of the Denman Island staff of for going above and beyond today to help shorten the day for a recovering horse returning home from Vancouver. And Delilah thanks you too!

12/09/2023

When people wonder why it’s so “costly” to make a trip to the mainland with just one horse…..

12/02/2023

Having a colicking horse is a scary and stressful situation-when you live on a Gulf Island with limited ferry service it can quickly become a nightmare.

I was 10 minutes away from walking out the door to catch a ferry to Vancouver for a family 60th anniversary celebration when I got an emergency request to transfer a horse from one of the islands to a clinic on the mainland. Rushed call to BC Ferries and we soon realized there was no way to make it happen-our only choice was to get him over to Vancouver Island for care. 3 ferry rides (only one for the horse, thank goodness!) and 13 hours after I left home and he was in a stall getting veterinary care. He was a trooper, and I’m praying he has a full recovery.

It’s for times like these that the truck is always kept fully fueled up, the trailer is always clean and stocked with first aid supplies and meds to be given on a veterinarian’s instruction, and there’s a rescue pole handy in the awful event where a downed horse has to be cut loose and we need to get a rope on a halter…..

Many thanks to the awesome phone staff at who helped figure out our changing travel plans on the fly, to the man who bought me a bottle of water from a vending machine when the card reader wouldn’t work, to the folks who gave me hot coffee and a warm place to wait for the ferry, to the private barn owner who took the horse in at 11:30 p.m., to the vet who met us on arrival and to good friends who gave me tea and a bed so I could drive home the next day…Sometimes it takes a village.

Oh, and I made it to Vancouver the next day with 1/2 hour to spare for the anniversary party 😊

11/23/2023

***Postponed. New return date approximately Dec. 12***

Returning to Vancouver Island from Wash. state first week of December with space for 3.

05/12/2023

***Now offering charter service to Washington State, including WSU for veterinary referrals***

Charters available for 1-3 horses on Vancouver Island and to/from the Gulf Islands and BC Lower Mainland. Pre-booked or on short notice as available.

Emergency after hours phone monitoring.

Call or text 250-228-0878
or visit

Sharper Equine Transport provides horse transport and ambulance service to and from the Lower Mainland from Vancouver Island, 7 days a week.