By Kim J. Harmon

Peace of mind – that is exactly what Fairfield Equine Associates has given to many, many horse owners in Newtown and surrounding towns ever since it opened its facility off Barnabas Road.

Simple peace of mind.

Because, now, a horse that suffers from common problems like colic, lameness, bone or tendon troubles won’t have to make the long ride to Tufts or Princeton Universities . . . like it may have had to in the past. Now, the problem can be taken care of right here at home.

“We have had a wonderful number of referrals this winter,” said Dr Richard Mitchell, who served as team veterinarian for USET at the 1998 World Equestrian Games in Rome, Italy. “And we have had an outstanding rate of horses going home – if they had had to go all the way to Tufts or Princeton, many may have died.”

The genesis for the new FEA facility can be traced back to 1976, when Dr Mitchell first arrived in the area and at the Turnpike Animal Hospital. Offices were in Fairfield and the hospital – in an effort to keep costs down – was on Dr Mitchell’s property in Easton.

“It was big enough to get an initial start,” he said.

Dr Mitchell and Dr Mark Baus were partners in Turnpike Animal Hospital and broke off to form Fairfield Equine Associates in Monroe in 1989. Dr Ronald Gaeta and Dr Carolyn Weinberg joined them as associates and, later, all became partners. Dr Robert Neff and Dr Joe Shrack are also members of the team.

Forming an equine-only practice was the right move. As Dr Mitchell said, “What we saw in the 1990s was a big increase in the need for care of horses.” Which was maybe that was why the doctors out-grew their new facility almost right away.

“We started talking about building a hospital in the early ‘90s,” Dr Mitchell admitted, “but then it was a matter of economics – and finding space. There was nowhere to go.”

And for the last six years, the space crunch at the old offices in Monroe and hospital in Easton were so severe that FEA couldn’t offer itself as a referral because there simply wasn’t the room to treat any more horses.

So, it was a rather lucky twist of fate that the doctors stumbled on the property off Barnabas Road – sitting right there behind CL&P and P&G Sanitation. Apparently, a client had looked at the property but found it unsuitable.

But for FEA, said Dr Mitchell, “It was perfect.”

So, on about 14 acres of land an 11,500-square-foot facility was constructed to handle every aspect of equine care – for the backyard horse as well as the Olympic competitor. More than 200 people were on hand when the hospital was officially opened on November 5 (the first patient was already on site, too, a holdover from the old facilities in Monroe and Easton).

And the new place is a marvel. It is tucked a few hundred yards off Barnabas Road, unseen by passing motorists. There is a comfortable, New England charm to the main building (and adjacent hay barn) – which belies the spacious hallways, treatment rooms and 12-stall, heated barn inside.

Everything is on site at Fairfield Equine Associates – from a well-stocked storage room to treatment rooms and radiology. In the central treatment room, padded doors open to a small chamber where a horse is generally sedated before being secured to a lift. The lift will carry the horse into the main room, where there is a padded table to cradle the animal. After surgery (or other treatment), the lift carries the horse to another small, padded chamber for recovery.

About five horses could make their way through the hospital in a slow week – about five horses a day in a busy week. There are six veterinarians at FEA and nine technicians to handle whatever circumstance might bring upon them.

“A large staff affords us the ability to service a wider range of clients,” said Dr Mitchell.

Right now, there are only a few things Fairfield Equine Associates is unable to but Dr Mitchell said it won’t be long before the facility is fully equipped and able to handle nearly every conceivable problem that should arise.

And for many, many horse owners, that means peace of mind.