91: Equine Nutrition Basics

Learn about what essential ingredients are good for our horses and what ingredients are problematic regarding daily feed programs. Stephanie covers both the general needs for all horses and how each horse will have unique and specific requirements regarding supplements or extra nutrients. As a nutritional therapist, this information is not linked to any specific feed companies, which is usually how we horse owners tend to get our information.
Start by eliminating - Corn, Soy, Wheat, Canola Oil and Molasses - from all feed & supplements
Guest: Stephanie Carter, Functional Nutritional Therapy Practitioner
Indigo Ancestral Health
www.stephaniecarterntp.com
True North Equine Vet clinic
[e-mail]
Host: Kirsten Nelsen, professional horse trainer
developer of Training for Optimal Balance
www.kirstennelsen.com

[@lisareynolds140]

Wow! This is a GREAT video!! Thank you both!!

[@dianeayers2507]

I have had my horses on Vermont blend for years and it is one of the best for hoof health. It balances the vitamins and minerals that are deficient in most hays.

[@pamelafredrick2127]

Need to send her JR for a full body evaluation. Is there a specific lab recommended for the analysis? Loved this podcast.

[@kirstennelsen]

The next best step is to contact Stephanie directly before doing more tests or even changing the current diet. Her contact info is in the “more” description box under the video.

[@barbaraboehme1427]

I enjoyed this very much. We have a gelding allergic to every hay except alfalfa. We dont know what to do. Id very much like to do a HTMA analysis. Can you give me the contacts to go about doing that? Thank you!

[@kirstennelsen]

[e-mail] You can get in touch with Stephanie directly for the hair analysis or consult

[@ValeriaGonzález-k6l]

This doesn’t make any sense to me. Stephanie specialized in human nutrition not equines. You’re better off speaking to an equine veterinarian who studied/earned qualifications on these types of animals. This lady here is a FNTP for humans. BIG DIFFERENCE. Don’t waste your time people.

[@kirstennelsen]

Well… I also find that equine sports medicine is far behind human sports medicine too. I remain open to knowledge from the best any research has to offer. Sorry you are so disturbed - many horses I know personally are really benefitting from Stephanie’s recommendations.

[@EarthshineEquine]

Most vet schools don’t teach equine specific nutrition either, anyway, I’ve found. Unless you choose to specialize and pick very wisely you can become an equine vet with 2 semesters of general animal nutrition. Have you taken a course like that? I have and let me tell you there’s NOT much time to get into specifics in a semester or two. It’s not much on horses. Cornell is one of the top equine vet schools allegedly, and the only equine specific course they offer regarding nutrition is one - “Comparative Nutrition of Horses and Pigs”. You can go check the course catalogs yourself, they’re all online. I researched this quite a bit as I was searching for equine specific nutrition paths in animal science degrees and came up very short… I live near Cornell so wanted to go there but I found myself disappointed with their nutritional program in regards to horses.. schools that have intensive equine specific nutrition courses that are actually comprehensive are apparently VERY few and far between. And as stated animal nutritional science is decades behind human, she probably has a much better understanding of the most recent science than a lot of your average practicing vets. I’d bet quite a bit of the information is applicable. There is no actual equine nutrition degree, sadly. I want to learn more for myself, not really trying to make it a career, so I am seeking equine specific education more than degrees and I’ve found the degree path to be an inferior way of educating myself, much to my own disappointment as I am someone that loves school 🤷🏻‍♀️ just food for thought. It makes complete sense to me with what I’ve experienced. Also she worked as a vet tech for years which also requires a degree so she does have some veterinary qualifications and training. I wonder what you think she is wrong about?

[@kirstennelsen]

Thanks for the fulsome first hand experience reply! What you describe is what I have heard from vets directly. To me, research is research. We not only need research on horse’s bodies and functional anatomy regarding movement in order to be trainers, we also need a ton of “clinical experience” or actually working with real horses. Both sides are important and just one will not be enough.