Expert Q & A

The Challenge: Ensuring the Best Equine Nutrition for Your Patients

By Adam Marcus

Do you consult regularly with an equine nutritionist? Do you know much about what your equine patients are eating, and what their owners might be feeding them feeding them that they shouldn’t?

The Modern Equine Vet spoke recently with Shannon Pratt Phillips, MS, PhD, PAS, DPL-ACAS Nutrition, a professor of animal science and equine nutrition and physiology at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, about the field and how it can complement a veterinary practice.

MEV: In your experience, how receptive are horse owners to nutritional advice, and from what sources do they tend to seek such input?

Dr. Pratt Phillips: I think horse owners are getting more proactive about their horse’s health in general, and nutrition is a big part of that, which is great. Older research (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0737080609006054) has shown that most owners would ask their veterinarians about nutrition, followed by their trainers, but I believe that more owners are now looking to the internet—online articles, blogs, etc.—for general information.

I believe that if owners have specific questions, then their veterinarian is still likely their first go-to person. However, online forums and sites like Facebook are also used commonly for opinions on products and suggestions.

I think that feed companies are doing a great job ensuring that horse owners can get connected with a local salesperson or another technical specialist for individual help when needed.

MEV: How should equine veterinarians assess the nutritional needs of the horses that they treat, and how can they best collaborate with equine nutritionists in their practice?

Dr. Pratt Phillips: If a veterinarian sees a horse several times a year, then it makes sense that they should be able to evaluate the horse and its basic feeding program. They will notice if a horse is gaining or losing weight, has changes in its hair or hoof quality, has performance issues, or might have a nutrition-related condition such as ulcers or recurrent colic.

However, we all know that our veterinary community is struggling with not enough equine veterinarians, and most are already being overworked. Asking them to also know how to balance a diet for all nutrients, sort through hundreds of products and brands, or be on top of the latest nutritional research likely isn’t a good use of their time. Many veterinarians have nutritionists that they will either consult with for a case (like they would consult with a farrier for a hoof issue) or someone whose contact information they can share with owners.

Many nutritionists work directly with veterinary clinics as part of their service team, but many nutritionists also work directly with horse owners. They do everything from helping to select the best hay for their 25 senior citizens to balancing a diet for a Derby contender.

MEV: What challenges do veterinarians face in staying updated on equine nutrition, and what resources can they turn to for help? Are there any gaps in knowledge they should be aware of?

Dr. Pratt Phillips: I think the problem is that nutrition is a large field, and most veterinarians already have so much that they need to know! Obtaining a PhD in equine nutrition can take more than 10 years of schooling, so expecting a veterinarian to know everything about nutrition is unfair.

I think the veterinary field has done a good job including more nutritional information at conferences, and most feed and supplement companies are at trade shows and can provide veterinarians information about their products. However, that can potentially lead to biases toward a certain brand or product.

While most veterinary schools now include a general animal nutrition course, many no longer require another animal nutrition course as a prerequisite. So veterinarians may be graduating with even less nutrition background in the future (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0737080614001579).

MEV: Would the credentialing of equine nutritionists help?

Dr. Pratt Phillips: The problem with [the term] “equine nutritionists” is that it isn’t a protected term like “veterinarian.” Anyone can call themselves an equine nutritionist, even if they’ve never touched a horse.

When it comes to horse owners looking to hire someone to help them with their horse’s diet (or for veterinarians looking to add to their team or for a client), it is up to the owner to have to sort through potential nutritionists to find one that has the knowledge and experience to meet their needs. Many people call themselves “certified,” but there isn’t a national certification body. It’s kind of shady.

Sadly, horse owners have gotten bad advice, and in some cases they have had to pay a lot of money for that bad advice. If anyone who offered their services as an equine nutritionist (or consultant, advisor or specialist) had to state their education and experience, then it would be more transparent and easier for horse owners, and it would probably keep the horses safer, too.

You would never hire a veterinarian at your practice without seeing the letters behind their name. Just like a veterinarian is proud to include their DVM, a PhD is also proud. If they don’t list any credentials by their name, then they probably don’t have any.

MEV: Have you encountered cases where misinformation about equine nutrition has negatively affected a horse’s health?

Dr. Pratt Phillips: All the time, sadly. This can be anything from misleading advertising by a supplement company to someone on Facebook saying that a horse needs 10 g of a nutrient when it only needs 10 mg, or the owner of a feed company saying that a product doesn’t have added iron when it is listed in the ingredients on their bag.

People like to make money, and sadly it sometimes comes at the expense of someone else. I really see problems with a lot of these small, niche supplement or feed companies. Many folks don’t have the knowledge to do the work properly, but they do have good marketing.

An owner or veterinarian should ask about the nutritionist who designed any feed or nutritional supplement.

MEV: What are some of the continuing education opportunities for people interested in building their skills in equine nutrition?

Dr. Pratt Phillips: There are plenty of educational opportunities to empower horse owners or veterinarians about equine nutrition, such as books, magazines, short courses, podcasts and blogs. I also think that owners who want to learn should be wary of who is doing the writing or the teaching. Doing so will help them take better care of their horses.

As for veterinarians, the advice is the same. They can look more toward university courses if they want to learn more,

since veterinarians probably have all the background chemistry and physiology knowledge to jump in at a higher level.
I just think a busy veterinarian [may not] have that time and money to spend [taking more university classes], especially if they can just get a few names of good people to call when they need help for a
client. MeV