Available for PRE-ORDER - Releasing August 2026
 
Founding Student Pre-Order Bonus Bundle
Included with Founding Student pre-orders only.
Inside the bonus bundle:
Hay Analysis Starter Guide
An easy-to-read guide to the basics of hay testing, which values matter, and why hay quality changes the full feeding picture.
Feed Tag Decoder Guide
A simple guide to ingredients, guaranteed analysis, ration balancers, concentrates, and supplement labels.
Winter Feeding Prep Guide
A practical guide for planning hay supply, body condition, workload changes, metabolic concerns, senior horses, and seasonal feeding adjustments.
Nutrition Consult Starter Pack
Includes a sample intake form, feeding history questionnaire, body condition tracking sheet, hay/feed/supplement log, and client follow-up template.
Common Feeding Mistakes Mini Guide
A high-value mini e-book that helps you recognize where feeding programs commonly go off track.
 
Equine Functional Nutrition Foundations Outline
This foundational certification course teaches you how to understand the horse from a nutritional perspective and apply equine nutrition in a practical, forage-first, client-focused way. You will study digestive anatomy and physiology, nutrients and their roles, forage and feed evaluation, supplementation, foundational condition support, herbal nutrition, and the basics of offering professional nutrition consultations.
Course Outline
Module 1 - The Equine Body and Foundational Assessment
Body condition scoring, regional fat deposits, topline basics, conformation, hoof and coat clues, signs of imbalance, and how to assess the horse nutritionally.
 
Module 2 - Evolution of the GI Tract and Digestive Design
The equine digestive system, the horse as a hindgut fermenter, forage-first feeding, trickle feeding, meal size, starch, and modern feeding concerns.
 
Module 3 - Foregut and Hindgut Digestive Anatomy and Physiology
Foregut and hindgut function, saliva, stomach acid, buffering, small intestine digestion and absorption, cecum and large colon fermentation, water absorption, manure formation, and hindgut stability.
 
Module 4 - The Equine Microbiome and Digestive Support
The microbiome, dysbiosis, prebiotics, probiotics, digestive support products, gut support misconceptions, and how feeding practices influence microbial health.
 
Module 5 - Nutrients: Water, Protein, Carbohydrates, and Fat
Water, fiber, starch, sugar, structural and non-structural carbohydrates, protein quality, crude protein, fat as fuel, and common macronutrient misunderstandings.
 
Module 6 - Vitamins, Minerals, and Nutrient Balance
Major vitamins and minerals, calcium and phosphorus, copper and zinc, iron and selenium awareness, nutrient ratios, mineral tubs, oversupplementation, and practical nutrient assessment.
 
Module 7 - Forage Foundations
Why forage comes first, grass hay vs legume hay, common hay types, hay evaluation, feeding rates, free choice forage, forage alternatives, and hoof, coat, and topline clues.
 
Module 8 - Hay Analysis, Pasture, and Forage Management
How to read a basic hay analysis, protein, fiber, ESC, WSC, starch, matching hay to the horse, bale types, storage, dust, mold, pasture management, grazing risk, and seasonal sugar changes.
 
Module 9 - Dietary Approaches and Feed Choices
Forage-based diets, ration balancers, fortified feeds, performance concentrates, feed tags, ingredient lists, guaranteed analysis, pre-feeding considerations, and building the diet from the base up.
 
Module 10 - Feed Ingredients: The Good, Bad, and Questionable
Oats, barley, corn, beet pulp, soy, pea protein, hemp, flax, chia, rice bran, alfalfa products, molasses, fillers, by-products, and how to identify helpful, misunderstood, or overused ingredients.
 
Module 11 - Best Feeding Practices for Common Horse Types
Maintenance horses, performance horses, growing horses, reproduction basics, senior horses, hard keepers, easy keepers, miniature horses, and ponies.
 
Module 12 - Foundational Condition Support
Gastric support, Equine Metabolic Syndrome, PPID/Cushing’s, weight gain, weight management, topline and muscle support, digestive sensitivity, fecal water, and common feeding mistakes by condition.
 
Module 13 - Supplements and Functional Additions
When supplements are needed, supplement literacy, vitamin E, biotin, magnesium, salt, electrolytes, digestive and hoof supplements, whole-food additions, flax, chia, hemp, pea protein, and common myths.
 
Module 14 - Introduction to Herbal Nutrition
What herbal nutrition is, herbs as foods and tonics, safety, quality, sourcing, how to introduce herbs, common accessible herbs, and when herbs fit into nutrition work.
 
Module 15 - Applied Nutrition Consultations
How to review a horse’s diet, what information to collect, intake forms, consultation questions, identifying gaps and excesses, building a simple nutrition plan, creating realistic recommendations, case examples, and when to refer out.
 
Module 16 - Practitioner Foundations
Scope of practice, clear client communication, educating without overwhelming, professional recommendation formats, nutrition summaries, follow-up notes, foundational consultations, pricing, service structure, boundaries, and expectations.
 
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this course, you will be able to:
Understand equine digestive anatomy and physiology and explain how digestive design influences feeding choices.
Identify the major nutrients horses require and understand their roles in health, metabolism, structure, and performance.
Recognize the importance of nutrient balance, including key mineral relationships and foundational nutrition considerations.
Develop balanced, forage-first nutrition plans that support digestive health, body condition, and overall wellness.
Assess forage quality, interpret basic hay analysis results, and make more informed hay, pasture, and forage decisions.
Understand feed categories, ingredients, labels, and supplements so you can evaluate when they may or may not be appropriate.
Apply nutrition principles to maintenance horses, growing horses, performance horses, broodmares, seniors, hard keepers, easy keepers, miniature horses, and ponies.
Recognize foundational nutrition strategies for gastric stress, metabolic tendencies, PPID, weight management, topline support, muscle support, and digestive sensitivity.
Identify possible nutritional gaps, imbalances, and red flags through observation, diet review, and practical assessment.
Use foundational supplementation and whole-food additions with more confidence while avoiding unnecessary or poorly matched products.
Gain an introduction to herbal nutrition, including safety, quality, and how herbs may fit into foundational equine nutrition.
Review a horse’s current diet, identify priorities, and create realistic nutrition recommendations.
Begin applying this knowledge professionally through custom nutrition consultations, client communication, and scope-aware recommendations.
Graduate with a strong foundation in equine nutrition and a career-oriented perspective as a Certified Equine Nutritional Advisor.