Holistic Functional Nutrition
Horses have been fed in many different ways over the years—some approaches supportive, others less so. Nutrition plays a foundational role in overall health, performance, and long-term well-being, yet it is often one of the most misunderstood aspects of equine care.
An evidence-informed, forage-first nutrition approach emphasizing anti-inflammatory support and nutrient bioavailability.
Stable Mind & Body offers independent equine nutrition consulting designed to help you truly understand what is in your horse’s feed, how it supports (or hinders) their health, and where your investment is going. With no affiliation to any feed or supplement companies, guidance is provided with complete transparency and without product bias.
What sets Stable Mind & Body apart is a focus on feeding the horse as a horse—supporting digestive health, metabolic balance, and whole-body wellness through thoughtful, individualized dietary recommendations. The goal is not a one-size-fits-all diet, but a practical, sustainable nutrition plan that supports your horse’s unique needs and overall vitality.
What Your Nutrition Consultation Includes
• A clear, in-depth explanation of why dietary changes may be recommended, helping you understand how nutrition directly impacts your horse’s overall health and well-being
• A comprehensive review of your horse’s current diet, along with an individualized assessment of nutritional requirements
• Guidance on recommended products and dietary adjustments, including an explanation of how each change supports optimal health and balance
• Ongoing support with unlimited follow-up questions, and the flexibility to adjust recommendations if changes are not producing the desired results—ensuring both you and your horse feel supported throughout the process
• A transparent cost overview, including pricing considerations and sourcing information for any recommended products
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Consultation Investment
Before committing to a full consultation, you’re welcome to request a complimentary review of your horse’s current diet. This brief assessment is designed to provide clarity, highlight potential concerns, and help determine whether a comprehensive nutrition consultation is the right next step—no obligation required.
A comprehensive consultation is $100 CAD (one-time fee).
Additional horses may be added to the same consultation for $65 CAD per horse.
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Ongoing Support & Follow-Up Care
Your holistic nutrition consultation includes lifetime support related to your horse’s diet. You are welcome to reach out at any time with questions, updates, or concerns as they relate to feeding, supplements, and nutritional balance.
As horses grow, workloads change, environments shift, or new health challenges arise, nutrition often needs to be adjusted. If a significant or systemic change occurs—such as a new diagnosis, major management change, or a complete dietary overhaul—a repeat consultation may be recommended. In these cases, follow-up consultations are offered at 50% off to ensure continued, accessible support.
This approach allows your horse’s nutrition plan to evolve over time, while ensuring you always have professional guidance when it matters most.
FAQ
Q: What does “forage-first” nutrition mean?
Forage-first nutrition means that forage is prioritized as the foundation of the equine diet. Hay and pasture are viewed as the most important sources of nutrients for the horse, with additional supplementation used only to fill nutritional gaps or support specific health and performance goals. Rather than building a diet around grain, supplements are selected strategically to complement forage and support overall balance.
Q: What is holistic nutrition?
The term “holistic nutrition” can be used in many ways. In my practice, it refers to a natural-centered, ingredient-focused approach to feeding. I choose supplements and feed options based on their ingredients, digestibility, and how they support the horse’s biology—not popularity or marketing. A key focus of my work is understanding how feeds and supplements are processed and how those processes affect digestion and nutrient absorption. Holistic nutrition also means looking beyond packaged products. Rather than defaulting to another container off the feed-store shelf, I often recommend simple, natural ingredients that horses digest easily. One example is using Black Oil Sunflower Seeds and stabilized ground flax as a natural source of fats and calories for hard keepers, instead of heavily processed fat supplements.
Q: Do you offer on-site nutrition consultations?
Most nutrition consultations are conducted virtually, allowing for flexibility and accessibility. Consultations include a detailed intake form, dietary review, and photo submissions to assess your horse’s condition and management. For clients local to Parkland County, on-site consultations may be available upon request.
Q: Do I need bloodwork to determine vitamin or mineral deficiencies?
I do not typically recommend blood analysis to assess vitamin and mineral status, as results can be influenced by many variables at the time of the blood draw. Instead, I often recommend hair mineral analysis, which can provide a broader picture of mineral patterns over time. Additional information on this option can be found in the next section of the website
Q: My horse gets hay and grain—why would I need a nutrition consultation?
This is a great question, and education is a large part of what I offer. In my experience, approximately 95% of the diets I analyze are missing key nutritional components—and this is not due to owner neglect. Feeding information is often passed along informally or sourced online, where misconceptions are common. One of the most frequent issues I see is improper feeding of grain and supplements. Any commercial feed or supplement must be fed according to its guaranteed analysis in order for the horse to receive the intended nutrients. Feeding outside of these guidelines often results in either excesses or deficiencies. My role is to help you understand why certain feeds may not be serving your horse, what changes will be beneficial, and how to feed with intention and clarity—so you feel confident in your horse’s diet, not overwhelmed by it.
Q: What makes your consultation different from a free consultation offered by a feed company?
The short answer: I do not profit from what I recommend. My nutrition consultations are completely independent. I have no affiliations with feed or supplement companies, which means my recommendations are based solely on what best supports your horse—not on product lines, sales targets, or brand loyalty. The longer answer is more nuanced. Feed-company consultations absolutely serve a purpose, and if budget is a concern, I genuinely encourage owners to use them. These services can help ensure a diet is balanced according to industry standards, and they can be a valuable starting point. Where my approach differs is in how that balance is achieved. Feed companies, by nature, are biased toward their own products. Their solutions are typically built around commercial feeds and supplements that may meet nutritional requirements on paper, but are not always the most bioavailable, digestible, or anti-inflammatory options for the individual horse.
Gutchek Testing & Nutrition Support
Stable Mind & Body has partnered with GutChek to provide deeper insight into your horse’s nutritional needs and digestive function—supporting a more informed, individualized approach to feeding.
GutChek offers a simple and affordable hair analysis that helps identify potential mineral imbalances, excesses, or deficiencies, as well as ingredients that may not be digesting well within your horse’s body. The resulting report provides a detailed breakdown of dietary components that may be negatively affecting absorption and overall health.
By identifying foods and ingredients your horse struggles to process, GutChek can help explain common concerns related to coat quality, muscle development, joint comfort, energy levels, and general well-being. When key nutrients are not being properly absorbed, even well-intended diets can fall short.
Proper nutrition is foundational to whole-horse health, yet its impact is often underestimated.
Once your GutChek report is complete, I will review the findings and create a fully customized nutrition plan designed to remove problematic ingredients while maintaining balanced, high-quality nutrition—ensuring your horse’s diet supports optimal health without unnecessary compromise.
Client Success Story
A client reached out regarding her dressage horse who had been struggling with recurrent gastric ulcers, despite diligent management. His care included appropriate feeding practices, veterinary treatment, medication protocols, and repeat scoping to confirm ulcer resolution—yet the ulcers continued to return. The owner was understandably frustrated and did not want her horse to rely on long-term medication just to remain comfortable.
Interestingly, she was the one who introduced me to GutChek. I’ll be honest—I was initially skeptical. However, she shared her horse’s analysis with me, and I began carefully reviewing the results. The report identified intolerances to several very common feed ingredients, including wheat, oats, flax, and others frequently found in equine diets.
While this presented a challenge—especially for a high-level performance horse—I worked to rebuild his diet using alternative, highly digestible ingredients along with a bioavailable vitamin and mineral supplement to ensure his nutritional needs were still fully met.
After implementing the new feeding program, the horse has remained ulcer-free, with no need for ongoing medication. This case reinforced the importance of looking beyond standard feeding practices and considering individual digestive tolerance when addressing chronic issues.
Ready to take the guesswork out of your horse’s nutrition?
Book a holistic nutrition consultation and start building a feeding program that truly supports your horse’s health—now and long term.