Presenting at the Healthy Horse Conference
Last week, we had the pleasure of attending and presenting at the Healthy Horse Conference at the beautiful Wokefield Estate near Reading. The two day hybrid in-person/online conference brought together a wide range of equine professionals and practitioners, including vets, trainers, nutritionists, physios, bodyworkers and saddle fitters, all keen to learn and provide further support to the horses and owners they work with.
Rebecca Opie and Katie Reeve at Healthy Horse Conference
The topics covered at the conference were really interesting and varied, ranging from anatomy, injuries and rehab, through to tackling imposter syndrome and the latest updates in equestrian AI technology. One of the presentations of particular interest to me as a nutritionist was Scott Cieslar’s talk on digestive health. Scott is based in Canada, and it was really interesting to hear his perspective. One aspect he mentioned which is so relevant for every horse owner to remember is the fact that modern management has a potentially negative impact on the core function of the horse’s gut, and that providing ‘forage first’ and a diverse range of fibre types is essential. He also voiced his surprise that many horse owners in the UK are hesitant about feeding straw, as it’s much more commonly used in North America for good doers and horses with equine metabolic syndrome (EMS).
Vet Kate Granshaw also gave a fantastic overview of recent updates from the veterinary world. One of the topics she covered was the use of SGLT2 inhibitors which are being increasingly used for horses with EMS. Kate outlined the potential benefits of these drugs, but also discussed the adverse side effects that have been reported, emphasising that they aren’t a silver bullet and that appropriate dietary management is still just as important in the management of this condition.
Welfare was also a hot topic. Nic de Brauwere, equine vet and head of welfare and behaviour at Redwings Horse Sanctuary, gave a brilliant presentation on assessing quality of life for our horses. He highlighted that welfare is about much more than just health or performance, and that we should always be striving to provide a good life for our horses, rather than just a healthy life, or a ‘life worth living’.
Following this, on day two, Anna Vickery-Wolfenden and Nicola Kinnard-Comedie gave a joint presentation on ‘Creating an Environment for Horses to Thrive (Not Just Survive)’. They talked about a whole range of simple changes that horse owners can make in their management or yard set-up to improve welfare. One of the top tips was encouraging natural foraging behaviour, including providing enrichment and diverse forage options, something which we always advocate here at Dengie.
My presentation on Friday afternoon was on the need for different professionals to work collaboratively to tackle issues such as equine obesity. I also outlined the new BETA ENFAR scheme which has just launched – this is a voluntary register designed to showcase nutritionists and feed advisers who keep up to date and offer a good standard of evidence-based advice, as well as adhering to a code of best practice. This exciting development will be a fantastic resource for other equestrian professionals to source qualified and experienced nutritionists and feed advisers when signposting horse owners for more detailed guidance. More information on ENFAR can be found here: https://beta-uk.org/about-enfar/
During the tea breaks between presentations, Dengie Feed Adviser, Rebecca Opie, and I were stationed at the Dengie stand in the exhibition hall – it was fantastic to speak to so many attendees and provide feed advice for both their own and their clients’ horses.
Thank you to Nicola and her team for organising such a great event. If you would like to watch the presentation recordings, these are available to purchase online until 1st December: https://conference.nkcequestrian.com/inperson-uk
