Presenting at the National Equine Forum
The last few months have flown by in a whirl of conferences and events. The highlight was presenting at the National Equine Forum (NEF). I have sat in the audience at the forum on many an occasion and I very fondly remember listening to the late, great Professor Sir Colin Spedding who started the forum over 30 years ago. His anecdotes usually involved an ancient Chinese proverb, or something that passed for one, and were highly entertaining!
My presentation at the NEF was about the challenges of identifying reliable sources of information and advice in the modern world. Most of us have access to more information than ever before but how do we decide which sources are trustworthy and which aren’t? The opportunity came about as a result of a project I am leading under the auspices of BETA; a register for equine nutritionists and feed advisers (ENFAR). The aim is to be able to signpost horse owners and others to those nutritionists and feed advisers who have achieved a minimum standard, keep up to date through completing CPD and conduct themselves professionally by adhering to a code of best practice. I am sure we will have to amend and develop the register as we learn more about how people will use it but the positivity with which it has been received has been fantastic and suggests it is much needed.
Working on the register has involved defining what an equine nutritionist is and does which has reminded me how privileged I am to have been able to combine a hobby and passion with a great career. It is a relatively new profession and until the role of nutritionist achieves protected status, my ambition is for BETA ENFAR to help professionalise the profession! I am especially grateful to Dengie for their support and BETA for facilitating the register and to those on the working party who have worked incredibly hard to get it to this point. Watch this space for news on when the register launches!
Following on from the NEF I travelled to the Netherlands for the European Equine Health and Nutrition Conference (EEHNC) in Utrecht. In addition to the conference there was the opportunity to visit Wageningen university and explore its incredible research facilities. Unsurprisingly a lot of their research is focussed on areas such as methane emissions from livestock and comparing the efficiency of different diets. It is always interesting to learn what research is being done with other animals, not least because Dengie supply alfalfa to many dairy herds. What this visit showed is that we generally have very little to measure when it comes to feeding horses. In contrast to livestock production where average daily gains can be measured and the effectiveness of different diets compared, in equine nutrition we are most often working hard to try and help keep the weight off!
One area I have been considering a lot lately is how, as an equine nutritionist, I can help achieve good health AND good welfare as they aren’t the same thing, a point that is often missed or overlooked. I am increasingly thinking about all the other things that impact a horse’s health and performance and how nutrition interacts with those factors – just looking at one part of the puzzle doesn’t usually provide a solution. That is why it is so important to attend conferences and events as they provide new perspectives and an opportunity to share thoughts and ideas with others. Now it’s time to consider how we apply all this information to what we do at Dengie!
