Whitfield Equine Nutrition LLC

04/24/2026

What a fun night at SUNY Delhi on Monday talking about nutrition’s foundational role in equine health & well-being! A lively group of horse & farm owners and others in the Delaware Co community turned out for a great evening of education, questions, discussion, and even some on-the-spot hay test evaluation.

Thank you to SUNY Delhi for hosting me and organizing, and Equi-Analytical's Cassy for also doing a talk on forage testing 🌾

I love doing educational sessions and meeting folks with different horse backgrounds. Interested in having me do a talk or event for your barn or organization? Send me a message or email to chat about topics and dates — I’m excited to be doing a body condition scoring workshop this summer and can tailor other topics to a group’s interest. I offer many of these sessions on a low cost basis in order to make them widely accessible ☀️

04/10/2026

It’s been a busy couple of months and I’ve been doing some cool & tough things, from new clients, many returning client follow-ups, vet collaboration, hay testing (& probe tech challenges 🙄), continuing ed, & an upcoming talk at SUNY Delhi later this month.

I have been fully booked since January, which is both amazing and forcing me to be better at prioritizing… what needs to be done first, which is not the same as prioritizing everything under the sun I envision myself doing with the horse community in the next 3 years 😂

I am taking some time away at the end of May (5/19 through the end of the month), and have a close-to-full schedule until then — now is a great time to reach out about a spot on my spring schedule, whether you’re ready to book or want to learn more about my process or background. Thank YOU for allowing me to do what I love! 🌷

While I have a strong group of clients I work with remotely from many parts of the country, I’ve had more in-person, distance clients in March & April — with regular trips to Westchester, the Bronx, western CT, and of course closer to home in the Hudson Valley — from Ulster and Orange counties to Dutchess, Columbia, and Schoharie.

Warmer weather & spring blooms always make on-farm visits more fun — if you don’t see your area in this list but have been curious about working together, contact me! I’m always happy to discuss whether collaborating remotely or in-person would be the best fit. I would love to support you and your horse this spring 🌼💛

📸 Horse in a tent: the internet

03/27/2026

Do you soak your horse’s hay? 🌾 💧 Why and how should hay be soaked in a way that aligns with our nutrition goals? Stay tuned for a post that dives into this, and in the meantime, check out my own hay soaking tip 🪣

I recently started soaking my donkey’s hay in an effort to further reduce carbohydrates in his diet, and I use his outdoor water bucket (filled) as a handy weight to keep his hay net fully submerged during soaking. Even with a tub filled with water, the hay net is naturally buoyant and rises to the surface — but the mini water bucket keeps it under water for my full soaking duration. Do you have your own technique for making hay soaking part of your horse’s daily routine and less of a nuisance?

03/20/2026

Client spotlight 💡 featuring June Bug & Birdie ✨

Kelsey contacted me this winter ❄️ wanting to ensure her 8 y.o. draft cross June Bug & 2 turning 3 y.o. QH Birdie were getting what they needed nutritionally. Both were getting a very popular amino acid-trace mineral supplement at the time — both girls were coming up short in some key nutrients, though, especially the vitamins deficient in forage that their supplement also lacked.

Ultimately, we selected a ration balancer (feeding rates tailored to each horse) with a high quality vitamin & mineral profile and enough protein — especially lysine — to cover the nutrient gaps in their grass hay, even with possible changes from batch to batch. We also addressed:

☀️ Vitamin E deficiencies — Kelsey had bloodwork pulled recently by her vet for this crucial vitamin. With diligent supplementation, both mares’ serum levels are now within healthy ranges and they can remain on lower doses of this vitamin.

🌟 Gastric ulcers — both mares were also diagnosed with ulcers (via gastroscopy) this winter, and while Kelsey & her barn already were using forage advantageously to support gastric health, we added some targeted, research-supported supplementation.

🐞 Weight loss strategies for June Bug — While our initial commitment was 30 days and — in June Bug’s specific case — weight loss will take closer to 50-60 days, we discussed how to achieve a decrease in calories without compromising GI-health, including a plan for spring grazing and use of a grazing muzzle.

Kelsey is a very proactive horse owner, dedicated to her mares and making sure they are not only healthy but also happy in their routine and activities — whether that’s ground work or ponying for Birdie or trail riding for June Bug. It’s always a joy to work with a horse owner so invested in their horses — thank you for entrusting me with your girls’ nutrition 💛

And, shout out to Scoop and Scale for giving us some conversation topics around pre-, pro-, and post-biotics!

03/15/2026

Something I’ve been thinking about a lot this week — we are many things to our horses, ponies, & donkeys: a friend, athletic partner, personal attendant, treat-provider, bill-payer, or all of these. Most of all, we are their advocates — stewards of their well-being.

Advocating for our horses can take many forms — perhaps you’ve made an informed decision (with weigh-in from a trusted perspective like your vet) about not blanketing your overweight pony or donkey for the winter in order to promote calorie expenditure and weight loss while monitoring their daily comfort & access to shelter — while the rest of your barn blankets religiously during the cold months.

Or, perhaps your hard-keeper senior horse’s recent metabolic bloodwork indicates a change in diet is needed, and your barn doesn’t offer an appropriate feed — it might be time to consider supplying your own feed and taking a proactive approach to ensure your horse receives this without complicating feeding time for the barn’s staff.

Maybe your performance horse had a heavy show season last fall, has been uncharacteristically cranky, and then was diagnosed with severe gastric ulcers. It’s hard to watch other riders legging their horses back up for a fresh season while you & your horse are sidelined, but the better choice for our horse to be thoughtful about whether they need some time off during ulcer treatment — or a very light workload.

Having a qualified equine health professional you can trust and ask to weigh in on difficult considerations is valuable — whether that’s your vet, or nutrition consultant for nutrition-related needs. It’s hard to have a clear perspective about our own horses if we’re worried about them, stressed, or under pressure from our trainer or horse community. Having a horse in our care is a constant learning experience — how can we learn from them each day to better advocate for them?

Comment below one small (or big) way you recently advocated for your horse or whether you have someone on your horse’s health care team you can lean on as their advocate 🩵 It brings me joy to advocate for my client’s horses — and my own — though it often sure isn’t easy.

03/13/2026

Having a dry lot, a stall/shelter than can be fully enclosed, and more than one option for sourcing hay – especially the first two – require some homework and investment, but the pay-off is big, especially if you have a few horses at home and are fully responsible for their daily care.

All of these are things we wish we had when we’re in trouble – a pony develops laminitis, a horse is on stall rest, or grass turnout is a muddy mess – and difficult to implement when we’re already scrambling.

Late winter/early spring is a great time to make adjustments to your set-up so that times of stress with our horses (they’re inevitable!) can be less chaotic ❤️

If you do make adjustments, make sure to also spend some time acclimating your horse(s) to them. For example, if your horses live outside 24/7 but you want to avoid a meltdown when someone is injured and needs stall time, spend some time — when everyone is healthy — encouraging them to associate going into a stall with positive experiences (food/grooming with buddies nearby) so that future by-necessity-stall time isn’t overly stressful 🦄

03/06/2026

Last weekend I had the pleasure of talking to a group of students from Emma Willard School at the Cheshire Horse in Saratoga Springs — about what horses eat and how nutrition impacts their health and often, well-being or quality of life 🦄

⭐️ Are you, your barn, or organization interested in having a nutrition seminar or event? I am scheduling speaking engagements for 2026 and currently offer these free of charge — whether you’re located in the greater Hudson Valley or want to do something remotely.

Topics are centered around equine nutrition but can be tailored to a group’s interest — whether that’s feeding seniors, performance horses in your specific discipline, navigating the nuances of forage options and testing, or even a body condition scoring workshop. I work independently, with no ties to feed or supplement companies, so presentations are brand-neutral — and rooted in how current, equine-specific science informs sound feeding decisions.

Interested in chatting? Send me a message, email me at contact@whitfieldequinenutrition.com, or visit my website to directly schedule a time to talk ☎️

02/20/2026

Valentine’s Day was last week, but we all know that every day is for loving our animals…

Love who you love, and most of all, love your horse, love yourself, & love your feeding decisions. They don’t need to be “perfect” — caring for horses is a daily lesson in learning and building on what we used to know — but we can strive to do better by them each day, especially when we surround ourselves with a supportive team 🩷 Happy Valentine’s Day 🦄


📸: The Whitley Archives, February 2010 🤍 Comment if you know where this photo was taken!

02/13/2026

You love your horse. Your horse loves you, and would also love… to see you spend less time stressing about what they eat and more time present with them. Have a qualified equine nutrition professional on your horse’s team to dive into the nuances of evidence-based nutrition to support their health, well-being, and your peace of mind 🩷

📸: The Whitley Archives 🤍

02/08/2026

Horses tend to find alfalfa a very tasty addition to their diet but a lot of myths & misconceptions remain among horse owners… does this legume have a place in your horse’s diet?

Check out the post to learn when alfalfa’s elevated protein, calories, calcium, but reduced NSC might be a good match for your horse’s nutrition program 🌾 💚

02/08/2026

01/30/2026

An excellent post from my colleague and friend in Canada 🍁 Thank you FAR Equine Nutrition for unpacking this important misconception!