VETERINARY NUTRITION
Clinical Nutrition Services for Veterinarians
Nutrition is the foundation of equine health and performance. Without a sound nutrition program, optimal health and performance cannot be achieved and may even suffer.
With Kentucky Equine Research as your partner in equine nutrition, your practice will gain the ability to assess your patients’ rations, recommend adjustments to ensure their nutritional needs are met and provide trusted, efficacious supplements to limit effects of environmental risks on health and performance, address common issues such as poor hoof quality, and deliver targeted support for special needs.
Veterinary partners gain access to Kentucky Equine Research’s products and its team of experts for advanced nutrition consulting services. This enables practitioners to offer their clients unparalleled support and to effectively apply advances in both equine medicine and nutrition to support their horses’ optimal health and performance.
Concierge Nutrition Support
Concierge nutrition support via phone, email or chat for practitioners to obtain qualified answers to their questions, discuss appropriate feeds, supplements, and nutrition management for different issues, and obtain advice on cases for which a comprehensive diet evaluation isn’t indicated.Included for all clients.
Wellness Nutrition Evaluation
Ensure your clients’ horses are receiving appropriate, nutritionally-balanced diets and reduce the risk of improper nutrition contributing to poor performance, fertility, hoof and coat quality, or behavioral issues. Gain valuable insight into your patients’ nutritional status and management while helping your clients to understand and apply nutrition principles to provide support for optimal health.
Wellness nutrition evaluations include assessment of the horse’s current ration with respect to suitability, nutritional adequacy, weight management, performance goals, as well as evaluation of supplementation (if any) to address common issues like hoof quality and risk factors affecting digestive and joint health. Using proprietary KER applications and a global feed database containing thousands of feeds, we’re able to make efficient feed comparisons and evaluations to determine suitability or identify appropriate alternatives. Rations are evaluated using Kentucky Equine Research’s proprietary set of recommended nutrient intakes. Evaluations are conducted objectively, regardless of brand affiliation; however, KER supplements may be recommended when appropriate. Opportunities for ration simplification and improved cost efficiency may also be identified.
Veterinary technicians may be trained to collect and transmit ration data to KER and manage this service. Laboratory analysis of feed and forage are available upon request. Additional fees apply.
Stables (>10 horses): $150 per horse
Clinical Nutrition Consultation
Consult directly with a KER nutritionist regarding cases with clinical diagnoses for which nutritional management is a key part of resolution, management, or prevention of recurrence. Includes all the aspects of a wellness evaluation with expanded scope to address additional factors pertinent to special needs. Feed, forage, or water samples may be required for analysis (laboratory fees will apply).
After their analysis is complete, the KER nutritionist provides the veterinarian with a detailed report with recommendations to share with the client.
Indicated for cases exhibiting significant weight gain or loss, refeeding (BCS <3) or obesity (BCS ≥ 8) cases, and clinical disease states such as metabolic, gastrointestinal, airway or neurologic diseases, muscle myopathies, as well as chronic poor performance or nutrient deficiency.
Initial consult: $500 Subsequent review/adjustment: $250
Veterinary Nutrition Program
Program Benefits
- Access to on-call nutritionist
- Educational resources for staff and clients
- Continuing education opportunities for veterinarians and technicians
- Introduces multiple new revenue streams
- Expands existing client offerings with addition of nutrition consultation services
- Introduces recurring revenue generation opportunity through supplement sales
How it Works
Contact Kentucky Equine Research to establish an account and discuss your practice’s needs and goals for client care and education. We’ll help you determine the best strategy for implementation within your practice and arrange for orientation, staff training, and product education.
KER will provide you with detailed program information, including directions for:
- accessing nutrition support;
- initiating wellness nutrition evaluations;
- consultation for special needs cases; and
- how to earn credit for KER product purchases made by you or your clients.
Fees for nutrition support services such as wellness nutrition evaluations and special needs consultations are assessed to clinic upon receipt of service request.
Participating veterinary clients earn credit on direct and referred KER product purchases* which can be redeemed for future purchases of products and services.
*Qualifying purchases are identified through use of unique promotional code assigned to clinic or veterinarian.