You know those nights where you're worried about giving your horse the best life you can? I've been there, and they suck - believe me, I get it.
S T O R Y T I M E
Honor, the namesake behind Honos Nutrition Co., is lovely and perfect in every way (Me? Biased? Never), but has been challenging in several aspects - all in all, he's been an incredible case study. He hits a number of concerns:
Hard keeper
Struggled with hoof quality
Cribber
Dental wear from cribbing
Senior sport horse (competed into his late teens), so preventative and supportive joint care were big targets.
I remember younger-me, before I had university access to journals and my equine science formal education (x2, read more about that here), trying to read as much as I could about strategies that would help my horse look and feel his best - and getting frustrated at vague or impractical advice.
I grew up in Pony Club with our horses at home, with a horsey family used to thoroughbreds, and yet, felt helpless and overwhelmed about finding the perfect diet for keeping that weird, little (read as large) event horse at a good weight, while targeting the other concerns. Our horses have always been on fiber & fat based diets, and our other horses - retired senior pony, a dressage horse, and a OTTB learning to jump, were all at a great weight, had great feet....so why was his diet not working for him?
My university education made me realize how much benefit scientific findings could have if they were accessible to - and implemented by - the horse industry, and my passion for science communications began there. During my undergrad degree, I started to share short educational posts on Honor's instagram account, and was thrilled when not only were they well received, some of his followers used takeaways they learned from those posts, and saw benefits! I had been interested in nutrition because of Honor before undergrad, which led to me building my undergrad courseload around animal nutrition, biochemistry, and animal disorders.
Honor, along with my other aging animals at the time (namely my 14 year old hound x Godzilla dog), was a huge inspiration towards pursuing a Master's degree in Animal Nutrition. My graduate studies and research focused largely on nutritional strategies to improve the lives of aging animals. It also focused on individualized nutrition support, because I'd seen first hand that one-size-fits-all nutrition does not work for all animals, and I know how much it sucks when you're in the situation that is not working even though it should, on paper.
It's this background that is behind the supportive intent of our services, because I get it.
My horses live at home, so I know what comes with daily care - and scheduling your life around that.
I've worked at training and boarding barns and know that you don't want to be mixing a potion of 7 supplements - for multiple horses - every morning.
I know what it's like balancing university (and the uni student budget) and horses.
I know what it's like as an amateur rider moving up the levels with a horse you're developing yourself, still on a budget.
We're all in the same boat. We're all trying to do our best to help our horses, and we just need the tools to do so - and through Honos, we want to give you them.
H O W W E C A N H E L P
The Honos Nutrition Consulting services tackle all of these pain points - we consider economics, practicality, and individuality, and strive to keep our rates accessible.
I've had great success with the custom-built energetics modelling system that uses findings from studies developing mathematical equine nutrition models, which uses a series of equations and individual factors from your horse to produce an individualized estimation of your horse's requirements. This model has been great for those tricky hard keepers, and for precise weight loss/easy keeper feeding too!
Our educational content doesn't just give vague advice - it equips you with specific amounts, How-To guides and strategies so you can feel empowered after learning, not more confused or worse, more worried.
I don't want you to feel helpless, overwhelmed or frustrated. So that's why Honos exists. And if that's how you're currently feeling about your horse's diet, let's connect - we're committed to improving lives, both human and horse, so we can figure it out together.
H E L P U S I M P R O V E L I V E S
Our science communications projects AND your support helps us provide quality, science-based services, at an accessible price. Help us keep our rates accessible by supporting us - like, share and talk about our content and services, and head on over to our store for some Honos merch.
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