Has anyone taken any online equine course, specifically in equine nutrition. I’m sure there are books out there but I think I would get more from the structure of a class led by a qualified instructor. With a quick google search I found Michigan State and USC Aiken had some but thought I would check to see if anyone had any first hand experience (good or bad).
If not…any books you can recommend? Thanks!
Elizabeth
I’ve taken a few courses from Cosumnes River College. It’s near Sacramento and part of California’s community college system. I’m pretty sure Equine Nutrition is one of the classes offered. At least a couple classes require a field trip or two but you might be able to work out some kind of substitute with the instructor. You would be paying out of state tuition though.
University of Edinburgh offers a free, online equine nutrition course through Coursera:
https://www.ed.ac.uk/studying/moocs/…uine-nutrition
It’s good, although if you have a solid foundation in nutrition, it probably won’t be anything earth-shattering for you. But it’s a nice starting place to see if you want to actually invest in tuition on the subject elsewhere.
Dr. Juliet Getty offers online seminars, however, they are not affiliated with a university. They are affordable, though. I find her informative, albeit sometimes a bit “out there.” It’s worth noting, she is not a veterinarian, but rather a PhD in nutrition.
http://gettyequinenutrition.biz/
Guelph also offers equine courses online. I’m not sure if there are any complications in US citizens enrolling?
Years ago, I took one or two online courses through Guelph for some additional learning and something to do. I don’t recall if I took Equine Nutrition, but I did take Equine Behaviour. The course and instructors may have changed now, but I recall rapidly losing interest in it at the time. I found the topics discussed were often incredibly specific and didn’t relate to horses as a whole. There also seemed to be a big focus on clicker training.
Some books I have on hand are:
Equine Nutrition and Feeding (4th edition) by David Frape
Nutrient Requirements of Horses (6th edition) from the National Research Council
Equine Behavior by Paul McGreevy
The Horse Conformation Handbook by Heather Smith Thomas
Equine Science (4th edition) by Rick Parker
The Comprehensive Guide to Equine Veterinary Medicine by Barb Crabbe, DVM
My experience may very well not be indicative of other people’s experience with online courses. I’ve found that between the books available for purchase and the resources online, I have access to quite a wealth of info. However, if you’re interested in pursuing some online learning, go for it. Maybe you could inquire with some of these web based schools if they could forward you the syllabus for this past year’s Equine Nutrition course to see if it fits your fancy?
Would agree on both counts. I enjoyed it. And it’s free with no hold on your Permanent Record so if you aren’t enjoying it, it’s no big deal to drop out.
I found the U Edinburgh MOOC or coursera really useful. It confirmed a lot of what I already knew as good horse keeping and added a few scientific concepts. I wasn’t sure they were still offering that. If they are start there. They recommend Julie Getty’s book as reference, and I’ve found it very useful.
For me a very good foundation and probably all most ammie owners need to start. If you really wanted to be a professional nutritionist obviously there’s a lot more to it.
Thanks for all in the info! I’m definitely going to look into that free course 
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