The BETA ENFAR register has two categories; Equine Nutritionist and Equine Feed Adviser.
An Equine Nutritionist is a person who is principally engaged in advising others on matters of feeding and nutrition and their impacts on equine health, behaviour and welfare. This may be in an academic, research, commercial or industrial environment or in a self-employed capacity.
A Feed Adviser is anyone giving advice on feeding equines but it is not their primary role (ie they spend less than 50% of their time doing it) AND/OR they do not meet the qualification requirements to be an Equine Nutritionist (see below).
It is not possible to be listed in both categories. High degrees of skill, knowledge and experiences are recognised in both categories.
The BETA ENFAR Registrations committee do not determine which of a company’s employees appear on the register. It is the responsibility of the company and the individuals themselves to ensure they comply with the relevant criteria and are able to complete the relevant CPD requirement annually.
Equine Nutritionist Criteria
For a member to be listed as an Equine Nutritionist they require aminimum of a degree qualification in a relevant subject and more than 3 years working in a role related to equine nutrition.
Suitable qualifications: minimum of a relevant degree qualification such asBSc in Animal Science, Equine Science, Equine Management, Veterinary or Bio-Veterinary Science or Animal Nutrition.
Relevant activities: advising horse owners in-person or via company feed helplines, writing technical content, equine feed and supplement product development, supply chain management, quality control, accreditation and legislative compliance, lecturing in academic institutions, independent consultancy, scientific research and development.
Individuals should only apply to appear on the register as an equine nutritionist if they are confident they possess all of the following:
- Knowledge and understanding of the science of equine nutrition.
- Knowledge and understanding of feed ingredients, pasture and forage and have a good understanding of the ingredient supply chain.
- Knowledge and understanding of both the social and behavioural aspects of feeding and nutrition in both horses and those responsible for their care. This would include an understanding of factors that impact upon horse owners such as social expectations of what makes a responsible horse owner, stigmas attached to owning an underweight animal and barriers to the implementation of good practices.
- Understand how to apply the scientific principles of nutrition for the promotion of health and well-being of individuals, groups and populations; recognising potential benefits and risks.
- The ability to apply scientific knowledge to be able to advise appropriately and articulate key points or findings relevant to the audience or interested parties.
Early-Career Equine Nutritionist Criteria
Early Career Equine Nutritionist requires a minimum of a degree qualification and 0-3 years working in a role related to equine nutrition specifically.
Suitable qualifications: minimum of a relevant degree qualification such asBSc in Animal Science, Equine Science, Equine Management, Veterinary or Bio-Veterinary Science or Animal Nutrition.
Relevant activities: An early careerequine nutritionist’s role is likely to encompass the same general activities as an equine nutritionist but it is expected they will have a lower level of responsibility within a company that has a team of nutritionists or they may be someone who has experience working as a nutritionist with other species.
An early career nutritionist may be the only person working as a nutritionist in a small business or as an independent nutritionist. The register aims to recognise that experience is equally as important as qualifications and the early career category reflects this. To protect the credibility of the register, for the first year, an early career nutritionist will be classified with provisional status whilst they demonstrate their adherence to the ENFAR Code and commitment to completing their CPD.
Feed Adviser Criteria
Feed Advisers are those giving advice on feeding horses as part of their work but it is not necessarily what they spend the majority of their time doing. Examples include an area manager for a feed company, a feed retailer, an equine weighing service provider. It is recognised that these roles are frequently asked for advice by horse owners and the inclusion of compulsory CPD aims to help ensure feed advisers to give up to date, evidence-based advice in support of making sensible forage and product recommendations.
Senior Feed Advisor – 5 years or more working in a role giving advice on feeding horses.
Junior Feed Advisor – 0-5 years working in a role giving advice on feeding horses
When applying to the register, Feed Advisers will need to provide evidence to show the length of time they have worked as a feed adviser. This could be a signed statement from an employer, business registration details or financial trading account statements.
ENFAR Fellowship
The ENFAR Fellowship exists to acknowledge and recognise specialist expertise, length of service and additional qualifications. Both Equine Nutritionists and Feed Advisers are eligible to be ENFAR fellows.
Fellowship nominations may be made to the BETA office for consideration by the BETA ENFAR Registrations committee. For more information please contact the BETA office.
