Antoinette Foster
Horse health / Care
Dip. Nut. BSc Nutrition, Equine Nutritional Therapist, Medical Herbalist, Product Formulator and Human Nutritionist.
Antoinette founded Hi Form Australia in 1990, Since then, Antoinette has provided nutrition and integrative health programs to the equine industry. Her approach blends a nutrition and herbal medicine background with the natural, science-based therapies of progressive Functional Medicine.
“Treating each horse as an individual is paramount, we must pay attention to many aspects of the horses’ temperament as well as work demands and most importantly diet. What is most important in this process is what horse owners are feeding their horses. Feeding a horse, a nutritious diet has an impact on their mental and physical state and will have a long-term positive effect.
‘In my time as a practitioner, I have seen dramatic changes in the long-term health of thousands of horses’. Antoinette studied nutrition at Adelaide University, and over the years has expanded her knowledge studying herbal medicine, nutritional therapy, nutritional therapy and genetics and she is also a qualified Nutrigenomics practitioner. Antoinette and her fellow practitioners will be launching the first ever Rider and Horse Health program at Equitana this year, with the aim to educate riders and their equine partners to live their best life.
She has also begun research work into the gut microbiome and the connection between the gut brain axis, inflammation, immune function, skin condition, laminitis, digestive health issues and ulcers in horses.
Antoinette writes for publications such as Hoofbeats magazine, Equestrian Australia, The Horse Report, Chaff Chat and has had several articles published internationally. She has also been a regular speaker at many events both in Australia and internationally and is the author of the successful book ‘Eat Like a Horse’. More recently Antoinette has launched the Horse Life weekly podcast series which cover a wide range of topics.
She is a keen horse rider and in March 2021 Antoinette followed her desire to enter the sport of reining from dressage and purchased a lovely, educated horse Yarraleigh Lethal Maximus, she has competed in a few small shows and is working towards the Victorian State show in 2023. Antoinette also owns a beautiful warmblood by Fidertanz, who is being campaigned by close friend, trainer and sponsored rider David Boyle.
Antoinette is a member of Nutrition Australia, Nutrition Society UK, American Society of Animal Science, IICT and The College of Integrative Therapies.
Antoinette has a great passion for research and learning. ‘The more I know the more excited I become about the possibilities and the ability to share that knowledge with my clients’.
Visit Antoinette Foster at the following sessions
Details
Friday November 11th
3:15 pm to 4:00 pm
EQUITANA Classroom (Royal Block)
Feed Room & Pantry Detox
In this presentation you will learn how to manage your feed room, what you need to know to make sure you are not using unnecessary products or feeds and the reasoning behind why this is so important for your horse’s long-term health and performance. How do we detox our feed room? Well, believe it or not it’s a straightforward process.
Each horse is an individual just like we are, so there is a need to ensure that every horse is receiving the right nutritional intake. There are many factors that affect how we will feed our horses, some of which include the breed, sex, age of the horse, the environment in which it lives and whether the horse spends sufficient time out on pasture or is boxed 24/ 7.
Detoxing your pantry is possibly something you have not thought about, you will learn precisely what foods you need in your pantry, how does diet affect digestive health, what can you do to maintain, excellent health to allow you to be your best. We want to inspire you to take control of your health and eat clean. Understanding which food to eat is essential, what does clean food really mean? Healthy eating is not about counting calories so STOP today this will get you nowhere, it is not the way to go to achieve your goals.
Details
Sunday November 13th
12:45 pm to 1:30 pm
Godolphin Lifetime Care Theatrette
Natural Pain Relief
In this presentation Antoinette discusses the use of specific herbs and other nutrients to assist with pain relief in horses. There is growing scientific evidence to suggest that many of these nutrients can be highly beneficial in relieving pain and assisting healing without the side effects of drugs. Antoinette takes the audience through a journey which involves the history of herbs, the science behind Functional Medicine and how horse owners can integrate this way of treatment into the management of their own horses. ‘The prevalence of pain in horses is more common than we think’. Antoinette prefers to use a group of ingredients to achieve a positive result, because generally herbs or other nutrients on their own are not very effective. Bad temperament which is just behavioural is not common in horses but can be caused by pain. General pain in horses is very common and can also cause tension. Pain is debilitating and is undoubtedly the most common problem to go unnoticed and can also interfere with performance.
Finding a way to manage any of the symptoms associated with pain or to treat a complaint is achievable with the use of many complimentary medicines and treatments and may also include conventional medicine.
