​The Vital Equine
​Holistic Consult

Understanding Your Horse’s Initial Holistic Consult

​
Every new horse begins with two essential components:
​
1) physical exam, and
2) holistic consultation.

Each serves a different purpose, and together they give Dr. Fenton the full picture needed to create a precise, individualized plan for your horse.

Physical Exam:

  • ​A physical exam is the medical foundation of care.
  • It allows Dr. Fenton to evaluate your horse’s vital signs, listen to the heart and lungs, assess gait and posture, check eyes, skin, and body condition, and screen for any concerns that require immediate or traditional veterinary attention.
  • This exam establishes your horse as a patient in the practice and ensures all holistic recommendations are made with a clear understanding of your horse’s current physical health.

Holistic Consultation (Whole-Being Functional Evaluation):

The holistic consultation builds on the physical exam by examining the why behind your horse’s patterns and symptoms.

This session includes:
  • a deep review of medical history and prior diagnostics
  • evaluation of nutrition, environment, lifestyle, and behavior
  • assessment of stress, sleep, herd dynamics, and predisposing factors
  • recommendations of further traditional diagnostics as needed 
  • a full muscle testing session
  • integration of biohacking protocols to optimize cellular health and performance
  • education and discussion of what your horse’s system is actually showing
  • creation of a targeted, custom plan tailored specifically to your horse
  • a trajectory to optimized health and a plan to stay on track

This is where you receive the full Vital Equine experience — the integrative, page-turning analysis we are known for.

Why Both Are Needed:
​
  • The physical exam ensures safety, accuracy, and medical oversight.
  • The holistic consultation provides the depth, detail, and whole-horse understanding that may lead to breakthroughs — especially when other approaches haven’t helped.
  • Together, they give Dr. Fenton the complete, multi-dimensional clarity necessary to determine what your horse truly needs.

Because holistic and functional health unfold over time, this first consultation also establishes the beginning of a long-term roadmap for your horse. Most horses require monthly follow-up sessions to monitor progress, adjust protocols, and support the body as it continues to change and respond. This ensures your horse receives ongoing, precise care rather than a one-time snapshot — because your horse's needs today are not your horse's needs one month from now. The weather and seasons change, barn mates come and go creating stress and anxiety, hormones fluctuate with disease cycles, horse shows take their toll, and life is never static.

The services recommended for your horse are never predetermined — they are discovered through the Initial Holistic Consult. Physical exam findings, muscle testing, and a thorough review of relevant historical diagnostics and imaging within the holistic consult are what allow Dr. Fenton to determine exactly what your horse needs in that moment. This is why our intake process does not offer an open-ended service menu — because the horse tells us what is needed, not the other way around. Trust the process and let your horse lead the way.

Please note that any diagnostic testing, nutrition, herbs, products, injections, therapies or services recommended are not included in the cost of the Vital Equine Holistic Consult.