Why this platform is different
Equine nutrition information online is broken. Owners managing PSSM, EPM, and the daily questions of feeding a working horse end up scrolling through brand-sponsored pages dressed as advice, ten-page forum threads with conflicting anecdotes, and YouTube channels where nobody cites anything. The single hardest question to answer about any equine nutrition claim is the simplest one: where did this come from?
The Foxwatch Equine Nutrition Hub answers that question on every page. Every claim is footnoted to a peer-reviewed primary source. Every chart is built from extractable structured data. Every reference resolves to its DOI. Every sponsor is disclosed by credential tier on every page they touch. Owners do not need to verify our sources. The verification is already on the page.
That is the unique position. Unbiased, impartial, empirical, and consolidated. One portal. Thirty-four systematic literature reviews. Citation density that holds up under any veterinarian's scrutiny. Wendy Siddle Dailey's forty years of professional horsemanship as the editorial anchor. Nothing else in the field looks like it.
What founding sponsors get
- First-mover credibility. The opening cohort of sponsors is what new readers see when the platform launches publicly. Be one of the names readers learn the platform with.
- Tier-appropriate placement on every page where your name appears. DACVN diplomates, PhD-level academics, industry-certified nutritionists, and feed manufacturers each have their own credential badge, distinct visual treatment, and disclosed conflict information.
- Bylined contributor opportunities for credentialed sponsors (DACVN, PhD/Academic, Industry-Certified). Author articles in your area. Edited to our standards. Bylined with full credential disclosure.
- Product reference inclusion in articles where your formulation actually meets the evidence-grade thresholds the underlying reviews establish. We will not pretend a product passes when the literature says otherwise. We will give credit where the literature gives it.
- Quarterly performance metrics: page views, audience composition, citation traffic from your placement, sponsored-content engagement.
- Founding-sponsor pricing locked for life. Whatever rate you sign at, you renew at, even after the platform expands.
What sponsorship does not buy
This is where the platform's credibility lives. Sponsors who try to negotiate any of the following are politely declined:
- Editorial review of articles before publication.
- Topic vetoes or coverage of competitor products.
- Suggested edits to existing articles.
- Advance notice of upcoming evidence reviews.
- Influence over how their products are evaluated in claim-validation tables. The model is published in lit_review_18: independent claim review, full credit where evidence exists, full critique where it does not.
Pressure that crosses any of those lines ends the sponsorship without refund. The editorial firewall is the product. We protect it because owners can tell the difference between a platform with one and a platform without one.
The four credential tiers
| Tier | Credential | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Board-Certified | DACVN, Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Nutrition | DVM plus a 2 to 3 year residency in clinical nutrition plus the ACVN board exam. Roughly 100 active diplomates worldwide. The highest credential in the field. |
| PhD/Academic | PhD in Animal Science, Equine Nutrition, or comparable | Doctoral training plus academic faculty appointment. Examples: Kentucky Equine Research, faculty at Texas A&M, Cornell, University of Kentucky, Virginia Tech. |
| Industry-Certified | KER certification, Equine Science Society membership, AFIA, comparable | Working professional with a recognized industry credential. Many qualified equine nutrition consultants belong here. |
| Commercial | Feed brand or supplement manufacturer | Product manufacturer. May employ DACVN, PhD, or industry-certified staff, but the corporate sponsorship itself is at this tier with full sponsored-content disclosure. |
Why now
In the United States, "equine nutritionist" is not a state-licensed profession. Anyone can call themselves one. Owners deserve a way to weigh the source. Founding sponsors who land on the platform during the launch window are the ones whose credentials become the reference point new readers calibrate against.
The framework is in place. The corpus is published. Wendy is the editorial anchor. The platform is opening to a small founding cohort first, then to a wider sponsor pool. The founding rate is the lowest the platform will ever offer, and it is locked for the lifetime of the agreement.
Apply
Send the following to sponsors@foxwatch.llc:
- Your credentials. DACVN diplomate certificate, PhD diploma plus a faculty letter, KER certification, or comparable documentation.
- Your tier of interest. Directory listing, contributor opportunities, product sponsorship, or some combination.
- One paragraph on what you would contribute that the platform does not already cover.
We verify credentials with the issuing body before listing. Verification typically takes 2 to 3 weeks. Founding-sponsor agreements run annually. Founding-rate pricing is locked for the lifetime of the agreement.
Founding cohort: limited slots, first-come priority
The first founding cohort is intentionally small. Once filled, the next tier of sponsorships open at standard rates. Credentialed nutritionists and feed brands who reach out before the public launch get first review and the founding-rate lock.