Dr. Bernard’s education includes an undergraduate degree from the University of California Berkeley, veterinary degree from the University of California Davis and internship at the University of Pennsylvania New Bolton Equine Center.  Dr. Bernard is board certified in large animal medicine.

Dr. Bernard has twenty years of clinical practice-experience and as a partner at Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital in Lexington, Kentucky.   Bernard has authored and published numerous scientific articles in respected veterinary journals as well as authored numerous book chapters regarding equine internal medicine in various text books.  Dr. Bernard authored the book “Equine pediatric medicine” a guide to diseases of the foal. Dr. Bernard is especially interested in perinatology and infectious diseases including the gastrointestinal tract.

While practicing equine medicine he realized the paucity of information regarding the microbial flora of the equine GI tract and the potential for probiotics (bacteria that have a non-nutritional beneficial influence on the host).   The idea for EquiOtic came from his realization that giving the horse probiotics and boosting the gut flora could help to reduce common equine digestive issues that he treated in the clinic.