Horses can become stressed in seemingly benign situations. To assist them in combating stress, diligent owners must be aware of their horse's stressors and try to assist in minimizing those stressors, when possible.
Dr. Clair Thunes, an equine nutritionist based out of Gilbert, Az., who spoke at the 2023 EquiSummit, a virtual equine nutrition conference, cited stall rest, training, transportation, and weather as reasons horses may become stressed.
While some of these situations, like vet and farrier appointments, are unavoidable, there are nutritional ways a horse owner can support her horse. This includes constant access to forage; a horse should ingest a minimum of 1.5 percent of their body weight in forage in 24 hours, reports The Horse.
However, forage alone may not fulfill all of a horse's nutritional needs; they may need a ration balancer or additional calories to ensure they are eating a well-balanced diet.
Additional items that can be adds to the equine diet to help combat stress include:
Bacillus subtilis PB6
A spore-forming bacteria that attacks and kills pathogens like Clostridium difficile and C. perfringens, Streptococcus equi, and Rhodococcus equi, bacillus subtilis PB6 can assist with combating leaky gut syndrome. Leaky gut occurs when spaces form between the cells lining the intestinal tract, allowing pathogens to enter the bloodstream, causing inflammation and possibly disease. An inflamed gut can be stressful to horses and lead to systemic diseases like food allergies, inflammatory bowel disease and more.
Butyric Acid
A short-chain fatty acid made by intestinal tract bacteria, butyric acid promotes growth of the tissue that lines the gastrointestinal tract. This fatty acid promotes GI healing, reduces inflammation, and modulates the immune response.
Zinc
Zinc also aids in the prevention of leaky gut syndrome by maintaining strong barriers against toxins, pathogens and parasites.
Adding these to a horse's diet will support him and combat the effects of stress.
Read more at The Horse.
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