Are Probiotics Worth The Hype?

Probiotics have their fair share of both devotees and naysayers. Why do the devotees keep probiotics in their medicine cabinet? For diarrhea, primarily. Approximately 80 percent of foals develop diarrhea sufficiently severe to threaten growth and, depending on its severity, survival. Adult horses develop diarrhea for several reasons, including physical and mental stress, disease, and certain medications.

Treating diarrhea medicinally may resolve the condition, but some medications have unwelcome side effects: inappetence, skin reactions (wheals, swelling), and kidney toxicity. The benefits of administering probiotics for treating or preventing diarrhea remain largely theoretical despite the widespread availability of the products.

To shed light on the actual, rather than perceived, benefits of probiotics in horses, Australian researchers conducted a thorough review of the available scientific literature. After combing through many relevant research papers, they selected 18 that examined the safety, tolerability, and efficacy of probiotics in horses and foals. Some of the key findings of this study were:

  • Probiotics appeared well tolerated in adult horses with few safety concerns;
  • Substantial concerns were noted in foals. High doses of multistrain probiotics appeared to aggravate diarrhea, particularly when products similar to those designed for humans were used. When the probiotic contained organisms more closely related to the microbes normally found in the equine microbiome, the incidence of foal diarrhea nearly halved; and
  • Single probiotic interventions appear less effective than multispecies probiotics.

In addition to managing diarrhea, owners sometimes give probiotics to horses whose diets contain large grain meals.

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“High-grain diets can disturb intestinal function, leading to hindgut acidosis, a condition characterized by unusually low pH in the cecum and colon. This drop in pH can change the microbiome, reducing digestibility of feed. Hindgut acidosis may result in loose manure, decreased appetite, behavior changes, colic, and laminitis,” explained Peter Huntington, B.V.Sc., M.A.C.V.Sc., director of nutrition at Kentucky Equine Research.

To combat plummeting pH in the hindgut, researchers looked at offering a probiotic to improve the microbiome and increase digestive function. However, two separate studies failed to identify any benefit in feeding a probiotic to horses given high-grain diets.

“This finding leaves room for more research and alternate approaches to controlling pH in the hindgut. Using hindgut buffers such as the research-proven hindgut supplements created by Kentucky Equine Research are potentially better than using probiotics for this purpose,” Huntington recommended.

While the role of probiotics for intestinal conditions remains unclear, researchers found beneficial effects of probiotics in exercising Standardbred horses. Specifically, those researchers stated that “administration of multistrain bacterial formulations to increase stamina in exercising horses shows promise.”

Huntington added, “Supplemented horses had lower blood lactate levels, which may delay fatigue in exercising horses. At this time, though, researchers are unclear as to how probiotics lower blood lactate levels.”

Also noteworthy, the number of studies examining probiotics in horses was extremely small compared to those for humans. As such, much of the information used to support probiotics intended for horses is actually extrapolated from human studies.

“The anatomy and physiology of the equine digestive tract are very different from that of the human, which makes data extrapolation inappropriate. Using human data for horses may at least partly explain the lack of reported efficacy of probiotics in horses,” Huntington said.

Instead of extrapolating from human medicine, scientists should consider equine-specific research, as many questions remain unanswered. For example, what species of bacteria and yeast should be included in probiotic supplements, and what multistrain products will have the most benefit? How much should be given? How long should horses be given the supplements?

Quality concerns also persist. Do commercial over-the-counter probiotics contain the type or amount of ingredient they claim? The live bacteria that went into the package or syringe may not be viable when actually fed, which negates its usefulness.

“While probiotics may exert positive gastrointestinal and extraintestinal effects, using poor-quality products or administering probiotics incorrectly may delay more appropriate treatments or interventions and are economically draining for horse owners,” summarized Huntington.

*Cooke, C.G., Z. Gibb, and J.E. Harnett. The safety, tolerability and efficacy of probiotic bacteria for equine use. Journal of Equine Veterinary Science 99:103407.

Article reprinted courtesy of Kentucky Equine Research (KER). Visit equinews.com for the latest in equine nutrition and management, and subscribe to The Weekly Feed to receive these articles directly (equinews.com/newsletters).   

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Wicked Halo Much The Best In Adirondack For Asmussen, Winchell

Just like her dam Just Wicked, Wicked Halo crossed the wire first in the Grade 2 Adirondack Stakes, giving trainer Steve Asmussen another graded stakes winner a day after he passed Dale Baird as North America's all-time winningest trainer. The gray 2-year-old filly dueled with Microbiome early and made her rail-hugging trip a winning one at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

At the break, Tom Amoss-trained Microbiome was quickest out of the gate taking a short lead, with Wicked Halo just off her shoulder on the rail. Down the backstretch, the two dueled, Jose Ortiz moving the Asmussen filly to the lead before the first quarter-mile. Approaching the turn, Microbiome stayed with her into the stretch, but the daughter of Gun Runner and Just Wicked was too good for the Amoss horse. In the stretch, Wicked Halo drew away to win by 3 1/2 lengths. Interstatedaydream came on late to grab second, with Saucy Lady T third. The final time for the 6 1/2 furlongs was 1:17.99.

Mainstay, Microbiome, Ontheonesandtwos, J.L's Rockette, Shesawildjoker, and Boss Lady Kim rounded out the order of finish.

Wicked Halo paid $11.40, $6.00, and $4.80. Interstatedaydream paid $14.80 and $9.50. Saucy Lady T paid $12.80 to show. Find this race's chart here.

“Ron [Winchell, owner-breeder] giving us horses like this makes all the accolades possible. This filly, her mother won the Adirondack [Just Wicked, 2015], and what a great sire Gun Runner is proving to be. To duplicate what her mother did is very special,” Asmussen said after the race.

“In these 2-year-old stakes races there's going to be pace because a lot of them break their maiden wire-to-wire or are just sitting off it. A lot of times, the pace is going to be hot in races like this, and it was hot this time. Tyler [Gaffalione, aboard Microbiome, No. 9] broke better than me. I put her up there and she responded well,” jockey Jose Ortiz said after the Adirondack. “They were going fast, but she was ready. Steve had her ready to run.”

With the Grade 2 Adirondack in the books, Wicked Halo has two wins in three lifetime starts for career earnings of $144,650 for breeder/owner Winchell Thoroughbreds.

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Nine Maiden Winners Seek First Stakes Win in Adirondack

A field of nine maiden special weight winners–eight of them at first asking–line up in search of their first black-type win in the GII Adirondack S. going 6 1/2 panels Sunday at Saratoga. Both Mainstay (Astern {Aus}) and Saucy Lady T (Tonalist) are exiting the July 15 GIII Schuylerville S. over the track, where they finished one-two, respectively, while Ontheonesandtwos (Jimmy Creed) and Wicked Halo (Gun Runner) filled the same spots in the June 26 Debutante S. at Churchill Downs.

Morning-line favorite is Deuce Greathouse, Cindy M. Hutson, Madaket Stables LLC, and Thomas J. Romano's Ontheonesandtwos, who followed up a wide but winning debut with an extremely wide second in the Debutante. A length away from victory, she finished willingly and got an 81 Beyer, co-highest in the Adirondack field. Trainer Norm Casse seeks his first Adirondack win and replaces Florent Geroux with Irad Ortiz, Jr. on the filly.

From the powerful Steve Asmussen stable, who won this race last year with Thoughtfully (Tapit) and has two other Adirondack victories since 2011, Wicked Halo is from the first crop of Asmussen's 2017 Horse of the Year. She shares the co-highest 81 Beyer in the field, notched in her debut at Lone Star June 5, and set the pace after bobbling at the start of the Debutante but yielded late. A homebred for Winchell Thoroughbreds, her 79 Beyer that day keeps her in the hunt here.

Butch Reid, Jr.'s Mainstay made headlines before her debut as a half-sister to last year's 2-year-old filly champion Vequist (Nyquist), then backed it up with a June 4 first-asking graduation by 7 3/4 lengths in the slop at Monmouth. She subsequently stumbled at the Schuylerville start and couldn't catch the loose-on-the-lead winner, but chased her in second all the way around and held her spot by daylight at the wire. Swilcan Stable LLC and LC Racing campaign the filly, who switches to a new rider in Joel Rosario.

Tom Amoss sends Joel Politi's Microbiome (Twirling Candy), the sole runner in the field with a win over the surface. She aired in the second race on opening day, went straight to the front, and never looked back to graduate by 5 1/2 lengths.

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Wicked Halo, Mainstay Among Nine Juvenile Fillies Contesting Adirondack

A nine-horse field of promising 2-year-old fillies comprise a talented field in the Grade 2, $200,000 Adirondack contested at 6 1/2 furlongs on Sunday at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

The 105th edition of the Adirondack, named for the mountain range in eastern New York, has been the proving ground for many future champions, with modern-era winners encompassing Sky Beauty, My Miss Aurelia, Folklore, Sacahuista, Storm Song, and Smart Angle, who have used this race as a springboard.

The Adirondack is slated as Race 8 on the 10-race card, which also includes the Grade 3, $700,000 Saratoga Oaks Invitational as the second leg of the Turf Triple series for 3-year-old fillies going 1 3/16 miles, and the $120,000 Fasig-Tipton De La Rose for older fillies and mares going one-mile on the inner turf.

Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen, who saddled last year's Adirondack-winner Thoughtfully, looks to repeat and capture his fourth overall victory in the race by sending out Wicked Halo.

Owned and bred by Winchell Thoroughbreds, Wicked Halo arrives with strong credentials as she is the daughter of the 2015 winner Just Wicked and the 2017 Horse of the Year Gun Runner.

“They're basically twins,” said Asmussen, who trained both the homebred Just Wicked and Gun Runner for the Winchell Family, when asked to compare this filly and her dam.

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Wicked Halo graduated from the maiden ranks at first asking in June on a muddy Lone Star Park track. Elevated to stakes company last out, she faded to third after leading until late in the six-furlong Debutante on June 26 at Churchill Downs. She will now be asked to go a half-furlong further.

“Wicked Halo deserves the chance. I ran her back fairly quick after the Debutante from the one hole. It could have been different for her,” said Asmussen. “The Gun Runners have run extremely well, and obviously, that's exciting to us. I do believe that every single one of them will continue to improve with distance and with time, just like he did. It means a little more to us when we send out one of his babies.”

Jose Ortiz will ride from post 7.

Another filly in the field with famous family ties is Swilcan Stable' homebred Mainstay, a half-sister to Vequist, the 2020 Eclipse Award-winning 2-Year-Old Filly and the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies victress.

Mainstay, co-owned by LC Racing, romped to a 7 3/4-length score in the slop at Monmouth Park her first time out and then was the runner-up in the Grade 3 Schuylerville on Saratoga's Opening Day after an inauspicious start to her race.

“I think she raced a little greenly last time,” said trainer Butch Reid, who also conditions Vequist. “She got a little distracted through the lane. I don't know if it was the people in the grandstand or what exactly it was, but since that race her concentration has been much better in the mornings and she's not paying any attention to any of that kind of stuff, so I expect her to run a much better race.

“I think her experience can only help her this time,” he added. “I normally wouldn't have raced her back this quickly, but she came out of it great and very determined and very serious, so we're going. I think she just needs a little seasoning and I think having these races under her belt will be nothing but a benefit to her. You can't live on reputation alone. Now she's riding on her big sister V's coattails, but she's got to prove it on her own.”

Joel Rosario will have the call from post 8.

Joel Politi's Microbiome also garnered attention by winning her debut by 5 1/2 lengths on the same day as the Schuylerville. The Tom Amoss trainee drew the outside post 9 with Tyler Gaffalione returning to ride in Microbiome's first stakes appearance.

“She's exciting. She showed a lot of talent to us before we ever ran her,” said Amoss, who also trained 2020 Grade 1 Ballerina-winner Serengeti Empress for Politi. We knew coming up here and debuting her was going to be going against the heavy heads, but I thought she really performed well and that gives us a real reason to think she has a chance on Sunday.”

From the inside post, J L's Rockette will look to build on her first-out win on June 27 at Ellis Park for Hall of Famer trainer Bill Mott. Owner Frank Fletcher names all of his horses for his beloved dog Rockette, and J L's Rockette got her moniker after he purchased this daughter of Into Mischief for $750,000.

“She's progressed nicely since she's been here from Kentucky,” said Mott, who is lacking an Adirondack victory on his lengthy Hall of Fame resume. “We've got several good works in her. She seems like with the additional training she's become stronger and fitter, but she'll have to be stronger and fitter to compete with this group.”

Junior Alvarado will be in the irons.

Ontheonesandtwos is a filly on the upswing after closing strongly in a runner-up Debutante effort by lone length, following her winning first-out performance at Churchill Downs in May for trainer Norm Casse.

“I think she's doing really well and we're excited about running in the Adirondack and seeing what the future holds,” Casse said. “It's a pretty good test but I think she's ready. She's done really well since we got her up here and her last breeze was excellent so it's time to see where she fits with all of these other good fillies.”

Irad Ortiz, Jr. will ride the daughter of Jimmy Creed for the first time, breaking from post 2.

“He's been working her, and he likes her,” Casse said. “It's time to see where she fits. I know I'm running a horse that's doing well and is happy. That's all you can hope for.”

Reigning Eclipse Award-winning trainer Brad Cox will saddle Interstatedaydream, a daughter of 2016 champion Juvenile Colt Classic Empire. She won her debut at Belmont Park in June by a head in a game effort. Luis Saez will ride from post 6.

Rounding out the field is Saucy Lady T, for trainer James Chapman [post 3, Manny Franco]; Shesawildjoker, for conditioner David Donk [Hall of Famer John Velazquez, post 4]; and the Gregory Sacco-trained Boss Lady Kim [post 5, Ricardo Santana, Jr.].

Saratoga Live will present daily television coverage of the 40-day summer meet on FOX Sports. For the complete Saratoga Live broadcast schedule, and additional programming information, visit https://www.nyra.com/saratoga/racing/tv-schedule.

NYRA Bets is the official wagering platform of Saratoga Race Course, and the best way to bet every race of the meet. Available to horseplayers nationwide, the NYRA Bets app is available for download today on iOS and Android at www.NYRABets.com.

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