Change In Diet From Grass To Hay Hard On Horse’s Hindgut

News — Sat, 22 Aug 2020 15:30:24 +0000

Horses that have abrupt changes to the grass and hay in their diets have changes in the microbial population of their feces. The change from hay to grass has a higher risk of causing problems in the equine gut than swapping from grass to hay. These changes may alter the gut microbiota, which may cause digestive or metabolic disturbance.

Drs. Anna Garber, Peter Hastie, David McGuinness, Pauline Malarange and Jo-Anne Murray created an experiment to test the microbiota of six Welsh ponies that were changed from pasture to hay and grass back to hay. For 30 days before the experiment began, the ponies were on pasture.

The study used two 14-day periods; in the first period, the ponies were taken off pasture and fed hay for 14 days. The ponies were then turned back out on pasture and given unlimited hay as well. Fecal samples were collected at the start of each phase and then on days 1, 2, 3, 7 and 14 after the changes to the diet were made. The samples were analyzed to determine how many microbiota were present as well as to characterize the microbiome.

The scientists found that the microbiota in the fecal samples were diverse, but that their abundance changed with abrupt dietary changes. Ponies fed the diet of restricted hay had microbiota similar to those ponies fed just grass, but they differed widely with regards to abundance.

They conclude that abrupt changes from hay to grass may pose a higher risk for hindgut pH to drop and cause gastric disturbances compared to the dietary change from grass to hay.

Read the full article here.

Antibiotics And Equine Gut Health

News — Sat, 27 Jun 2020 13:22:37 +0000

Antibiotics can be hard on the digestive and immune systems of horses, but there are some natural approaches that can assist in restoring the equine body back to a normal state after a course of antibiotics has been finished.

Horses, just like humans, have bacteria and microbes that live in their intestinal tract; antibiotics damage the microbiota and inflame the gut wall, creating a “leaky gut” that allows compounds that are normally blocked to pass into the body. Damage to the microbiome also damages the immune system. In the case of chronic infections like Lyme disease, for which a horse may be on repeated rounds of antibiotics, the immune system and gut may never fully recover.

Helping a horse repair his gut is essential after the course of antibiotics is completed. Quality feed, prebiotics and probiotics can assist in repairing the gut wall and the immune system. Horses that eat mainly hay and forage are generally healthier than horses fed lots of grain.

Prebiotics are short-chain fibers that microbiota grown on; common forms are inulin and beta-glucans, among others. Horses can get additional amounts of prebiotics by including items in their diets that contain them (like chicory, oats and barley) or by using a commercially available supplement. Herbs like marshmallow, aloe, dandelion and ginger can all help heal the gut wall and can be planted in pastures or gardens to be fed to horses.

Probiotics fed to the horse while he is taking antibiotics can help do some damage control, but they will assist even more once the course of antibiotics has finished. Other nutrients like glutamine and colostrum can help heal the gut wall and repair the immune system. It will take a minimum of three months for the horse's gut to heal after a short course of antibiotics and much longer for repeated antibiotic use for chronic disease.

microbiota | Horse Racing Free Tips

Change In Diet From Grass To Hay Hard On Horse’s Hindgut

Antibiotics And Equine Gut Health