Gut health affects many aspects of equine wellness. The most intuitive, of course, is digestion and absorption of feed. However, the gut truly plays a role in almost all facets of health and well-being. Take immunity for example. The gut is paramount to having a healthy and responsive immune system. In fact, over 70% of […]
Tag: nutrition
The Different Types of Colic in Horses
Colic in horses is especially challenging to diagnose because, like humans, there can be many different causes for the same stomach ache. Did I eat too many nachos? A virus? Food poisoning? Gas? Indigestion? With horses, the word “colic” simply means “digestive upset,” so when your horse starts looking at his or her sides uncomfortably […]
How Antibiotics Impact the Gut Microbes
Gut Microbiota: it is all the rage right now in the equine industry. But what does it mean? The equine digestive system holds billions of tiny, living organisms that play a role in how your horse digests and processes food, and also in the onset of challenges like colic, laminitis or weight loss. (To learn […]
The Importance of a Balanced Microbe Ratio in the Gut
Gut microbes: the good and the bad All horses have a resident population of microbes (microscopic “bugs”) living in their digestive system. This population is referred to as the gut microbiome and includes many different types of bacteria, fungi and protozoa, some of which are good for the gut and some of which are bad […]
