What is the Microbiome of a Horse?

Horses (and humans) need a collection of microbes to complete the digestion process. This collection is called a microbiome and exists in the hindgut – caecum and large colon of the horse. It consists of beneficial bacteria and depends on a vast army of microbes that protect against germs, break down food to release energy and nutrients, and internally produce certain vitamins.

The microbiome is very important to the overall health of the horse. A horse is vulnerable to changes that can occur in the balance and quality of its bacteria, and that change will negatively affect the processing of food and therefore the wellbeing of the horse (Boucher et al., 2024).

Changes can occur for many reasons, such as illness, stress, changes in environment, excessive work demand and especially the administration of antibiotics which kill both negative and positive bacteria. The other aspect of a negative influence is the need to maintain a horse in a less natural format, for example stabling, high concentrate feeds, pasture restriction and a high-performance requirement.

What is a Probiotic?

This is a live microorganism such as beneficial bacteria or a live yeast. Adding it to the diet of a horse can help with supporting and improving the microbiome (Ganda et al., 2023).

The most effective viable probiotic for horses is a yeast called Saccharomyces cerevisiae (Perricone et al., 2022), (Jouany et al., 2008, 2009).

What is a Prebiotic?

This is a non-living substrate support for the microorganisms in the gut to help nourish, encourage growth and stability (Schoster et al., 2014), (Berg et al., 2005), and, for example, MOS binds undesirable bacteria so they are taken out of the gut with the faecal matter before they can pass into the bloodstream. Such toxic bacteria can be a cause of grass laminitis.

Read more about laminitis caused by dietary intake.

How do Prebiotics and Probiotics Help a Horse?

The addition of pre- and probiotics can assist horses that are undergoing changes in their normal conditions. Changes such as a different and unnatural environment, feed regime, illness, or a greater work demand (Coverdale J.A. 2016).

In particular, the use of antibiotics will kill good and bad bacteria and therefore reduce the quality and effectiveness of the natural microbiome. Adding a mix of pre- and probiotics at this time will greatly improve the recovery and adjustment.

It is not necessary to always add either to the diet once recovery is in place and normal conditions have returned.

A particular longer-term applicable use for the prebiotic called FCOS, that is fructo-oligosaccharides, is for overweight horses. FCOS has been shown by science to help prevent the development of EMS (Equine Metabolic Syndrome) in obese horses (Respondek et al., 2011).

In Summary

Both probiotics and prebiotics have a role to play in assisting the microbiome of the horse. This is an important area of the digestion process of the horse which is often overlooked as needing support when the normal way of life of the horse has changed.

These changes may be obvious in a sensitive horse and reflect in behaviour and performance, but the microbiome in all horses is vulnerable and will lose efficiency when conditions change such as:

• Underweight horses to improve the gut flora to process food efficiently and aid weight gain.
• Horses in hard work and competition to help maintain good gut function under that stress.
• Horses that are unwell and especially those on antibiotics.
• Horses that show signs of diarrhoea.
• Horses that are undergoing long distance travel.
• Horses that have to change their diet, especially change of grazing.
• Overweight horses to help prevent onset of insulin resistance and its consequences.

Often a short-term period of a few weeks is all that is needed to re-establish the efficiency of the process, longer if it is the application of FCOS for obesity until weight loss has occurred.

Read more about managing the overweight horse.

How Does Vetpro Gut-Biotic Work?

Vetpro Gut-Biotic contains prebiotic and probiotic actives that, in line with the science, will improve the horse’s gut microbiome to be restored and hence directly assist the health of the horse.

Active ingredients, all sourced from high quality European manufacturers:

Prebiotics (stimulating gut microflora)

• Short-chained fructo-oligosaccharide (Inulin) – sc-FOS
• Mannan Oligosaccharide – MOS

Probiotic (providing 25 billion CFU active microflora)

• Active yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae