The horse is known as a hindgut fermenter, this means that they break down a large amount of fibre in the large intestine. They rely on tiny microorganisms to breakdown the long chains of fibres so that they are able to extract nutrients from them. This method of digestion is extremely efficient.
The hindgut environment is a delicate ecosystem that can be easily disrupted, sudden changes in diet and stress can cause problems. The microorganisms cannot digest sugars, this is done in the small intestine, any sugar which reaches the hindgut can trigger issues such as laminitis.
When the hindgut environment is compromised, it can be necessary to rebalance the population of bacteria.
Prebiotics…
Prebiotics are fibres which cannot be broken down in the same way as the horse’s standard fibre. The microorganisms (“good” bacteria) in the large intestine use prebiotics as a source of food thus keeping them active and operating effectively to maintain a healthy gut flora.
At Feedmark, we generally use two main prebiotics in our digestive supplements…
Fructooligosaccharides (FOS)
This fibre can be found in our supplements Ultimate Ease and BioPro. FOS naturally occurs in substances such as garlic, onion, asparagus and banana.
Mannanoligosaccharides (MOS)
This prebiotic is often found in brewers’ yeast. High quality MOS can be found in our very comprehensive digestive supplement Ultimate Ease.
Probiotics…
Probiotic is the name given to the microorganisms (or “good” bacteria) in the large intestine, feeding these to a horse will help to repopulate the hindgut and improve digestion rate.
At Feedmark, we use a probiotic called Yea-Sacc. This is a live yeast culture which has been the focus of many research papers on different mammals. The results show that digestion is improved after being fed Yea-Sacc. This can be found in many supplements, specifically BioPro and Ultimate Ease, it is also available individually as part of our Essential Range to offer effective but affordable digestive support.
If you are interested in supporting your horse’s digestive system for a settled and happy horse, why not take a look at the horse supplements mentioned in this blog?
