The facts about………..DIGESTIVE HEALTH -

What we eat can have an effect on how we look and feel and as in human health the way we feed our horses and ponies in an effort to keep them in top condition can have an impact on other areas of health.

· We know that what we eat can have a positive or negative effect on how we look and feel; how often do you see advertisements on the TV encouraging you to supplement your diet with a live yoghurt drink to enhance gut flora and improve the efficiency of your digestive system?

· The sensitivity of a horse's digestive system is well documented. Changes or irregularity in the way in which the digestive system is working can have a negative impact upon our horse's well being and lead to a wide range of problems, some obvious, some not so obvious.

How does the digestive system work?

Good digestion depends on a combination of friendly bacteria with gastric juices and enzymes in the intestine breaking down the feed.

· There are around 400 different species of bacteria present in the intestine, and each is highly sensitive to acidity (pH) levels, only surviving within a small pH range.

· The different bacterial species are required in the gut to break down various food constituents. The number of one species in relation to another will vary in every horse according to the diet being fed and the condition of that horse.

· The overall population in the gut is huge, with up to 500 million organisms. They produce volatile fatty acids (VFA's) which play a large part in controlling the intestinal acid balance (pH) and as a result the bacterial population. If bacterial numbers fall significantly then this in turn will affect the pH level resulting in a further decline in the population needed to keep the digestive system functioning at optimum efficiency.

· The bacterial lifecycle in the gut can be as short as four hours. When we control feed intake we are affecting the animals' digestive cycle by restricting the replenishment of gut bacteria. Lack of fibre in the gut in itself causes a build up of acid, as the digestive system has nothing to work on. Additionally, pH levels will be affected by the natural release of hormones through stress or season and/or the addition of medication to the diet.

· All this means that the good bacteria remaining in the gut which are necessary to balance the pH level may decline in numbers making it more difficult to maintain the correct pH balance, further compounding the problems.

Why is maintaining good digestion so important?

Have you ever looked at your horse and thought that he looks a bit under par, but can't quite pinpoint the reason? Perhaps he is unusually unwilling to work or is nappy and uncooperative? Most horse owners know their animals very well and quite rightly look for the cause of any sudden disobedience or change in behaviour. The reason could be digestive stress, which may show up in some or all of the following areas

· Inability to maintain condition
· Slow or minimal gain weight
· A dull staring coat
· Discomfort such as a bloated grass belly
· Sensitivity of the belly, (shown by resistance to tacking up, grooming and sometimes mounting).
· Moody and generally grumpy behaviour
· Bouts of an unsettled uncomfortable stomach
· Erratic behaviour
· It is also now thought that disturbances in gut function can play a part in triggering foot conditions associated with founder.

Causes of digestive stress

Horses and ponies by their very nature are continuous grazers, in an ideal environment their stomach would be full or partly full all the time from a high fibre, low protein diet that they were designed to process. However in a modern equine society our animals are expected to change their eating habits to fit in with busy and demanding lifestyles.

· Feed types: High protein pulses, grain and mixes which frequently contain a high percentage of sugars require the digestive system to process complex feed material. Restricted access to hay and forage may well be limiting fibre intake adversely affecting efficient use of feed.

· Feed changes: The bacterial population of each horse adapts to ensure the most efficient combination of different species for the diet being fed. If the diet is changed, then this delicately balanced combination must change also. For instance, the population of a grass fed horse copes less well with a forage and grain diet and vice versa. The bacterial population needs time to adjust to suit the new diet being fed and even when strict care is taken to change feed gradually there will be a transitional period while the bacterial population re-adjusts.

· Feeding Routine: The digestive tract of a horse with plentiful grazing receives an almost continual supply of small meals. Once the horse is brought in, this pattern inevitably changes; feeding becomes more sporadic, with set mealtimes and browsing in-between on hay or other forage. The combination of a change in diet and more sporadic feeding can significantly affect the acidity and consequently the bacterial numbers in the gut.

· Increased Stress Levels from, Travelling, Competition, Illness, Environment Changes etc: All of these situations can affect normal feeding routines, plus any stress increases hormone production, which can in turn affect acid balance, and so the gut bacteria.

Medication and treatments: Whilst an essential part of maintaining horse health at various times, the use of antibiotics, wormers and some other treatments can affect the acidity of the gut and reduce bacterial numbers.

The impact of intestinall imbalance on digestion and behaviour

How can we help?

PREbiotics and probiotics are readily available and can help to support and maintain the digestive system.

A PREbiotic works by feeding the good bacteria that is already present in the gut. Added to feed a PREbiotic can help the horse to regenerate the species of bacteria that is typical to him and in the ratios needed by that particular horse. Numbers of good bacteria increase naturally and the maintenance of high numbers of friendly bacteria means that the potential for digestive upsets in minimised.

Probiotics work by adding new bacteria to the intestine. Bacteria added to the diet in this way will pass straight through the gut with the feed, as they cannot attach themselves to the gut wall in the way that naturally occurring bacteria do. The acid balance in the stomach is designed to kill unwanted bacteria accidentally swallowed with the food, and will therefore threaten the usefulness of any bacteria introduced via a probiotic. In addition most probiotics only contain a small percentage of the 400 species of bacteria needed for good digestion.

For further information or a copy of this factsheet contact:
Animal Alternatives Ltd, PO Box 289, Richmond, Surrey TW10 7XH Tel: 0700 226 4625 Fax: 0208 332 2054
Email: animal-alternatives@blueyonder.co.uk
Website: www.animal-alternatives.co.uk
Copyright Animal Alternatives Ltd. 2005