Digestive Health & the Performance Horse, Part 3

Selecting a probiotic blend

It’s no secret that probiotics are good for your horse’s gut, but did you know they are also loaded with other benefits too? These include supporting the immune system, reducing inflammation, preventing diarrhea, and helping to prevent gas and gas colic; they may even help prevent some types of impaction colic.

Combining probiotics and yeast cultures with digestive enzymes is an art, and if you can find a product that also includes natural vitamins C, E and D, minerals such as zinc and copper, colostrum and extracted beta glucan from mushrooms, then you have found an excellent product.

Dr. Joyce Harman of Harmany Equine Clinic has been an advocate of probiotics for horses for a long while, and is now also advocating mushroom beta glucan as an immune modulator. In her recent article “10 Herbs for Your Horse” she states: “Exciting research with immune system and cancer treatment support has been done with mushroom beta glucans or its extracts (as can be found in Mushroom Matrix products). The beta D-glucans appear to stimulate immunity for a broad spectrum of conditions. Extracts of the D fraction can be obtained in glycerin, which is palatable to many species.” A few companies have been using mushroom beta glucans in some probiotic blends for over 20 years now.

Your performance horse needs some extra support for his digestive health in order to keep him in winning form. When searching for a probiotic supplement, do your research and read the labels carefully. Your horse is only as good as what you feed him!

That concludes the Digestive Health & the Performance Horse series. I hope the information was interesting and helpful.

Happy Riding!