I am just reading about them from the course reader for the Equine Nutrition course I am enrolled in.
no real studies have been done on using them.
Probiotics are live bacteria and yeasts. They are "good" bacteria fed to your horse to keep him healthy.
Where to find
Fermented food and yoghurt have live bacteria (lactobacillus).
It is suggested to feed your horse yoghurt if he is on antibiotics to regain "good" bacteria that is killed by the antibiotic.
bifidobacterium, Entercoccus, lactobacillus are good bacteria fed to help digestion.
Horses that are grazing up to 18 hours a day ingest bacteria as they eat.
Stressed horses are the most likely to need probiotics. Being kept in a stall, paddock turn out, no friends, restricted movement, not enough exercise, not enough hay/forage all stress a horse.
Competition, travelling, fed grain/concnetrates are also stressors, sick, laid up horses, abrupt feed changes.
May be beneficial to horses. Feed at stressed times, not daily.
Research before feeding. Check out articles not written by a feed manufacturer.
Prebiotics
prebiotics are food for the microbes already in the horses's gut
feed daily
They support the beneficial bacteria, bind with strains of harmful bacteria and pass them out of the horse's gut.
Beetpulp, flax, and yeast (brewer's yeast?) contain prebiotics
Do not feed to neonatal foals.
Feed to horses that have trouble maintining their weight (and look into gastric ulcers), older horses with digestion/absorbtion problems, horses with a history of diarrhea, colic, or gas (look into gastric ulcers) and young horses up to age of 1 year. (you might want to change how the youngster is being kept if it need probitotics or prebiotics)
Do a search on these sites for current information
www.thehorse.com thehorsechannel.com www.thenaturallyhealthyhorse.com
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