December 2019
Holistic Horsekeeping
How to have a healthy happy horse.
Volume 24, Number 12
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In This Issue:
- Holistic Horse Health: Pre and Probiotics
- Holiday Gifts for Horse Lovers
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1. Holistic Horse Health: Pre and Probiotics
Anyone who has followed my holistic methods knows how strongly I feel about feeding a horse pre or probiotics on a regular basis. Feeding the horse probiotics on a daily basis helps stabilize his hind gut. Any stress such as trailering, a vigorous training session, weather changes or change in feed can disrupt the balance of good and bad bacteria in the horse’s hind gut leading to poor digestion or even colic or laminitis. High grain diets are also very hard on the normal hind gut flora.
Some people feel if you feed a horse prebiotics you don’t need probiotics. Prebiotics are non-digestible food ingredients that stimulate growth and activity of good bacteria. Basically, prebiotics feed the bacteria. Some research suggests that prebiotics have other benefits such as creating an environment in the gut that is hostile to pathogenic bacteria and creating a barrier on the lining of the intestine that prevents pathogens from adhering. My philosophy has always been to feed both prebiotics and probiotics to get the maximum benefits.
Not all products which claim to contain probiotics actually have enough numbers of live bacteria to make a difference. The use of pre and probiotics in horse supplements and feeds is not well regulated so it is best to go with a product that has a track record. I like the combination of algae and probiotics as the algae provides whole food nutrition and feeds the gut flora what they want. I have had a few horses that do better on prebiotics alone so consider this if your horse is still having digestive challenges. My favorite prebiotic product is Ration Plus.
I am very pleased to see the mainstream acceptance of pre and probiotics. More horses will have the opportunity to be healthier in my opinion when these products are used regularly.
2. Holiday Gifts for Horse Lovers
Yes, the holiday season is once again upon us and Holistic Horsekeeping can help you out with some great gift ideas for the horse lovers on your list. Here are a few suggestions. And if you want us to provide you with a gift certificate that you can wrap or send as a physical gift, just let us know when you order and we’ll be happy to do that.
Books, DVDs, Audios, Ebooks
A Consult with Madalyn Ward, DVM
Mentoring Program one-on-one with Dr. Ward
Online Horse Temperament Typing Course
A variety of supplemental products for horses in our webstore
And for gift ideas for your horse friends, take a look at this video letting you know what different temperament type horses would appreciate.
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Twitter: madalynward