How Can I Improve My Horse’s Gut Health?

The key to keeping your horse's digestive system healthy is understanding how it works and how the equine GI tract differs from yours. Horses are grazing animals with a digestive tract designed for near-constant eating of small portions, mainly hay and grass. They have small stomachs compared to their body size and are "hindgut fermenters," meaning the bulk of their digestive process occurs in the large intestine. Human digestion happens mainly in the small intestine (foregut fermenters) and can easily manage bigger meal portions and less frequent feedings.

Nurturing Equine Digestive Systems

As a responsible horse owner, you are tasked with ensuring the care and well-being of your equine companion. Caring for your horse goes beyond providing shelter, a balanced diet, access to fresh water and maintenance. A crucial aspect of caring for performance horses that often gets overlooked is the gastrointestinal system.

Factors That Affect Your Horse’s GI System

Various factors can influence the delicate equilibrium of a horse's gut health. From those we can control to those we can't, it's essential to be aware of the impact the following factors can have on your horse's digestion and how to counteract them: 

• Age

• Stress Level

• Poor Diet

• Lack of Exercise

• Fasting

• Disease & Illness

• Medications

How to Improve Equine Digestion

Poor gut health leads to digestive issues, including ulcers, colic, weight loss, etc.

To keep your horse's digestion running smoothly, here are several recommendations to support optimal equine gut health:

Frequent Feedings & High-Quality Forage

Your horse’s digestion works best when they receive small, frequent meals, free choice hay or access to grass pastures. Choose high-quality hays and grasses free of dust and mold and smell sweet and fresh when opened. A diet high in forage and low in grains helps maintain your horse's natural digestive balance.

Commercial feeds are high in sugars and starches that can throw off the delicate microbe balance in the hindgut. This imbalance can lead to gas, discomfort and possibly, colic. Feeding extra grain can disrupt the digestive system and lead to other issues, such as inflammatory laminitis. If you have a "hard keeper" who can benefit from added calories, consult your vet or equine nutritionist for safe grain alternatives to give your horse a caloric boost.

Make Feed Changes Slowly

Sudden changes in diet can negatively alter the balance of your horse's gut microbiome. When introducing new hay or feed, plan ahead to switch gradually over 7 to 10 days, giving your horse's digestive system time to adapt and avoid digestive upset. Horses with sensitive stomachs may require more time to switch feeds.

Access to Fresh Water

Proper hydration is necessary for healthy digestion; all horses need constant access to clean water. On average, horses consume about 6 to 10 gallons of water. Horses in training or in hot weather may consume even more. In colder climates, heated water buckets encourage regular drinking, reducing the risk of impaction colic and dehydration.

Routine Equine Dental Care

Dental issues can make chewing food difficult for your horse and compromise their digestion and overall health. Regular dental care ensures proper chewing and aids digestion by addressing problems such as sharp points, loose teeth and rough edges.

Regular Exercise

Active horses have much better digestive function because movement stimulates smooth muscle contractions in the gut. Not all exercise requires being under saddle. Ensuring plenty of daily turnout for stalled horses also helps promote healthy digestion.

Intestinal Parasite Control

Regularly deworming your horse minimizes the risk of infestation and the issues that a heavy parasitic load can cause. If dewormer overuse is a concern, schedule your veterinarian for fecal testing twice a year and administer dewormers as instructed.

Discontinue Pharmaceutical Drugs

Prolonged use of medications, especially NSAIDs (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) Bute and Banamine, is damaging to your horse's digestive system and can cause ulcers or bleeding. To maintain your horse's gut health, opt for pain management alternatives.

Limit Your Horse’s Sand Ingestion

Some dirt ingestion is expected when grazing, but horses in sandy soil environments are at risk of consuming large amounts of sand. Over time, ingested sand settles and accumulates in the GI tract, causing irritation, inflammation or colic. The best approach to prevent your horse from eating sand is by using hay nets or feeding on a rubber mat. A psyllium supplement fed according to the instructions may help push sand through the gastrointestinal system. However, contacting your veterinarian to confirm the presence of sand and advise proper care is the safest way to resolve sand enteropathy.

Add an Equine Digestive Supplement

Support your horse's digestive health and good intestinal microbes with a high-quality equine digestion supplement. Look for a product with evidence-based ingredients such as healthy fats, prebiotics, nutrients, soluble fiber and antioxidants. A top-quality gut health supplement will reduce gastric inflammation and ulcers and promote healthy gut flora, robust immunity and overall vitality for your equine companion.

Maintaining a Healthy Equine Gut

A healthy gut is essential for a horse's overall vitality as it is responsible for everything from nutrient absorption to immune function. Equine digestion relies on microbial fermentation, supplied by a diet rich in high-fiber forage. In addition, regular dental care, consistent hydration, exercise, near-constant grazing and the delicate balance of gut microbiomes are critical factors in maintaining a happy belly and a healthy horse.