The Benefits of Probiotics > Good Bacteria

Probiotics are dietary supplements that every horse owner should have on hand. As the name suggests, probiotics are the “good kind” of bacteria. They assist the body's naturally occurring flora in the digestive tract to re-establish themselves. A probiotic supplement does this by providing temporary colonies of gut flora, giving the natural flora time to recover. Bacteria is necessary in the digestive tract to digest and absorb food.

These helpful bacteria act as natural antibiotics and assist in strengthening the horse's immune system. There is an old saying that “death begins in the colon”. When gut flora decreases, it makes room for harmful competitors to thrive. Probiotics have also been proven to improve mineral absorption and help to reduce inflammation in the gut.

So when and why should you give probiotics to your horse? In addition to giving them to horses a few times a week simply to help promote healthy gut function, I will also give probiotics (my choice is DynaPro) to my own horses and my client's horses if the horse or the horse's system is going under any stress whatsoever. Stresses such as trailering, competitions and difficult training sessions can easily throw your horse off balance. If you know you are going to be trailering your horse or going to a competition, it is good practice to give your horse a daily dose of probiotics a few days leading up to the event and then for a few days afterwards. The same goes for when you are vaccinating and deworming, or just have the veterinarian out in general. If you have a horse who has difficulty with digestion/body condition, a good probiotic can be given daily to help increase your horse's ability to get all of the necessary nutrients out of his/her food.

If your horse does not have enough good bacteria in it's gut to properly digest it's food, you can run into many issues such as colic, loss of body condition, your horse may have difficulty keeping weight on, loss of energy, poor coat quality, and more.

Probiotics come in various forms, from capsules to powders to liquids. I personally like DynaPro, a liquid probiotic that you can either pump onto your horse's feed or squirt straight into your horse's mouth (they really seem to like it).

For more information on DynaPro, click here.