Changing Times, Changing Seasons, Changing Routines and Changing diets

As we live through a global pandemic, change and perhaps more importantly adjustment to change is something we have had to get used to. The uncertainty is perhaps the most difficult aspect of it all and staying strong mentally and physically will help us and our horses through these difficult times.

With weather in the Northern Hemisphere getting better, longer and warmer days are lifting our spirts as are the slow and gradual easing of restrictions that have been imposed on us. Many of us are thinking of getting ‘back in the saddle’ or upping our training in anticipation of shows and racing resuming in the near future. As we all know, we must feed our horses according to workload and this can see training schedules go up and down in terms of intensity, we want our horses to be ready, but we don’t want to ‘over train’. With milder weather, the composition of grass changes too and all these fluctuations are challenging for the horses’ sensitive digestive system. It is essential that the one thing we try to stabilise and reduce variation in, is the flora and fauna of our horses’ hind gut. Assistance during these changes should be provided in the form of Pre and Probiotics. TRM’s SYNBIOVIT contains the only probiotic licensed for use in equines – live yeast, Saccharomyces Cerevisie in a stable form. Combined with prebiotics, calcium carbonate and B Vitamins SYNBIOVIT aids the hindgut significantly in being able to cope with the challenges of dietary and routine changes.

EQUINE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM

Considering how sensitive the equine digestive system is, many things can upset the status quo in the intestinal tract, including an abrupt change in feed, stress from training and travel, or a course of antibiotics. When that happens, the good bacteria suddenly die off, releasing endotoxins and other toxic substances into the bloodstream. At the same time, opportunistic harmful bacteria, which are always present, but usually in small numbers, reproduce and increase. Among the by-products they produce is lactic acid, which can cause gastrointestinal disturbances. Calcium Carbonate (found in SYNBIOVIT) is a strong and fast-acting antacid that works by directly neutralising stomach acid.

PROBIOTICS & PREBIOTICS

Probiotics have proven beneficial for combating issues within the gastrointestinal tract. Probiotics are live microorganisms that live inside the gastrointestinal system of your horse. They aid in digestion by essentially cleaning out the gut so that things keep flowing. Like all living things, probiotics need to be fed in order to remain active and healthy, and to benefit your horse as much as possible. This is where Prebiotics come into play. Prebiotics act as food for probiotics. In other words, probiotics eat prebiotics. Prebiotics are the preferred food source for beneficial bacteria, and are given to the horse to stimulate continual growth of these beneficial bacteria. Feeding prebiotic and probiotic supplements will assist to maintain the population of good bacteria in the gut. Disruption of hind gut flora can reduce the endogenous fermentation of B Vitamins. B Vitamins have many important roles in the body and whilst the horse is adjusting to changes in work load or diet ensuring adequate levels of B Vitamins is very important. Niacinamide Vitamin B1, Vitamin B2, Pantothenic acid and Vitamin B12 are present in SYNBIOVIT to immediately boost the levels in the horse’s system while the hind gut (where B Vitamins are made by the horse) utilises the Prebiotics and Probiotics to rectify normal production of B vitamins.

TO SUMMARISE

we all need a little help in these changing times to cope with stress, change in routine and change in diet and your horse is no different. Supplementing with SYNBIOVIT is perhaps the best thing we can do for our horse’s health and wellbeing during this Covid 19 pandemic. Maintaining a healthy hind gut will ensure that he is ready to ‘take hold of the bit’ once the action begins in the not too distant future.