When we talk about healthy digestion in horses, we often talk about good stomach health. Of course, good stomach health, and especially the prevention of gastric ulcers, is very important. But good health of the blind gut (caecum) and colon (colon) is certainly equally important. Recent French research has been able to demonstrate for the first time a relationship between gut microflora and performance in endurance horses.

The blind and colon together make up over 60% of the volume of the horse’s digestive tract. In the blind and large intestines live billions of microorganisms such as bacteria, protozoa and yeasts (called intestinal flora or microflora). These microorganisms will ferment carbohydrates (especially the fiber fraction from the feed) and convert them into volatile fatty acids. These fatty acids are absorbed by the intestinal wall and form a very important source of energy for the horse, 50 to 80% of the energy available to a horse comes from these volatile fatty acids. So this already shows that it is very important to keep the microflora in the horse’s intestines healthy. After all, without healthy microflora, the horse’s energy supply is compromised.

This is also one of the reasons why plenty of roughage is important, as roughage is an important nutrient for the microflora in the intestines. In addition, large portions of starch are best avoided. If the amount of starch becomes too large, the digestive capacity for starch in the small intestine is inadequate so too much undigested starch can enter the large intestine. Too much starch in the large intestine stimulates the growth of lactic acid producing bacteria, this can lead to acidification of the large intestine killing off the beneficial intestinal bacteria. It is therefore recommended that horses always be provided with fiber-rich (rough) feed. And spread the concentrate feed as much as possible in small portions so that the digestion and intestinal flora is not disrupted.

However, there appears to be another reason why a healthy microflora is important for the horse’s energy metabolism. French researchers took blood samples from 20 endurance horses performing at a high level before and after a competition. Manure samples were also taken before competition to analyze the horses “intestinal flora. In summary, this study showed that the microbes in the gut, through the formation of certain substances that are absorbed into the blood, can influence energy metabolism in the horses” muscles and thus affect the endurance of these endurance horses.

Thus, it appears that the microbiota in the horse’s blind and large intestine affects energy supply and utilization in horses in several ways.

In addition to plenty of good quality high-fiber feed, certain pre- and probiotics can also contribute to a healthy gut flora.

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References:

Understanding the Holobiont: Crosstalk Between Gut Microbiota and Mitochondria During Long Exercise in Horse, Frontiers in molecular Biosciences, Mach et al. (2021)