Animals, materials, and methods:

Conducted over a 56-day period in Chantilly, France, 34 Thoroughbred horses in two different training facilities, 17 in each facility, were divided equally into a supplemented group (n=17) and controls (n=17). The mean age of the horses was 3.39 years (+/- SD 1.36). All horses included were suspected to have gastrointestinal issues by their trainer in the past 6 months. The average horse’s diet consisted of 0.03 kg DM/kg BW (+/- SD 0.004 kg) in a ratio of 1.8:1 forage:concentrates including an average 1.23 kg starch intake (+/- SD 0.28 kg). Diets remained consistent throughout.  The treatment was 40 grammes of a novel product containing prebiotics, highly digestible fibres, B-vitamins and postbiotics, ‘NUTRI-GARD’ (Foran Healthcare, Ireland) mixed once daily into the morning concentrate feed. Faecal pH was tested at day 0, 28 and 56 of the trial using a commercial soil pH metre (Hanna instruments (#98121)) and a standardised protocol [3]. Faeces were always collected from void droppings passed following the morning feed and exercise regime. Statistical analyses were conducted using R (version 4.3.1) with the horse as a random effect and days and treatments as fixed effects. No regulated procedures were carried out on the horses and no dietary or management restrictions were imposed for this field study. All ingredients in the supplement used were approved in the EU.

Conclusion:

This preliminary field study demonstrates that horses supplemented with NG had significantly higher faecal pH after 56 days.  Supplements such as NG may help improve faecal pH and could potentially be used along with changes in the overall diet to reduce the occurrence or severity of hind gut acidosis.  This study has limitations in that it was not a fully controlled experiment, was performed in commercial racing premises. Further research may be warranted to confirm these preliminary findings.

Acknowledgements:

Dr. Guy Beauchamp for statistical analysis assistance. Study funded by Foran Equine.

References:

[1] Costa et al. (2018). Equine Practice. 34(1):1-12 [2] Rogers et al. (2004). N. Z. Soc. of Animal Pr. 64, 165–9 [3] Hydock et al. (2014). App. Animal Science 30, 6:643-648. [4] Richards et al. (2006). Australian Vet. Journal. 84. 402-7.