Pre & Probiotics

Written By Malena Hyde

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

PREBIOTICS & PROBIOTICS

Reduce the risk of worming by supporting good gut health

Treating your horse for worms is important but worming drugs can cause imbalances in the gut bacteria which in turn can create its own problems.

Your horse’s digestive tract is over 100ft long and contains billions of bacteria. This vast ecosystem of bugs (the microflora) consists of both ‘good’ and ‘bad’ bacteria in a delicate balance. The good bacteria help your horse to digest food, stimulate the immune system, and maintain a healthy digestive system, whereas the bad bacteria can be potentially life threatening. An overgrowth of bad bacteria can cause a range of problems including inflammation and damage of the gut leading to diarrhoea, a reduced ability to digest fibre and a predisposition to laminitis, toxin release and blood poisoning, excess gas which can lead to colic or a grumpy disposition and aggression.

Dysbiosis is the term given to an imbalance of the microflora. There are many possible causes of dysbiosis – such as dietary change, stress, antibiotic therapy and anthelmintic treatment (worming).

Although some parasites migrate to other organs as part of their lifecycle (such as blood vessels, liver and lungs), most worms will spend the majority of their life in the horses gut. Their presence can cause dysbiosis, inflammation, damage to the gut wall, poor digestion, malabsorption of nutrients, anaemia or physical blockages

These changes can ultimately lead to failure to thrive, diarrhoea, colic and general ill health. Therefore, it is vital to have an effective worm control program in place which is appropriate for your horse and your property. Feeding a daily probiotic &/or prebiotic supplement can help to reduce some of the damage caused by worms in the intestine, by boosting the good bacteria and regulating the immune response.

What about worming?

It’s likely that your worm control program will include the use of anthelmintic drugs (wormers). Worming your horse can cause a sudden and marked effect on the gut ecosystem. The gut can become inflamed, motility is affected, and the microflora can become imbalanced. This is especially so when there are large numbers of worms or when the encysted larvae of the small redworm are targeted. A key stage when carrying out a colic examination is taking the worming history, not only to gauge the chance of the horse carrying a large worm burden but also because recent worming treatment is a common cause of colic, and other conditions such as diarrhoea.

Will a targeted worming programme help?

One way to reduce the risk is to worm only when necessary by running a targeted parasite control programme based on worm counts and tests, treating the horses when needed. This has the added benefit of helping to reduce the build-up of resistance that renders the drugs less effective. Using faecal egg counts will not only help to prevent the spread of resistance but also reduces the risk of dysbiosis associated with worming, as most horses will be treated less often.

What if you do need to worm?

If you do need to worm then a helpful way to reduce the negative side-effects of worming is to provide increased probiotic supplementation at this time. A five day course of prebiotics prior to worming gives a boost of good bacteria around the time of worming (or travel, stress, dietary change etc). Wormers are often given during times of dietary change, i.e. around turn out in spring, which can further increase the stress on the microflora.

Probiotics are proven to help restore a balanced microflora, stimulate the growth of good bacteria, and promote good digestive health.

Intestinal problems can quickly become very serious in horses and we would always advise contacting your veterinary surgeon if your horse has a digestive upset.

References:

Malena Hyde
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