When Should you Give Them?
Did you know… that de-worming and the water your horse drinks everyday, could be destroying his digestive system?
To a lot of us it is fairly common knowledge that antibiotic treatments destroy healthy gut organisms necessary for survival. Few realize that de-wormers and chlorinated water can do the same thing!
Just like humans, horses have bacteria residing in their gut. Good bacteria is absolutely necessary in order for your horse to be able to digest his food and to produce B vitamins, Vitamin K, certain amino acids and enzymes.
De-wormers and chlorinated water all contain chemicals and substances designed to kill bacteria and parasites. However just like antibiotics, they do not target only bad bacteria, they kill good and bad bacteria alike.
We have already mentioned that antibiotics, chlorinated tap water and de-wormers kill good bacteria and can allow bad bacteria to flourish. But the same is true of their diet. Diet affects the bacterial balance as well, as can the environment and stress. Most of us believe that if we are not treating our horse with antibiotics then he must be safe right? Well perhaps not. So many things can affect the delicate balance, so any help you could provide your horse could prove to be just the ticket.
Give your horse probiotics when…
- He has or is receiving antibiotic treatment (before, during and after the course)
- He is receiving chlorinated water to drink
- You are using commercial de-wormers (not natural ones)
- Is under stress (competing, moving, breeding etc.)
- Is under risk from environmental factors
- Your horse has allergies or other auto-immunity problems
- He has diarrhea/scours
- He is suffering with ulcers
- Has a past history of Colic
- He has Azoturia and/or Laminitis
- When you are changing his diet
- When mares are lactating (it increases milk production)
- He is a poor keeper – difficulty keeping weight on
- There are any digestive problems
You can give it in supplemental form by buying probiotic capsules, then add it to each feeding to provide healthy digestion.
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