In recent years digestion has leapt several places up the ladder in terms of horse owner’s concerns leading to all kinds of new products and marketing gimmicks to drive customers to a particular brand e.g., FREE colic insurance for all! If we tried to go address all the different elements affecting digestion in one blog it would attain the size of War and Peace with readers falling asleep or seeking counseling, so we are going to zip in and zip out periodically.

In our final episode on the digestive system we wanted to break down how different supplement products address the three key segments of the digestive system and to also try to explain from our perspective the differences between prebiotics and probiotics. We have received a lot of questions through the episodes dealing with the digestive system and hope that this segment of the Fireside video series has provided usable information so that horse owners can make a more informed choice, should they decide they want to feed a digestion supplement.

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In this video on the large intestine, we talk about the potential hazards that can occur in the large intestine speaking specifically about the ph getting too low and the effect that can have on the beneficial microbial population, the absorption of remaining nutrients, volatile fatty acid production and the production of B vitamins.

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In this episode we look at the small intestine which is where the majority of nutrients are absorbed before passage into the large intestine. The action of digestive enzymes produced by the pancreas are absolutely critical not only to ensure the absorption of nutrients through the intestinal villi but, and in today’s grain heavy diets perhaps most importantly, to breakdown carbohydrate starches as effectively as possibly to reduce the risk of gas passing into the large intestine.

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In the second video discussing the horse’s digestive system we focus on the horse’s stomach. The stomach has become more and more of a focal point in recent years as the incidence of gastric ulcers, particularly in racing and performance horses, has continued to rise. A combination of stress and infrequent feeding are the primary causes that we understand have increased this problem and there a lot of products in the marketplace that erroneously claim to be “ulcer” products. I also talk about the beginning of the digestive process that occurs in the stomach where the initial breakdown of feed occurs prior to entering the small intestine.

E-Mail questions to info@grandmeadows.com

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