Healthy gut, healthy horse
We all love and want to do our best for our horses, and for them to be in tip top health their digestive system needs to be supported. Horslyx explains more
IF YOUR HORSE’S digestive system is struggling, his coat won’t gleam, his hooves will be in poor condition, and weight loss, loose droppings, and issues as wide ranging as laminitis, gastric ulcers and even colic can become a concern. The horse has evolved to trickle feed for 16 to 18 hours a day on a variety of forage in order to provide enough nutrients for survival. Unfortunately, modern feeding practices are unlikely to follow this pattern. More typically, horses are given large, irregular meals based on cereals, with restricted access to forage — and, sometimes, long periods of time with no forage at all.
This can result in problems that directly affect the digestive system such as colic, digestive upsets such as loose droppings and gastric ulcers, and also lead to a higher risk of laminitis, equine metabolic syndrome (EMS), stress, poor performance and stereotypies. To improve your horse’s digestive health, the most important element is forage. Basing his diet on a minimum forage intake of 1.5% of bodyweight provides the optimum amount of fibre.
Supporting digestion
In addition to providing enough forage, your horse’s diet should be balanced with vitamins, minerals, trace elements and key ingredients to support gut health. Horslyx Pro Digest Balancer has been formulated to support optimum digestive health from the stomach to the hindgut, and includes the key ingredients of mucilage, prebiotics and probiotics. Mucilage, or soluble fibre, can be particularly beneficial in a horse with inflamed mucous membranes. It absorbs moisture within the stomach and can form a soothing layer, reducing the effect of excess acid on the stomach wall, which may reduce the risk of gastric ulcers. Slippery elm and seaweed meal are sources of mucilage included in Horslyx Pro Digest.
A prebiotic yeast extract (containing MOS; mannanoligosaccharides) helps to flush pathogens out of the gut, while beta-glucans helps stimulate the growth of beneficial bacteria, resulting in a healthier balance of bacteria in the gut. Probiotics are live yeasts based on Saccharomyces cerevisiae which are functional in the hindgut. They pass through the stomach and small intestine, and help to maintain healthy gut function and reduce the risk of digestive discomfort. They cannot colonise the hindgut and so need to be fed daily for sustained results.
Horslyx Pro Digest Balancer will balance the nutrient deficiencies in forage and grazing with an optimum level of vitamins, minerals and trace elements in a single tub. The free-access Horslyx Pro Digest lick encourages a natural, trickle-feeding pattern, which allows your horse to self-regulate and consume Horslyx as and when he needs it. This leads to better digestion, less stress and a happier, healthier horse.