Horsetalk.co.nz Withholding feed for 10 hours or more has a big effect on gut bacteria in horses, findings suggest
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Withholding feed has a significant effect on the diversity and composition of the faecal bacterial microbiota of horses, particularly after 10 hours, researchers report.
Jaclyn Willette and her fellow researchers said there is an association between equine gastrointestinal disease-causing colic signs and changes in the faecal bacterial microbiota.
The reasons for these changes and their clinical relevance has not been investigated, they noted.
The researchers, with the New Bolton Center at the University of Pennsylvania, said withholding feed, which is an integral part of managing horses with colic, may contribute to the observed changes in the microbiota. This, in turn, could affect the interpretation of findings in horses with colic.
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When horses haven’t eaten for at least 10 hours, the numbers of bacteria and bacterial species in their digestive system drop significantly.
Fortunately, though, healthy horses can get that microbiotal richness back within a day of eating normally. Even so, owners, veterinarians, and researchers alike need to be aware of the kinds of changes that happen in horses’ guts when they’re fasted, said Louise Southwood, BSc (Vet), Dipl. ACVS, ACVECC, a professor in emergency medicine and critical care at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Veterinary Medicine, in Kennett Square.
“Withholding food for a day definitely changes the microbiota, but it’s important to keep in mind that this is very reversible,” Southwood said. “Within 24 hours (after fasting ends), it can come back to normal.”
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A free session on equine ovulation is being offered to veterinarians as part of the upcoming Virtual Congress 2021 being run by The Webinar Vet.
Dr Jonathan Pycock is hosting the free webinar
Improving your ovulation prediction skills on February 26, one of six free sessions being offered to members of a veterinary association during the congress.
For pregnancy rates to be maximal, normal mares should be bred within 48 hours of ovulation. For mares bred artificially, insemination should be even closer to ovulation: within 24 hours for chilled semen and within eight hours for frozen semen. A major part of the practitioner’s work is the examination of mares to stage oestrus and predict ovulation. There is a wide range of parameters used to estimate the time of ovulation and thereby the optimum time for breeding.