03/21/2025
Today I want to debunk some common fairy tales about horses' salivation when being ridden...
It's not true at all it to be good because it lubricates the mouthpiece, it's not true at all it to be good because when horses are drooling it means that they are happily accepting the bit and it's not true at all it to be good because when horses swallow it means that they are relaxed and focused on the work.
Instead when horses salivate too much while working it means that there are many negative reactions happening throughout their body.
In fact the horses' digestive system is made of a complex series of structures that must work together in order to maintain the homeostasis and whenever horses salivate this system automatically starts to work.
Saliva is created to be the first interaction with food, by starting the breakdown process with an enzyme called amylase and it is also responsible for lubricating the food bolus in order for it to pass through the esophagus and reach the stomach.
What's more, the production of saliva also activates the vagus nerve, that is the nerve being responsible for the digestion, by stimulating the stomach to release the acids thar break down the food.
Consequently without food being present in the stomach the whole system unavoidably suffers a homeostatic imbalance and unfortunately, with the acids working on an empty stomach, then there is just the perfect condition for a dangerous gastric ulcer to occur: an open wound in the lining of the stomach with many different health consequences.
That's the reality of what truly happens when horses salivate so much during work and again all of the fairy tales being told to make it appear even as something good to wish for are just one of the endless lies of the equestrian industry, in order to keep exploiting horses no matter what and no matter how.
It's really time to wake up.
