Natural Nutrition For Horses

05/12/2023

www.equibiome.org

29/11/2023

I'm working through the SEO on two websites (wearing my geeky glasses) and it's incredibly time consuming, as a small business owner it's really important to be Google Friendly (yuk!), for the third website, EquiBiome, I've got help from Rhiannon at Purple Horse Marketing https://www.facebook.com/purplehorsemarketing I'm learning a lot and progressing up the Google ranking, (hoping for a google SE(O)rtificate of acheivement) I've even learned some geeky SEO mantra language which no-one but Rhiannon seems to get ...
This week I've also learned a lot about being copied and bullied by the big businessmen but I've rallied and will fight back to keep my portion of the market by being SEO savvy. I know from your comments that there are many of you in the same boat, so I'd like to pass this info over especially as there are spaces for a free consultation from Rhiannon in Dec and she has a free online course, which is super interesting/easy and I'm half way through. Details for both are on her page.
This week I've become acutely aware of the need to be part of a business community that is honest, genuine and has integrity. I think there are more of us out there than we know, we just don't have the big voice of the big business, if this is you, glad to have you around.

27/11/2023

Not sure if I’m feeling battered or flattered, it’s a very odd feeling, just feeling the need to give a bit of a heads-up about the true cost of quality. It's painful to be copied knowing that the cheaper copy lacks the quality, reliability, and trust that are so important to us.
From FRKelly.com The famous quote from Oscar Wilde, “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery” has long been bandied about, mainly as an excuse for blatant copying.
Be careful of the businesses and so-called experts jumping on the canine/feline microbiome bandwagon.
The world of AI, biotech/microbiome is like the Wild West, there are no rules, scruples, or integrity, and the potential to make a fast buck, sell up (selling data), and move on is enormous.
Any fast-moving market is commonly populated by morally bankrupt businesspeople, professionals who will say anything if given enough money, and never more has the term’ buyer beware been more applicable.
A beautiful website, clever words, and images of ‘the team’ don’t mean they know what they tell you they know!
Our reporting process provides a unique and personally written page linking your pet's health to their very individual complex microbial community, each interpreted by a qualified gut microbiologist. Especially important information for people with pets who have multiple complex health problems.
Inevitably there will be a growing number of cheap imitations of our service out there, but I’m reminded of John Ruskin’s (1856) famous quote.
‘’ The Common Law of Business Balance...
"It's unwise to pay too much...but it's worse to pay too little. When you pay too much, you lose a little money - that is all. When you pay too little, you sometimes lose everything, because the thing you bought was incapable of doing the thing it was bought to do. The common law of business balance prohibits paying a little and getting a lot - it can't be done. If you deal with the lowest bidder, it is well to add something for the risk you run. And if you do that, you will have enough to pay for something better."
In this rapidly evolving world of discovery, I can and will be adding to our report on a monthly basis, updating the information to run in real-time with research developments, can the cheaper copies offer the same.

23/11/2023

New flyer for EquiBiome going out for distribution, the technology and AI/ML has enabled us to make massive progress in a relatively short time. The Illumina BaseSpace platform is ever expanding into new areas of analysis, including the virome.
In the words of Illumina ''This is the age of the genome''!

23/11/2023

Currently writing a presentation and ran out of ideas for illustrations, in desperation I typed 'inflammation in horses' into the AI generator and was presented with the following 4 images. Made me smile enough to get the human creative juices going again!

21/11/2023

EMS is common in horses, the ECEIM Consensus Statement for EMS
Durham, AE, Frank, N, McGowan, CM, et al. ECEIM consensus statement on equine metabolic syndrome. J Vet Intern Med. 2019; 33: 335–349
highlights the role of the microbiome (gut bacteria) in the onset of the disease through a messaging system that informs the liver, adipose tissue and brain of the nutritional status, enabling a decrease/increase in energy storage (fat pads) or expenditure. A disruption of the gut balance can alter the entire metabolic status of the horse leading to chronic EMS.

BF Sale

Your Black Friday Discount

16/11/2023

Another part of our story is how a herd of Welsh Mountain ponies grazing on an ancient hillfort in Wales and helped by two Welsh Universities discovered the benefits of adding natural plant compounds to the diet of horses/ponies with EMS.
http://wix.to/YedBTLp

16/11/2023

Where is this?

The story of how this listed ancient monument site and it's unique plant ecosystem were used in a research project to discover more about Equine Metabolic Syndrome (EMS) using the latest in science and technology.
read more at https://www.phytorigins.com/blog or https://www.equibiome.org/blog

13/11/2023

Remember Affluent Malnutrition?

Affluent Malnutrition was the name given to a page that I started to write and which began posting in October 2013, the first image used is the one below (Dr. Christoph von Horst www.plastinate.com). It got 7 likes and 2 shares! Affluent Malnutrition is a term that describes a type of under...

10/11/2023

If you have an anxious horse or one that seems to be in pain or uncomfortable and you haven't been able to find out why, even after you have checked out all the usual suspects it's worth considering the influence the gut bacteria have through the microbe-gut- brain axis. New genomic sequencing technology is a very effective noninvasive tool for finding out what's going on in the gut. If you need help deciding if your horse might have a gut imbalance, our contact details are at the bottom of the post, the expert help is free!

If your horse suddenly has a temperament change and becomes anxious and difficult to manage and ride a health problem is the immediate suspect. Gastric ulcers and teeth are the two most common ailments but the checklist also includes sub-clinical lameness, arthritis, injuries and food sensitivities....

02/11/2023

Gastric Discomfort in horses is a common occurrence in horses, often arising from inflammation/infection.
The gut bacteria population provides the first line of defense against the onset of gastric infections and inflammation, here’s how it all starts.
There are 3 barriers that the pathogens must overcome.
Barrier 1. The Intestinal Microbiota- microbes have evolved together with the host, are inherited from the dam, and contribute to the protection of the host by the pathogens. If the commensal (helpful to the health of the host) bacteria community is disturbed in any way this allows pathogens and opportunistic bacteria to thrive and grow.
Anxiety, stress, antibiotics, NSAID’s and agrichemicals cause the most damage as they allow pathogens to colonise, overgrow and persist, the pathogens and biofilm bacteria then compete for nutrients and space in the biome. The host's health is reduced immediately as they no longer have access to many vital nutrients.
The good gut bacteria and the host mount a response and use a mechanism called quorum sensing to continuously scan the microbial community. When increasing levels of pathogens are sensed, quorum sensing works to alter the phenotype of bacteria that then excrete protective compounds to help restore homeostasis. Long-term medication eventually overwhelms this process, and the pathogens succeed in overcoming the first barrier, triggering low-grade inflammation, reduced resistance to colonization of the gut, and an increased susceptibility to infection.
Barrier 2. Epithelial Barrier.
This is a physical barrier that protects against disease by preventing pathogens from crossing the gut wall to access, infect, and damage internal systems. The Epithelial barrier uses a set of gates called tight junctions as a prevention mechanism. The dynamics of the tight junctions can be disrupted by an increase in toxin-secreting pathogens as they overcome Barrier 1 The Intestinal Bacteria.
Barrier 3 The Mucosal Immune System
This is the lining of the epithelial barrier, and its role is to prevent pathogenic bacteria from interacting with epithelium. The mucus has a reservoir for antimicrobial agents produced by the host. The production of anti-microbial hosts is regulated by the host through a sensing system that recognizes bacteria patterns and metabolites released by bacteria. There is continuous interaction between the gut bacteria and the epithelium with continuous signaling between the two to ensure gut homeostasis. If this system is overwhelmed or disrupted by an increase in pathogens or by the growth of a biofilm taking over the space reserved for the good gut bacteria, then inflammation and infection are the result.
70-80% of the immune system cells live in the gut, and for good reason, because most disease/ illness starts in the gut, the immune cells live in the gut wall barrier and protect against an invasion of pathogens.
Coming Next
Protection from Infections: Interaction between the Gut Microbiota and the Local Immune System
www.equibiome.org

01/11/2023

Clostridium has been associated with grass sickness in multiple research papers, ( top 4 from a Google search below) some soil types contain much higher levels than others. Clostridium increases in certain conditions (heavy rain, poor drainage, compacted soil, continuous grazing by horses). Not all clostridium species are pathogenic, though soil continuously grazed by horses contains higher levels of known clostridia pathogens.
There are ways to manage soil containing high clostridium and we offer a free consultation after analysis.

It’s worth testing your soil to see how the soil ecosystem controls pathogens and provides nutrients, there is a 20% discount on the test at www.equibiome.org until the end of November, to see a copy of the rep https://www.vetmicrobia.com then Soil Test.

Hunter, L. C., Miller, J. K., & Poxton, I. R. (1999). The association of Clostridium botulinum type C with equine grass sickness: a toxicoinfection?. Equine veterinary journal, 31(6), 492-499.
Waggett, B. E., McGorum, B. C., Wernery, U., Shaw, D. J., & Pirie, R. S. (2010). Prevalence of Clostridium perfringens in faeces and ileal contents from grass sickness affected horses: comparisons with 3 control populations. Equine veterinary journal, 42(6), 494-499.
McCarthy, H. E., French, N. P., Edwards, G. B., Poxton, I. R., Kelly, D. F., Payne‐Johnson, C. E., ... & Proudman, C. J. (2004). Equine grass sickness is associated with low antibody levels to Clostridium botulinum: a matched case‐control study. Equine veterinary journal, 36(2), 123-129.
Gilmour, J. S., Brown, R., & Johnson, P. (1981). A negative serological relationship between cases of grass sickness in Scotland and Clostridium perfringens type A enterotoxin. Equine veterinary journal, 13(1), 56-58.

30/10/2023

Discover the Secrets of Healthy Horses with Equibiome

About Us

30/10/2023

Breathing in the beneficial autumn VOC’s.
A daily ride through a wood, alongside a hedge, or in trees growing in a park will significantly increase the diversity of your (and your horse's) nose and skin microbiome. Trees are especially beneficial as their microbiomes contain 200 species of beneficial clostridia, supporting the immune system and reducing allergies. This needs to be done as frequently as possible to ‘top up’ your microbiome with theirs, from your skin the microbes find their way into your gut with the obvious multiple health benefits.
Autumn changes some of the VOC’s released by the trees and one of the most important antioxidants to be found during autumnal leaf senescence is vitexin, helps reduce gastric discomfort (colitis) and specifically targets liver damage or injury from chronic colitis.
And if he eats a few, he’ll be topping up on anthocyanins, ascorbate, carotenoids and alpha tocopherol!

25/10/2023

Muscular pain/lameness through imbalances in the microbe-gut-brain axis is an interesting topic. Horses with this type of imbalance are often 'stressy' or anxious. One of the major causes of the onset is maternal separation stress.

To download Part One of the series Fibromyalgia/myofascial pain follow the link. At the bottom of the page you can view parts 2-5 (Diet, MSS, FMT etc) just in the process of being written up.

Microbiome imbalances cause diseases and dysfunction in horses. Imbalances in the gut cause lameness, muscle problems, anxiety, stress and ulcers. A horse with a microbial imbalance can be difficult to ride or manage because of the sensitisation of the nervous system.

10/10/2023

Which metabolic group is your horse in?
A) Easy Keeper -an easy keeper has a Henneke body condition score of equal to or higher than 6 and is described as ‘over conditioned’.
B) Medium Keeper- has a Henneke body condition score of 5 which he can maintain easily.
C) Hard Keeper needs extra feed to maintain a body condition score of 5.
The gut microbiome plays an important part in nutrient extraction, what are the differences in the microbiome between Hard Keeper and Easy Keeper groups?
Johnson and Biddle (2021) found differences relating to metabolism(function) and structure of the microbiome.
Easy Keepers have higher levels of Planctomycetes, known to proliferate in low nutrient environments, are antibiotic resistant and cause inflammation in the gut.
Hard Keepers – have a microbiome composition that highly favours plant fermentation, produces more methane (bloating), and has bacteria that are denitrifying, reducing available nutrients.
The differences in the microbiome were greater between the Easy Keepers and the Medium Keepers.
The EquiBiome analysis identifies the bacteria from these groups and provides a rehabilitation programme to restore a healthy biome. www.equibiome.org
Johnson, A., & Biddle, A. (2021). 2 Evaluation of the microbiome effects of easy and hard keeper horses with the application of the Equine Keeper Status Scale. Journal of Equine Veterinary Science, 100, 103465.
Image https://www.poulingrain.com/.../body-condition-scoring...

04/10/2023

View your field as an ecosystem and improve the health of your horse.
As 66% of the UK's grasslands are classed as 'improved' its likely that your own may have had a history of agricultural use and to make sense of what exists in your horse's field today it’s worth examining how it got there in the first place.
Your field may be a product of human decision, producing a planned type of biodiversity. In this type of pasture the grasses will have been most likely chosen and selected over the last 50 years or so by the agricultural industry for disease resistance and high yield ie. high sugar content to produce better dairy or meat yield.
Prior to this ‘planned diversity,’ there would have been a wide range of different plants that would have suited the local environment and the needs of the farmer and his livestock. In recent years, plant biodiversity has shrunk dramatically as plant breeding and genetic engineering techniques have increased exponentially.
Lack of plant biodiversity causes the over-growth or infestation of one species of plant, animal pests, and microbial pathogens, even perhaps contributing to environmental conditions such as grass sickness or atypical myopathy.
For native pony types and crossbreeds the best grassland alternative to the uplands, highlands, and moorland’s highly diverse environment is an MG5 or MG3 meadow, with two subtypes of each, one for a more acidic soil and the other suitable for the alkaline soil.
The MG5 community exists in the lowlands whilst the MG3 is found in the North of the UK.
The MG5 is called Cynosurus cristatus – Centaurea nigra (English crested dog’s-tail – common knapweed) containing a substantial amount of unsown local herbage that can make up 95% of the pasture.
The MG3 is called an Anthoxanthum odoratum - Geranium sylvaticum grassland (sweet vernal-wood crane’s bill)
These types of meadows (there are multiple others that are equally diverse so don’t worry if you haven’t got one of these two, see Rodwells Plant Communities for more info), produce high levels of minerals, the equivalent of the NRC recommended levels for competing horses, so no need to feed a balancer, have twice or three times as many herb species as grass great for horses/ponies prone to EMS/obesity. The great news is modern improved grass species such as Perennial Rye can’t survive in a plant community, being out competed by the others.
They do need some special care, ie a late hay cut is recommended to allow all the plants to reseed, a period of grazing after the hay is cut, and limited spring grazing. Plus no synthetic fertilisers and only light organic fertiliser once every 3 years.
They also may need some help to prevent a potential takeover bid from the more aggressive plants, such as gorse, brambles, bracken and docks. My own fields are challenged by gorse and brambles where they back onto unmanaged heathland. Once cut these provide extra nibbles for the ponies through the winter as do any tree saplings.

02/10/2023

How the loss of biodiversity in the horse's environment can/ does affect/help cause the onset of EMS/obesity and laminitis.
There has been a continuous, rapid, and ongoing reduction in the biological diversity of plants and the ecosystems they support (soil, bacteria, animal health), the loss is so great it is causing global political and scientific concern.
The loss of biodiversity is especially rapid in those areas of land that have been exposed to the highest levels of agricultural intensification, so much so that reversing the process is thought to be impossible in some areas as the damage/loss has been so great.
Most horses prone to EMS have originated from an environment of extremely high diversity, moorlands, heathland uplands, forests, and bogs, these lands span hundreds, and thousands of hectares the size of which encourages and supports the growth of many different types of plants that smaller cultivated areas (fields) cannot sustain.
Plants in these areas have evolved over centuries to suit the climate, complement, and support each other against disease, as well as providing important ecosystem services (clean water and carbon sequestration). In contrast, the plants in the improved pastures, (covering 61% of the UK’s grasslands) consist mostly of genetically improved modern grass species, bred to provide high glucose/carbs and increased production of meat and milk. Improved grasslands are not self-sustaining and need high levels of human intervention and agrichemicals to remain viable.
We often assume or are taught that the moorland, upland, forests, and bogs provide a poor diet and that the horses able to thrive in this type of environment have learned to survive on poor-quality fibre. We attempt to mimic this diet by providing (often low-quality) chaff and low-sugar (soaked/steamed) hay, topped up with a vitamin and mineral balancer, with a minimum time spent interacting with pasture/grazing, for many horses/ponies this is often the only way they can survive.
Genetics play a part in the continuation of the ‘good doer’ prone to EMS/laminitis/obesity, even when the health/survival support system on offer from the ecosystems of its original environment has been removed.
Although we see the genetic contribution to an inherited tendency for obesity/EMS, we seem largely unable to value or consider the multi-functioning metabolic pathways that work through the direct interaction of the horse within a biodiverse environment, thereby possibly missing many crucial underlying causes of modern metabolic/endocrine dysregulation.
The wide range of plants within a naturally evolved plant community will be lower in sugar and carbs (not required by many natives) and rich in chemicals that interact directly to regulate metabolism through the equine gut/brain axis and the gut/endocrine axis.
Simply put, biodiversity is the sole reason the inhabitants (horses and other animals) can and do survive. This interaction between the phytochemicals, the host (horse) microbial community and the signaling system (endocrine) controls all the aspects of metabolism, thereby ensuring survival.
We have long been aware of the existence, benefits, and interactions of the thousands of plant chemicals such as tannins, saponins and triterpenes.
However, a more recent discovery is the existence of bioactive peptides, hidden within the parent protein and only released by the fermentation in the hindgut by the gut bacteria. As the horse relies heavily on hindgut fermentation and has a large holding vat solely for this purpose, it may be logical to assume an equal reliance on the nutrients/chemicals/metabolites provided by this process.
As though to prove a point, once released through the fermentation process, a large percentage of bioactive peptides directly control satiety, weight gain, and endocrine (insulin regulation) function through the gut-brain and gut-endocrine axes.
Bioactive peptides are not found in highly processed food or improved grass monoculture grasslands.
Some risk factors for the development of EMS/obesity/laminitis are genetically inherited, but a component of the antidote can’t be inherited and must be provided by the diet. If you want the horse to have a good metabolism, he requires a diet high in bioactive peptides and a hindgut microbial community able to release them from the parent protein.
Many horses have a microbial community with very few microbes able to cause the release of bioactive peptides (Equibiome.org), but a high percentage of microbes that can digest sugar and carbs (causing acidosis). Altering the microbial population away from acidosis is not only possible, it is highly recommended!

This post will be included in a pdf along with other posts on this topic, look out for the link on this page.

29/09/2023

Welcome back everyone! I've got lots of new stuff to post with reference to soil, diet, plants, gut microbes and equine health, really excited to be doing some updates.
As we've been quiet for almost 6 months I'm sure we'll have fallen foul of the fb algorithm, so please share to let everyone know we are back. There will be lots of infographs, details on natural diets for horses on the Equibiome.org website so please sign up as we do regular newsletters, offers etc. I'm going to see how it goes for a month or so, hope you all enjoy the new stuff!

19/09/2023

New Blog Post- Food Talks!

Food talks!