09/02/2026
Fabulous stuff, spirulina! We sell it in tablet form, which saves you from clouds of green mess in the feedroom. Available Spurs of Kumeu and online.
Fresh new spirulina study out in horses and it’s an interesting one — not because it shows dramatic effects, but because where it seems to act is quite specific.
In this trial, adult horses were fed 30 g/day of spirulina for 30 days, then put through a moderate exercise test. The researchers looked at blood markers and joint fluid to see how horses handled the normal inflammatory response to exercise. For reference, I recommend 40g per day of spirulina, so this is quite a small dose!
The main change wasn’t “less inflammation”.
It was higher Resolvin D1 — which is involved in resolving inflammation once it’s underway, rather than inhibiting it in the first place.
Which is interesting, not so much from the context that the authors were looking at (exercise recovery/joint inflammation etc), but more so in the way I usually use it, for allergies.
Spirulina also shifted nitric oxide signalling and slightly increased red blood cell markers, both of which would be quite useful in horses suffering from respiratory allergies.
Allergies (being an overly sensitive immune response) aren't just about triggering inflammation, they're also associated with inflammation that hangs around longer than it should - the resolution response isn't working properly either.
Spirulina already has evidence for antihistamine and anti-allergic effects in other species. Seeing it also influence resolution pathways helps explain why it can be useful in horses with allergies, not as a cure, but as part of helping inflammatory flares settle more easily.
That’s the logic behind its use in Spiru-Soothe.
And yes — reading the joint fluid results did briefly make me think
“Should this go in Golden Joint?”
(Probably not. But the overlap is interesting.)
