05/20/2025
🧠🐴 Gut Feeling: Is Your Horse’s Diet Messing with Their Mind?
We talk a lot about what’s going into our horses’ mouths—but not nearly enough about what it’s doing to their gut and even their brain. 😟
Modern equine diets often pack in high starch, low fiber, and processed feeds—totally different from the forage-rich meals horses were built to thrive on. The result? A stressed-out gut microbiome—and that’s where trouble starts.
👉 When the microbiome gets disrupted (hello, excess grain and not enough forage), it can lead to leaky gut syndrome. That means harmful stuff can pass through the gut wall and enter the bloodstream, sparking inflammation that doesn’t just stay in the gut—it can affect the brain, too.
This gut-brain link (aka the gut-brain axis) is no joke. Inflammation from the gut can show up as:
🔹 Anxiety
🔹 Aggression
🔹 “Off” behavior or poor rideability
🔹 Reduced focus and performance
🧬 Studies back it up:
Schmidt et al. (Frontiers in Neuroscience, 2020) linked gut microbial imbalance to neuroinflammation.
Gordon et al. (Animals, 2021) found that high-starch diets increased gut permeability and behavioral issues.
Dougal et al. (PLoS ONE, 2013) and Costa et al. (Equine Vet J., 2012) showed how diet affects microbial health and inflammation.
So what can we do?
✅ More forage
✅ Less processed feed
✅ Support the gut daily
✅ And when things go wrong… respond fast.
That’s where our products come in:
💥 Emergency Formula – For horses in distress, showing ulcer symptoms, or struggling with behavioral changes linked to gut inflammation. This formula gets in fast to calm, coat, and support the gut lining.
🌿 Maintenance Formula Ulcer Defense – A daily, long-term solution that supports a balanced gut microbiome, protects against acidity, and helps prevent future issues—perfect for performance horses, sensitive tummies, and those in transitionto forage only. .
Let’s feed horses the way nature intended—and give their gut (and brain!) the support they deserve. 💚🌾
📚 Sources:
Gordon et al., 2021, Animals Journal
Dougal et al., 2013, PLoS ONE
Costa et al., 2012, Equine Vet Journal
🙌 Drop a comment if you’ve seen a behavior or performance shift after a diet change or gut support—let’s talk real results!