Question:
What Does Spring Pasture Turnout, The Foaling Season and Hitting the Show Circuit all have in Common?
Answer:
The Need for ReStore!™
The likelihood for your horse developing a condition that requires professional veterinary care, such as colic, founder, or chronic diarrhea increases significantly with these three events. Why? Although spring pastures, foaling and the first horse show of the season appear to be unrelated, they all can and do impact equine digestive efficiency and nutrient utilization, and they all do it pretty much the same way! Each event usually results in a significant increase in carbohydrate intake, and more importantly a significant change in the types of carbohydrates being consumed It’s your horse’s inability to safely cope with this change that is the root cause of the problem.
For mares nursing foals and horses in training, the most common and the most economical way to deliver these calories is in a grain based concentrate or sweet feed. The source of these calories are soluble carbohydrates, both sugars and starches. Although there is some direct digestion and absorption in the small intestine, most of the carbs pass to the hindgut, where they are fermented by the naturally occurring resident bacteria. The end result of this bacterial fermentation is the production of fatty acids, a natural equine energy source. However without sufficient numbers of the right bacteria, to control this process, what results is the competitive growth of potentially harmful bacteria, that actually produce substances that can be toxic to the horse rather than beneficial. The same thing is true with spring pastures. As most pastures are predominately grass, starch is not a problem, but sugar is. Spring pastures are high in soluble sugar. The sugars in grasses are not readily digested by the horse itself, but require bacterial fermentation to be utilizable. Without sufficient numbers of the right, essential bacteria, these sugars are used instead by the wrong ones. The end result is the potential for the production of the same toxic end products that can result from the necessity of feeding high grain and sweet feed based diets.
All this is preventable when ReStore™ is part of the program. ReStore™ is a patented, research proven technology that stimulates the growth of the naturally occurring, good bacteria. Controlled university research and 10 year’s worth of veterinary supervised field studies have proven that ReStore™ increases microbial yield and efficiencies by 20%. No other product or feed additive can make and substantiate this claim. With stable microbial populations, sugars and starches, regardless of source, are converted into a chemical form most easily and efficiently used by the horse. This prevents the chain of events that can ultimately lead to that call to the vet! What is even better is that by increasing feed efficiency and nutrient utilization, mares milk better, stay in top condition and breed back and stick; your performance horse will work better and require less feed to stay at the top of his game and ; your pasture horses can go out and just be horses without you worrying! All this comes in a 30lb pail of ReStore™.
William E. Julien, PhD, BVSc
Director, Technical Services
In the previous articles of this series, we have discussed some of the hows and whys of digestion in the horse. However, the concepts that have been presented so far are common to all species, whether we are talking about a chicken, a horse, or an elephant. In this final article, we will be discussing what makes a horse different from other mammals and why we need to appreciate this difference if we are to maximize equine nutrient utilization.
Horses are herbivores, which means they depend upon plants and plant materials for energy, protein and other metabolites. Although the early ancestor 
s of the horse were forest dwellers, they eventually ended up making their living on open grasslands, where the predominate plant species are grasses. Horses are also mammals, and as no mammal, the horse included, is capable of directly digesting grasses (grass or legume, pasture or hay). The digestive system of the horse evolved in a parallel plain to that of the cow, i.e., provide a home for organisms that can digest forage through a fermentative process, and then, absorb and utilize the nutrient byproducts produced by the digestive activities of these organisms. In the cow, these organisms naturally live in the forestomach, or rumen, located at the beginning of the digestive system. In horses, they live in the caecum and large intestine, which is at the end. The reason for the differences in location has to do with life style. Cows eat single large meals, than gather as a group and rest to allow the bacteria to do their job. As cows are large, sturdy animals, they are safe from enemies when they stick together. Horses on the other hand, developed speed as their survival strategy. They cannot afford to carry undigested feed around with them if they must stay on the move to avoid enemies. To make this work, they have to eat small meals and eat them often, and then process these meals as rapidly as is possible. By locating the site of fermentation at the end of the tract, the horse is able to quickly dispose of what is left after bacterial action. In addition, this arrangement allows for maximal heart and lung development because of not having to compete for space with the digestive tract, a key adaptation for an animal that depends upon speed for survival.
For years, the importance of colonic and caecal fermentation to normal physiologic and metabolic functions in horses was ignored, primarily based upon the assumption that because this occurs at the end of the tract, it cannot be that important. Nothing can be further from the truth. For example, in a pig, which is omnivorous (eats and utilizes simple carbohydrates, fat and protein of both plant and animal origin) retention time of food in the small intestine, the primary site of digestion and nutrient absorption is around 72 hours. In the horse, retention time in the small intestine is from 15 minutes to 2 hours. The difference between these two species again, is that one needs assistance in the digestive process, (the horse), and one does not (the pig). In the horse, retention time in the large bowel is as long as 70 hours. In the pig, it is less than 4 hours. Again, we are seeing a physiologic adaptation to the diet and how it is handled by both species. Without fermentation, the horse would literally starve, as the end products of this natural process, volatile fatty acids, vitamins and even protein derived from the bacteria themselves, are the basis for normal equine growth, maintenance, and athletic performance.
The key to maximizing nutrient utilization and feed efficiency in the horse is to develop strategies that maximize hindgut bacterial populations. Research has shown that these organisms have nutrient requirements that are rarely met in most diets formulated for horses. These bacteria particularly need a constant supply of amino acids, peptides or chains of amino acids, and simple nitrogen to maximize reproduction, and their own metabolic function. ReStore™, a patented technology developed and by Biovance, delivers these key materials to the hindgut in a chemical form and at a rate that maximizes microbial utilization. The net result is an average increase in microbial yield and fermentation efficiency of 20%. What does this mean to the horse? A 20% increase in microbial populations can mean as much as a 25% increase in feed efficiency, or the need for 25% less feed per head per day to do the same job! It also means a significant reduction in the chance that a ReStore™ supplemented horse will experience colic, laminitis or other problems linked to fermentative inefficiency.
The digestive tract of the horse is a complicated system that uses microbial fermentation to digest forages for energy. By understanding how this type of digestive system operates, nutritionists can balance diets to improve performance and reduce the incidence of metabolic problems. The greatest opportunity for improving horse nutrition, performance, and health is in better understanding hindgut fermentation and taking advantage of new technologies, like ReStore™, that impact microbial fermentation.
An Equine Oral Supplement
Description
ReStore™ is a unique blend of enzymes, peptides, amino acids and soluble nitrogen sources that have been shown to stimulate the growth of the amylolytic and cellulolytic bacterial populations found naturally in the large bowel of the horse.
Mode of Action
Bacterial populations resident in the large bowel, through fermentation of feedstuffs ingested directly by the horse, provide the horse with energy in the form of volatile fatty acids, and structural nitrogen in the form of amino acids and peptides for growth, maintenance and reproduction. In the normal diet of the horse, the nitrogen reaching the large bowel for direct bacterial utilization is often not sufficient in quantity or complexity to maximize population growth. ReStore™ has been shown to overcome this insufficiency, resulting in maximization of bacterial growth and thereby positively impacting fermentation efficiency. It does this by providing bacteria with the needed complexity of nitrogen sources in a controlled release form, which ensures a relatively constant rate of availability of all nitrogen sources. ReStore™’s enzyme components help link nitrogen and carbohydrate metabolism to further enhance bacterial fermentation efficiency.
Clinical Application
Controlled studies have proven that ReStore™ has a positive impact on nutrient utilization throughout the horse’s life cycle. In young horses, this is expressed as increased growth rates. In mature horses, ReStore™ has been shown to aid in the restoration of body condition, following incidents of either a metabolic or clinical nature. It has also been shown to reduce colic bouts in horses prone to this condition. It has been shown to be particularly effective in body condition maintenance of equine athletes and “hard keepers”.
Directions for Use
ReStore™ should be supplemented at a rate of ˝ pound per 1000 pounds of body weight. This can be delivered as one feeding but, preferably, should be split into two feedings over the course of the day. Introduce slowly, as with any new supplement, in order to rapidly gain animal acceptance. ReStore™ can be used as a top dress, or incorporated as a standard component of the grain portion of the ration. Ensure the horse has access to water at all times.
Patent Information
U.S. Patent Nos. 6,858,239; 5,077,068; Patents Pending.
Rapid fetal growth demands more protein,
but reduces space for normal fill
Revolution™ introduced by Biovance Life Sciences, Inc., of Omaha, offers a new way to nutritionally manage the pregnant mare. According to the company, the product offers “a proven way to ensure optimum nutrition for prepartum fetal growth, 
while simultaneously preparing the mare for the physiological demands imposed by lactation. Perhaps of even greater significance is the role played by Revolution™ in protecting the mare against the common metabolic and physiologic risks associated with foaling, such as eclampsia and post parturient colic.
Revolution™ contains ReStore™, the patented equine supplement that enhances digestive efficiency and helps maintain gastric motility — both important in the prevention of Dietary Distress Syndrome (DDS) in horses.
Late gestation has a double impact on the mare’s nutritional and digestive health. The exponential growth of the fetus greatly increases the demand for protein and energy. At the same time, the rapid increase in the size of the fetus and associated tissues reduces the space available for normal fill and motility in the gastro-intestinal tract.
To meet the nutrient needs of both the growing fetus and the mare herself, current nutritional husbandry practices rely heavily on feeding concentrates formulated from grains. The resulting diet is rich in fermentable starch and sugar. These substances can cause a diabetic-like state in the mare, which has been associated with a number of metabolic problems referred to collectively as Equine Dietary Distress Syndrome (DDS).
Grain-based diets offer another risk to the parturient and post parturient mare. High grain diets can cause abnormal conditions in the large bowel and caecum, which significantly increase the risk of colic. Colic caused by right dorsal displacement post foaling, is the number one killer of post foaling mares and makes this population of horses the most likely to need surgery.
Biovance reports the low carbohydrate, calorically dense composition Revolution™ product, significantly reduces the carbohydrate load on the digestive system, stabilizes intestinal pH and promotes optimum large bowel fermentation.
In addition, the special blend of enzymes and specific amino acids and protein in the Revolution™ / ReStore™ combination enhances the normal fermentation process in the horse. Together, this unique combination safely increases production of volatile fatty acids, microbial proteins, and digestive efficiency — increasing the digestible energy and protein in the diet.
This combination of a stabilizing effect on the gastro-intestinal tract and an increase in digestible energy and protein is especially beneficial to mares in late gestation and lactation.
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The oldest horse on record is Old Billy, foaled in 1760 and died at age 62 in 1822.
A French pony stallion foaled in 1919 died in 1973 at the age of 54 years.
The oldest Thoroughbred on record is Tango Duke, who was foaled in 1935 and died at the age of 42 in 1978.
The oldest age at which a broodmare produced a healthy foal is 42. It was her 34th foal born in 1933 in Australia. |
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