Last Updated on September 1, 2020
Do Probiotics for horses really improve their health?
You may be surprised that maintaining a healthy gut through regular use of probiotics is incredibly important for your horse’s overall health.
In this article we will show you our recommendations for the best equine probiotics for your horse.
Check the quick list below for links to customer reviews and prices or read on for the full review
If you are like me, you make sure your horse is fed the best hay and grain, and receives regular vet checkups. But until recently I never gave much thought to my horse’s gut health.
Maintaining horse health is important but can be tricky if you don’t provide them with all of the right food and care that they need.
One of the best ways to make sure that your horse will be as healthy as possible is to ensure that you are giving them a high-quality probiotic on a regular basis.
Table of Contents
Recommended Probiotics for Horse
Trifecta Horse Guard
If you want a probiotic that will be able to help improve the overall health of your horse, then this the best choice for you. It’s very easy to feed and incredibly economical, making it ideal to use year-round so your horse can enjoy tremendous health benefits. As a four-in-one product, it will meet the needs of your horse in a number of ways.
This horse probiotic promotes healthy joints, improves gut health, has a supplement to strengthen hooves and bones, and includes trace minerals and vitamins that the horse may not get in their everyday diet. The product is palatable so that you don’t have to worry about your horse refusing to eat it. Trifecta is easily fed once a day with your horse’s normal meal.
Pros
- Replace feeding multiple supplements
- Improves disease resistance
- Promotes strong hooves and a shiny coat
- Improves digestion
- Fills in mineral and vitamin gaps left by the diet
Cons
- Bags do not last for long
- It gets very expensive if you are treating more than one horse at a time
Horse Guard Probiotic Supplement
By using pharmaceutical-quality ingredients, this equine probiotic from Horse Guard ensures that you will not have to worry about the quality of the probiotic that you are feeding your horse. All of the trace vitamins and minerals that your horse may be missing in its diet are included, ensuring that your horse enjoys optimal health benefits. In addition, this probiotic includes biotin which will help strengthen hooves and bones.
Instead of trying to mix various supplements, this near all in one prebiotic and probiotic supplement, will help you maintain a
healthy horse. Gut Guard has been professionally formulated to give your horse’s gut health the boost it needs.
This product, when used with a healthy and balanced diet, will provide your horse with the vitamins, minerals, and nutrients that it needs to be as healthy as possible.
Pros
- Includes daily vitamins
- Includes live yeast, probiotics, and prebiotics to improve gut health
- Great for picky eaters
- Perfect for all kinds of horses
- Makes supplementation very easy
Cons
- Expensive to treat a number of horses
Stable Nutrition Horse Probiotic
Made by scientists to help improve the overall gut health of your horse quickly and easily. Simply add this horse probiotic to your horses food each day and you are on your way to optimum gut health.
This supplement is made from high-quality ingredients that have been specially chosen and blended together to provide the best benefits to your horse.
Instead of focusing on creating the most expensive product on the market, Champion Blends has worked hard to ensure that every horse owner can afford to provide his or her horse with the care that it needs.
Champion Blends has shown that they can produce high-quality horse products and with this product, they provide a strong blend of probiotics for your horse.
Pros
- Increases the function of the immune system
- Reduces the occurrence of diarrhea
- Decrease digestive problems and bloating
- Allows the body to better absorb nutrients in the food
- Incredibly affordable
Cons
- Does not supply the trace minerals that your horse may be missing in its diet
- Consists of mostly probiotics and prebiotics, there are no other ingredients added to promote overall health
Horse Probiotics Benefits
Probiotics are great for helping to improve the digestion and the health of your horse’s digestive tract and overall gut health.
They help maintain a healthy gut and also help your horse to absorb more of the nutrients that they are eating.
That means, by getting the most out of that expensive feed, maintaining a healthy gut in our horses is going to ensure they are getting the nutrients that they need.
This will boost your horse’s ability to withstand disease and enjoy better overall health.
When Should I Use Probiotics?
It’s a good idea to give your horse probiotics year-round. This will help to ensure they are able to digest their food appropriately and to extract all of the nutrients from their food.
If you are just starting out, some of the common times to give your horse probiotics include if they have had surgery, if they are stressed, and when they are in competition or training.
Is it Really Worth Using a Probiotic Every Day?
Because probiotics actually work to make your horse healthier overall, when you use a daily probiotic, you will enjoy paying less for vet bills, prevent secondary infections, and lower the stress that your horse feels when on the road or preparing for a show.
Instead of trying to treat problems after they arise, you can potentially help prevent illness and health issues before they rear their ugly head.
Horse probiotics have shown promise in preventing ulcers, colic, and even diarrhea.
For more horse health guides and tips read these articles:
- Colic in Horses: The Complete Guide
- Arthritis in Horses
- Top Rated Equine Soaking Boots
- What Plants are Toxic for Horses
- High Quality Minerals
Making Your Final Choice
The Stable Nutrition product from Champion Blends is best if you already feed your horse a varied and nutrient-dense diet and are only worried about promoting better digestion and gut health.
On the other hand, if you want to make sure that you do not have any gaps in what you are feeding your horse, then you will want to opt for either of the other two options as they include additional ingredients and supplements that will benefit your horse.
No matter what horse probiotic you opt for, it’s important to give it to your horse after surgery, when it has been on antibiotics, or if it is particularly stressed.
Daily treatment is recommended for optimal health.
Tell us how probiotics have helped your horses health and performance.
Fred is the editor of Equine Ridge. He grew up raising horses and has been riding, training, and competing for almost four decades. Fred started out performing on the AQHA and PHBA circuits. Fred trained other competitors in English and Western riding disciplines and today offers free riding lessons to youth who would otherwise not be able to afford lessons. When not working with horses he can be found backpacking or trying to brew the perfect cup of coffee. Email Fred at fred@equineridge.com