Keeping Your Horse's Hindgut Healthy

other flavourings your horse might like to the water. Make sure horses feel safe around their watering point and that they always have access to water and a salt lick.
5. Remove sand and dirt from the hindgut regularly. If your horse is grazing in drought conditions or is housed in a dry lot or sand yard you should feed psyllium husk on a regular basis to remove sand and dirt from the hindgut so it does not accumulate to the point where it causes digestive health problems. Feeding 50 grams of psyllium husk per 100 kilograms of bodyweight for 5 days in every month will help to remove any sand or dirt that may have accumulated in the hindgut.
6. Make all dietary changes slowly. Sudden changes in feed can upset the balance of bacteria in the hindgut or can lead to diarrhea. Making dietary changes slowly over a period of 7 to 14 days taking longer for more dramatic changes will help to reduce or eliminate any negative impact of a new diet. For example if you were changing from timothy hay to a blend of timothy and alfalfa you could do this over 7 days. If however you were changing to a diet that included grains you should introduce the grains slowly over 14 days or longer depending on how well the horse adapts to the new diet.
7. Avoid the prolonged use of oral antibiotics. When possible try to use injectable antibiotics. If your horse does have to be on oral antibiotics feed as much forage as possible during and following the treatment to maintain an environment in the hindgut that favours the more beneficial fibre fermenting bacteria. Note Most probiotics have limited usefulness when it comes to repopulating a horses hindgut following antibiotic treatment. Many probiotics contain Lactobacillus spp bacteria which are useful for killing off pathogenic bacteria but are not really what you want your horses hindgut populated with.
When you are feeding always think about the hindgut!
When you are making feeding choices for your horse you should always be thinking about how they will impact the hindgut. Following the seven tips listed above will ensure your horses hindgut functions well to provide your horse with a good supply of energy and beneficial vitamins and will help avoid problems such as colic loss of appetite diarrhea and abnormal behaviour.