Probiotics

misssquirrel · Member Joined: 05 Aug 2006 Posts: 90 Location: WI

I have never used probiotics before on my horses. One of my friends recommended them though, for Angel, a neglected horse who we ended up with. She is a bone rack. We need aggressive therapy on her. Fed her just hay for the first few weeks we've had her here, just to get her gut going again, and very little grain. My friend used the probiotics on an older saddlebred mare that she got from the same person as Angel, and had good results with them, because even after worming, her horse was not picking up weight. So, we got Angel wormed last night, but I am afraid of the probiotics canceling out the action of the wormer. Maybe it won't do that, but as I have never used them, I have no idea.

So how soon after worming does anyone here use probiotic? Right away? A day? A couple days? A week? Help me out here, ok? Thanks!!!
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ImaTexasPeach · Yearling Joined: 05 Dec 2008 Posts: 19

I would not have any problem administering probiotics to my horse right after deworming. Dewormers are medications that have a direct effect on parasites. For example, Ivermectin and moxidectin affect the parasites neurotransmitters and fenbendazole affects their energy metabolism on a cellular level. The blood brain barrier is what keeps the dewormer from affecting the animal it was administered to. The digestive system needs beneficial bacteria to function properly. Sometimes diarrhea can be caused by a simple offset of the bacteria present. Probiotics are cultures of good (beneficial) bacteria (like the ones in yogurt). They're not a medication per se. Some of them also contain digestive enzymes in addition to the bacteria. I'm not a veterinarian, I've been a registered veterinary technician for 11 years. I'd say that there would be more of a very remote chance that your dewormer might affect some of the beneficial flora in your probiotic, or in your horses GI system. I worked for vet years ago who swore by probiotics as part of the treatment regime for animals with GI issues. I used to take a probiotic myself, but now I just eat yogurt at least once a day.

I give my older gelding a probiotic/digestive enzyme once daily (PM feeding). I like to administer dewormer at feeding time. I also like to administer paste when I'm home, just in case they have a reaction to the medication, so I always deworm just before a PM feeding. He's had some issues with diarrhea as he has gotten older, and he seems to be sensitive during different times of the year. Next month I will switch my horses to a daily dewormer. When I do that, they will get the dewormer top dress in the AM, and then the probiotic in the evening.

In a severely stressed or debilitated horse, there is a chance that the intestinal flora might be off balance. Because I am one of those overly cautious people, I might break the probiotic into two smaller doses and give AM and PM.

ImaTexasPeach · Yearling Joined: 05 Dec 2008 Posts: 19

http://www.thehorse.com/ViewArticle.aspx?ID=5692

Not a bad article on probiotics. I forgot to put it in the earlier post. I use Manna Pro Optizyme. Also, if you look at some of your horse feeds, like Triple Crown, they have probiotics in the feed.

misssquirrel · Member Joined: 05 Aug 2006 Posts: 90 Location: WI

Sweet! That sounds like great info. Thanks! Angel is doing much better. Not gaining weight very fast (as I have learned it could take up to a year for her to recover from severe malnutrition and parasites) but has a higher energy level, and seems happy. Her coat is shedding out finally! I need to dose her again with wormer. As I hadn't had any replies and needed to do something, I started the probiotics the next day after paste worming. It seemed to help. When Angel and her pasturemate Dutch came to my mom and I, their poo didnt even smell right. Am I weird? lol. They are doing good now though. I have Angel with a new friend, a 2 yr old mare, and they get along real good. They both get grass/alfalfa mix hay (12 to 15 % alfalfa according to my hay guy) and grass from the pasture. I try to give Angel feed by hand, so Stormy and their goat friends don't eat it up on her. Well, thanks again! I gotta get ready for work! Very Happy

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ImaTexasPeach · Yearling Joined: 05 Dec 2008 Posts: 19

That's great to hear! Glad she's doing better. Sometimes it does take animals a while to recover from illness/injury. However, in all of my experience in veternary nursing, it never ceases to amaze me at how quickly (most) animals recover.

misssquirrel · Member Joined: 05 Aug 2006 Posts: 90 Location: WI

An update: Yay!! Angel is almost all shed out!! AND... The biggest and best part, is she is noticeably filling out!! There aren't these huge gaps between her ribs anymore, and her thighs almost touch together now!! I still can't walk up to her and touch her in the pasture, but when I squeeze her up between some corral panels, she actually seems to enjoy being scratched. The other day when I rewormed her, she let me put quite a bit of my weight on the top of her hipbones to reach and scratch her back. I was standing up on the corral panels when I did that. I put my hand on her hips to balance myself to lean out and reach farther (not thinking of her being pretty much unhandled) but she didn't seem to mind that a bit!! Lucky me. lol. As soon as I get some new pics of her here in the next couple days, I will post the before, and now pictures.
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