Probiotics

[Sarah Ralston <ralston@AESOP.RUTGERS.EDU>]

Just a caution on the probiotics. As Lif pointed out,
the hind gut fermentation vat of the horse is a complex eco-system
involving over 50 species of bacteria and protozoa. Adding just
one or two "beneficial" species, especially if there is no existing
imbalance, runs the risk of upsetting that system. I know that a lot of
people on this list have extolled the benefits of using probiotics
and I believe that under the right circumstances (severe diarrhea,
stress induced diarrhea, high grain rations) they might be of benefit, if used
judiciously. However, I was recently at a Swiss Veterinary Conference
where there was a paper presented in which the author
(Veronica Julliand of France) stated unequivocally that
there was data that showed that overuse of probiotics and prebiotics
(no "live" bugs) was indeed detrimental, at least in humans, and our gut
system isn't
nearly as complex as that of our equine friends. Just because a little is 
good doesn't mean more is better!

Sarah and Fling