The digestive system of the horse is designed to support a very specific lifestyle — grazing freely in herds for most of the day. This lifestyle includes a few basic characteristics that relate to the GI tract: a diet of primarily grass, constant consumption, little stress and low energy requirements.
The modern performance horse lives a very different life than its pastoral cousins. Even horses used for pleasure riding are typically kept in stalls and fed intermittently on a diet of processed grain feed. Exercise places significant energy demands on the horse, as well as adding a significant level of stress.
All of these differences in management and feeding of the modern horse run counter to the natural function of the digestive system. This leaves virtually every horse in a constant state of digestive imbalance. |