| NUTRITION |
Bill Vandergrift, PhD Alamy
GUT HAS PEE ACT SL OF T HBAD BEHAVIO R AND HOW TO F IX IT
W
hen performance horses behave or react in ways that are less than desirable, we as trainers and handlers try to figure out what th hey are telling us. Is there a physicall problem causing discomfort, or is it anxiety based on a previous negaative experience? Or, is the bad behavior resulting from a po oor training foundation leading the horse to take unfamiliar or uncomfortable situations into their own hands, whiich usually triggers the fright and flight reflex instead of relying on the handler for direction and stability? Often when the most common conditions that cause physical discomfort are ruled out, it may be tempting to assume that the bad behavior is just in the horse’s head or that the horse is just an ill-tempered individual. In myy experience, most unexplainable behavior expressed by performance horses is rooted in the horse’s “other brain,” otherwise known as the digestive system. In this article I w wiill i explain what causes poor digestive health, the link betweeen digestive health and brain function, and what steps can be taken to prevent and/or reverse poor digestive health.
Digestive health
While most trainers are familiar with gastric ulcers, their symptoms and common protocols utilized to heal and prevent them, there still remains a degree of confusion
78
TRAINERMAGAZINE.COM ISSUE 53
regarding other forms of digestive dysfunction that can have a signiffiicant eff ffect f on the horse’s performance and behavi vior. i In many cases recurrent gastric ulcers are simply a sym ymptom m of more complex issues related to digestive health. Trainers, veterinarians and nutritionists need to understand that no part of the horse’s digestive tract is a stand-alone component. From the mouth to the rectum, all parts of the digestive system are in constant communication wi wiith each other to coordinate motility tyy, immune function, secretion of digestive juices and the production of hormones and chemical messengers. If this intricate system of communication is interrupted, the overall function of the digestive system becomes uncoupled, leading to dysfunction in one or more areas of the digestive tract. For example, a primary cause of recurrent gastric ulcers fter t successful treatment w wiith i a standard that return quickly aft medication protocol is oft ften t inffllammation of the small and/or large intestine. Until the intesstinal infl flammation fla is successfully controlled d, the gastric ulcers wil ill remain persistent due to o the uncoupling of communication betwe ween the stomach h an nd lower part of the digestive tract. How do we defi fine digestive health? Obviio fin ously, digestive health h iss a complex topic wi with many movin wit ing parts (fi figu i uratively and literally). The main parts of a healthy digeesttivve system include, but are not limited to 1) the miccro obiome, 2) hormone and messenger production and actiivviity i y, 3) health of epithelial tissues throughout the