JANUARY 2023
Volume 47, No 1
ON THE WING
How to profit from wild birds
DO YOU KNOW YOUR BIOTICS?
ETN is the official media partner of BETA International
AMTRA CPD on digestive health
PLUS
2023
• BETA chairman in the hot seat • Hoof care best-sellers • News and new products
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ETN | BENCH SADDLER OF THE MONTH
Celebrating
the best bench saddlers...
This award, presented in conjunction with the Society of Master Saddlers (SMS), recognises those who uphold the highest standards of leathercraft skills. work make it difficult,” says Abby. “I would love to own another horse in the future.” Abby confesses to being a hands-on, creative person, and at school she loved textiles classes. She was ready to go to college and study fashion and textiles, but something told her this wasn’t the right path. “It was my step-dad who suggested becoming a saddler,” explains Abby. “It was a way to combine my love of horses with a career. I phoned around a few places asking if they were taking on apprentices. One of the people I contacted was [Master Saddler] Chris Taylor at Saddler’s Den. Thankfully, he said yes.”
A DIFFERENT AVENUE
Abby Brennan with some of the many awards she’s won at the SMS Competition.
ETN/SMS BENCH SADDLER OF THE MONTH: ABBY BRENNAN NOMINATED BY: SMS president Chris Taylor, who says: “Abby contacted me looking for an apprenticeship back in 2010. She completed her apprenticeship with me [Chris runs Saddler’s Den is Southport] and stayed on for a further couple of years. She won a number of awards during her training. “It’s been good to follow her progress over the years and now she’s forging her own path having started her own business a few years ago. Abby has been quietly working away and is doing excellent work.” ABOUT Abby Brennan Horses have always been a big part of Abby’s life. She had ponies from about the age of eight – her mum had her own horse too. As a child, Abby did a lot of showing, mainly ridden mountain and moorland classes on Fell ponies. As she got older, you’d find Abby out drag hunting most weekends. “I don’t currently own a horse, my three-year-old daughter and 16 | EQUESTRIAN TRADE NEWS JANUARY 2023
After completing the four-year Worshipful Company of Saddlers’ Millennium apprenticeship scheme at Saddler’s Den, Abby stayed on to work there for a further two years. At this point, she decided to pursue a different avenue within the industry and went to work at Saddles Direct, the Lancashire based retailer specialising in second-hand saddles. “I learnt so much during my five years with Saddles Direct,” recalls Abby. “From customer service and marketing, to all about the different saddlery brands.” During her maternity leave she started making the odd piece of leatherwork for friends - and began to think about starting her own business. She returned to Saddles Direct for five months before taking the plunge in March 2021 when she started AB Leather.
A TRIP TO BUCKINGHAM PALACE
In 2012, Abby won the Saddlers Company Award for Excellence. For the first time, it was awarded at Buckingham Palace by the Princess Royal. “It was a surreal and slightly terrifying experience,” recalls Abby. “I was so proud to have won the award, and to meet the Princess Royal was something I will always remember.” Abby also won a number of other awards at the 2012 SMS Competition including the Master and Apprentice class with Chris Taylor. She also collected the Tony Byrne Memorial Trophy for best harness entry by a trainee and the Les Coker Millennium Trophy for best entry by an Apprentice.
“I was so proud to have won the award, and to meet the Princess Royal was something I will always remember.” WWW.EQUESTRIANTRADENEWS.COM
BENCH SADDLER OF THE MONTH | ETN FLEXIBLE WORKING
Abby’s business, AB Leather, produces high-quality, bespoke, handmade leatherwork items. “Working for myself gives me the flexibility I need with a young family,” explains Abby. “I didn’t expect the business to take off quite so quickly, but it did and I’m really busy.” Her favourite items to make are bridles and she loves a bit of bling, so the fancier the better. Boot alterations have become a major part of Abby’s business too, with about 90% of her work currently spent repairing or altering boots. “I really enjoy giving a pair of boots a new lease of life,” she says. “They are expensive, so if I can replace a zip, or alter them to fit, that means they can still be used, which is great.”
JOB SATISFACTION
Abby gets a huge amount of job satisfaction from what she does; and she loves to see customers’ reactions to a piece of bespoke leather work. She also says that working from home can make it difficult to really switch off. “To ensure the family has a change of scene, we go away most weekends in our touring caravan – and that includes my eight-yearold Border Terrier, George, who used to travel with me during my apprenticeship.”
HOW TO NOMINATE A BENCH SADDLER:
Everyone is invited to nominate bench saddlers they feel deserve to be named ETN Bench Saddler of the Month. Candidates for the award must be a member of the SMS and based in the UK or overseas.
A beautiful AB Leather bespoke bridle, handmade by Abby Brennan.
To nominate a bench saddler (or more than one), email editor@ equestriantradenews.com and tell us why this person deserves to be put in the spotlight. Please include the bench saddler’s name and business name too.
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ETN | CPD FEATURE ABOUT ETN’S RAMA/SQP FEATURES ETN’s series of CPD features helps RAMAs (Registered Animal Medicines Advisors/SQPs) earn the CPD (continuing professional development) points they need. The features are accredited by AMTRA, and highlight some of the most important subject areas for RAMAs/ SQPs specialising in equine and companion animal medicine. AMTRA is required by the Veterinary Medicines Regulations to ensure its RAMAs/SQPs undertake CPD. All RAMAs/SQPs must earn a certain number of CPD points in a given period of time in order to retain their qualification. RAMAs/SQPs who read this feature and submit correct answers to the questions below will receive two CPD points. For more about AMTRA and becoming a RAMA/SQP, visit www.amtra.org.uk
WHAT’S NEW IN ‘BIOTICS? Understanding new gut health ingredients with Kate Hore RNutr(Animal) R.Anim.Technol (Cert), head nutritionist at NAF.
D
igestive health is such a key area of overall equine health and vitality. The gastrointestinal tract is recognised not only for diet utilisation, but also as the principal immunity organ in the body, conferring at least 70% of the body’s defences. The modern equine lifestyle can be challenging for that digestive system. Whether through unnatural diet, prolonged periods stabled or intensive exercise and regular travel, it seems our horses’ guts often need a little additional help. The use of probiotic yeast is long-established in equine supplements, and in recent years we have become more familiar with prebiotics too. Just recently, we are seeing a new boy on the block – postbiotics. In order to advise customers correctly, we need to know our pre from pro, from post, and our microbiome from microbiota.
Photos: FOTOGRIN/shutterstock.com, Jon Stroud
PREBIOTICS
The gastrointestinal tract is recognised not only for diet utilisation, but also as the principal In many ways it makes sense to consider the immunity organ in the body, prebiotics first, as they can be thought of as initiating the ‘biotics’ pathway through the gut. Composition section of the label on Prebiotics were first defined, in 1995, as a nonfeed, including complementary feed digestible ingredient that benefits the host (animal/person) supplements. by stimulating growth of one, or a limited number, of bacteria. However, that definition is a little restrictive, and the more broadly accepted definition is now seen as: PROBIOTICS ‘a selectively fermented ingredient that results in specific Probiotics get their name from the Latin changes in the composition and/or activity of the gastrointestinal ‘pro’ meaning ‘for’, and ‘biotic’ meaning microbiota, thus conferring benefit(s) upon host health.’ ‘pertaining to life’, which helps us to To meet the criteria, prebiotic compounds must be resistant remember that probiotics are, by definition, to the acidic pH of the stomach, remain undigested by the host ‘for life’! Probiotics are defined as: Are products such as live probiotic animal’s own enzymes and not be absorbed by the digestive tract. ‘live microorganisms that when yoghurt appropriate Prebiotics then work by fuelling growth of the intestinal microbiota consumed in adequate amounts confer a to feed to horses? – effectively acting as food for the microbes – which, in turn, is health benefit to the host.’ beneficial to the overall health of the animal. In human nutrition we are familiar with In horses we typically see the prebiotics MOS products such as live probiotic yoghurt, but are these appropriate (mannanoligosaccharides) and FOS (fructooligosaccharides), to feed to our horses? No, not really, and for two important which includes compounds such as Inulin. Prebiotics are legally reasons. classed a ‘Feed Materials’ and, as such, will be listed under the Firstly, horses obviously have a very different natural diet from
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CPD FEATURE | ETN ourselves, which means they have a very different array of microbes in their digestive tract to us. For a probiotic to work, it must be appropriate to the animal it is being fed to. Currently there is only one legal, live probiotic available for use in equine feed in the UK and through Europe. That is the live probiotic yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae. There are a number of different Regular travel means horse’ guts strains, but all are that yeast. sometimes need additional help. As a retailer, if you are offered products containing live bacteria, or claiming to provide a blend of different probiotics, then you should avoid them, and report them to your local Trading Standards Office. Those products are illegal under Feed Law, and – just as importantly – are not proven to either be safe or effective in horses. The probiotic yeast has proven functionality for improving digestibility, and is legally registered. On the label, the live yeast will be listed under Additives, and must have its ‘cfu’ number (colony forming unit), which tells you the level included. Be aware that Saccharomyces can also be listed in a number of other ingredients, which don’t have ‘live’ activity, for example, Brewers’ Yeast is an inactive yeast. If you want a probiotic check the listing carefully. No ‘cfu’ = No probiotic. The second reason human probiotics aren’t appropriate, is that their levels are designed for human rather than equine requirements. For equine probiotics, the legislative framework ensures all manufacturers include the live yeast at a minimum of the level proven to be effective in horses, so meeting the definition which requires adequate amounts to be fed. Fig 1: An example of a legal label listing for an equine probiotic.
Due to this essential fermentation production step, postbiotics will be listed on the label under Composition as ‘Yeast products’, and should not be confused with their synthetic counterparts, which will appear under Additives as ‘Amino acids’ or ‘Vitamins’. The benefits of postbiotics are potentially very wide ranging, and it will be a very interesting area for research going forward. Currently we are largely looking at supporting digestive health, and through that, general immunity and health, through the digestive tract’s role in immune function.
MICROBIOTA OR MICROBIOME?
Understanding postbiotics helps us clear up the confusion in these two commonly used terms. Frequently used interchangeably they are actually subtly different and that difference is, largely, down to the postbiotic metabolites. MICROBIOTA
MICROBIOME
The micro-organisms themselves
The microbial environment
Micro-organisms, i.e. yeast, bacteria, protozoa, fungi.
Micro-organisms Microbial DNA and gene information Cell metabolites and breakdown products VFAs / B Vitamins / Peptides etc
PROBIOTICS
PROBIOTICS & POSTBIOTICS
In brief – reading the label
INGREDIENTS COMPOSITION
ADDITIVES
Prebiotics – MOS / FOS / Inulin
Probiotics – Check Saccharomyces cerevisiae and ‘cfu’ number.
Postbiotics – Yeast products
In conclusion, understanding what prebiotics, probiotics and postbiotics can all bring to digestive health, and how they are fed to horses, helps us understand the myriad of products available, answer customer questions, understand labels and advise the best products to suit the horse’s needs.
POSTBIOTICS
The relative newcomer in digestive supplements are postbiotics, which may be used on their own, or sit nicely alongside pre and probiotics. Postbiotics are defined as: ‘a preparation of inanimate microorganisms and/or their components that confers a health benefit on the host’ In simple terms, postbiotics are the end-products, often called ‘metabolites’, of the microbial fermentation process, which in horses is mainly in the hindgut. Therefore, we are looking at what the microbes themselves produce, and these include VFAs (Volatile Fatty Acids), B Vitamins, peptides and microbial cell wall components. Their benefits are wide ranging. For example, VFAs are an important energy source for the horse. Postbiotic vitamins may include biotin (B7) or niacin (B3) – just two of the important B vitamins produced by the microbes. While the peptides contribute compounds including amino acids, the building blocks of protein and repair. Whilst they are a diverse group, the important thing that ties these metabolites together is that to be a recognised postbiotic they must be produced through microbial fermentation. Therefore, simply using synthetically made B vitamins or pure amino acids does not mean you are feeding postbiotics.
Selected references: • Berreta A & Kopper J (2022) Equine Probiotics – What are they, Where are we and Where do we need to go? Journal of Equine Veterinary Science. 115 doi.org/10.1016/j. jevs.2022.104037 • Davani-Davari D, Negahdaripour M, Karimzadeh I, Seifan M, Mohkam M, Masoumi S.J, Berenjian A & Ghasemi Y (2019) Prebiotics: Definition, types, sources, mechanism and clinical applications. Foods. 8 (92) doi:10.3390/foods8030092 • Jouany J-P, Gobert J, Medina B, Bertin G and Julliand V (2008) Effect of live yeast culture supplementation on apparent digestibility and rate of passage in horses fed a highfiber or high-starch diet. Journal of Animal Science. 86(2) • Salminen S, Collado MC, Endo A, Hill C, Lebeer S, Quigley EMM, Sanders ME, Shamir R, Swann JR, Szajewska H, Vinderola G. (2022) The International Scientific Association of Probiotics and Prebiotics (ISAPP) Consensus statement on the definition and scope of postbiotics. Nat Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2021 Sep;18(9):649-667. doi: 10.1038/s41575-02100440-6. CPD QUIZ OVER THE PAGE
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