Horses could suffer from irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) like humans do, hypothesized human gastroenterologist John Hunter, MD, from the Gastoenterology Research Unit at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge, United Kingdom.

In humans, IBS is extremely common and thought to affect up to 15% of the population at some point in their lives. Symptoms include recurrent abdominal pain accompanied with changes in bowel habit (either diarrhea or constipation).

There are several causes of IBS, and food intolerance is thought to cause approximately 50% of human IBS cases, explained Hunter in his overview of IBS. Intolerance to dairy products, celiac disease (gluten sensitivity), or fermentation of food in the colon are potential mechanisms of the condition.

In horses, structural carbohydrates of plants are normally fermented in the colon by microorganisms. In contrast, fermentation of nonstructural carbohydrates (e.g., due to excessive feeding of grain) increases the risk of both colic and laminitis

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