Sometimes it's not possible to make diet changes gradually. A researcher in Scotland recently confirmed it might be appropriate to provide a particular supplement to ease the transition in these cases. | Photo: iStock

Anna Garber, a postgraduate student at the University of Glasgow’s School of Veterinary Medicine,  evaluated whether a yeast supplement would help mitigate the risks associated with sudden diet changes. She shared her findings at the 2019 Equine Science Society Symposium, held June 3-6 in Asheville, North Carolina.

“Most owners change horses’ diets from pasture to conserved forage and vice versa twice a year,” when going in and out of winter, Garber said. So she studied this specific scenario.

Garber switched eight mature ponies that had been maintained on grass pasture to free-choice hay. Four of the ponies received a yeast supplement (Gut Balancer) and four served as controls. After 14 days Garber switched all the ponies back to full-time grass, and 14 days later back to hay. Meanwhile, she collected fecal samples from the ponies after each diet change and analyzed the diversity of the microbiota DNA within