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Effects of oral supplementation of probiotic strains of Lactobacillus rhamnosus and Enterococcus faecium on diarrhoea events of foals in their first weeks of life.
Abstract: Foal first diarrhoea is one of the most prominent problems in the early life of horses. Probiotics might have the potency to prevent or at least diminish neonatal diarrhoea. We hypothesised that the treatment of foals with probiotic strains of Lactobacillus rhamnosus and Enterococcus faecium starting early after birth and then daily over 2 weeks would prevent or mitigate foal heat diarrhoea. The influence of this probiotic treatment on diarrhoea incidence and growth and health performance of young foals was investigated. Thirty-four foals were randomly allocated to two groups. From day 1 to 14 of life, the foals received either placebo (PG, n = 16) or the probiotic treatment (TG, n = 18). Clinical examination was performed, and the faeces consistency score (FCS, 1-5; with diarrhoea defined by ≤3) was recorded once per day in weeks 1 and 2 and once weekly in weeks 3-8 of life (WL). The body height was measured at birth and after two and eight WL. Diarrhoea occurred in the 1st WL in 19% and 61% of PG and TG foals respectively. In the 1st WL, diarrhoea lasted 0.3 ± 0.8 and 1.6 ± 1.4 days in PG and TG foals respectively. In the 2nd WL, diarrhoea occurred in 94% and 84% of PG and TG foals, respectively, and lasted for 3.0 ± 1.5 and 3.7 ± 1.6 days respectively. At least two periods of diarrhoea developed in 33% and 65% of PG and TG foals respectively. The TG foals grew slightly slower than the PG foals. The results indicated that the probiotic treatment of neonatal foals as performed in this study was not suitable to reduce diarrhoea within the first two WL, because contrary to the hypothesis, the TG foals suffered more frequently and for longer periods from diarrhoea than the PG foals.
© 2018 Blackwell Verlag GmbH.
Publication Date: 2018-05-23 PubMed ID: 29790614DOI: 10.1111/jpn.12923Google Scholar: Lookup The Equine Research Bank provides access to a large database of publicly available scientific literature. Inclusion in the Research Bank does not imply endorsement of study methods or findings by Mad Barn.
- Clinical Trial
- Veterinary
- Journal Article
Summary
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This study investigates the effects of administering probiotic strains to newborn foals, hypothesizing that this treatment could help to reduce instances of neonatal diarrhea. However, the results indicate that not only did the treatment fail to reduce instances of diarrhea, but it seemed to cause foals to suffer from it more frequently and for longer periods.
Method
- The study involved 34 foals which were evenly split into two groups: a Probation Group (PG) and a Treatment Group (TG).
- From day 1 to day 14 after their birth, the TG foals were given probiotic strains of Lactobacillus rhamnosus and Enterococcus faecium while the PG foals were given a placebo.
- The consistency of the foals’ feces was assessed daily for two weeks and then weekly for six weeks.
- The foals’ height was measured at birth and then at two and eight weeks of age.
Results
- Diarrhea occurred in 19% of PG foals and 61% of TG foals during the first week of life.
- During the second week, 94% of PG foals and 84% of TG foals experienced diarrhea.
- In the TG, 65% of foals experienced at least two bouts of diarrhea, compared to only 33% in the PG.
- TG foals also grew slightly slower than PG foals.
Conclusion
- The research team initially hypothesized that supplementing newborn foals with probiotics could help to prevent or reduce instances of diarrhea, which is a common issue for young horses.
- However, the results of the study suggest that the treatment not only fails to reduce instances of diarrhea but can actually cause foals to suffer from diarrhea for longer, more frequent periods.
- The treatment also appeared to slightly stunt the foals’ growth compared to those in the PG.
- The study concludes that the probiotic treatment trialed in this study is not suitable for reducing instances of diarrhea in newborn foals.
Cite This Article
APA
Ströbel C, Günther E, Romanowski K, Büsing K, Urubschurov V, Zeyner A.
(2018).
Effects of oral supplementation of probiotic strains of Lactobacillus rhamnosus and Enterococcus faecium on diarrhoea events of foals in their first weeks of life.
J Anim Physiol Anim Nutr (Berl), 102(5), 1357-1365.
https://doi.org/10.1111/jpn.12923 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Institute of Agricultural and Nutritional Sciences, Group Animal Nutrition, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (Saale), Germany.
- Institute of Agricultural and Nutritional Sciences, Group Animal Nutrition, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (Saale), Germany.
- Stülower Dorfstraße 1, Retschow OT Stülow, Germany.
- District Administration Vulkaneifel, Department 8: Veterinary Office and Agriculture, Daun, Germany.
- Institute of Agricultural and Nutritional Sciences, Group Animal Nutrition, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (Saale), Germany.
- Institute of Agricultural and Nutritional Sciences, Group Animal Nutrition, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (Saale), Germany.
MeSH Terms
- Animals
- Diarrhea / epidemiology
- Diarrhea / microbiology
- Diarrhea / prevention & control
- Diarrhea / veterinary
- Enterococcus faecium / physiology
- Horse Diseases / epidemiology
- Horse Diseases / microbiology
- Horse Diseases / prevention & control
- Horses
- Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus / physiology
- Probiotics
- Random Allocation
Citations
This article has been cited 7 times.- Goodman-Davis R, Figurska M, Cywinska A. Gut Microbiota Manipulation in Foals-Naturopathic Diarrhea Management, or Unsubstantiated Folly?. Pathogens 2021 Sep 4;10(9).
- Lawson AL, Sherlock CE, Ireland JL, Mair TS. Equine nutrition in the post-operative colic: Survey of Diplomates of the American Colleges of Veterinary Internal Medicine and Veterinary Surgeons, and European Colleges of Equine Internal Medicine and Veterinary Surgeons. Equine Vet J 2021 Sep;53(5):1015-1024.
- Zhu D, Li S, Xu Z, Kulyar MF, Bai X, Wang Y, Wang B, Khateeb E, Deng D, Wang L, Chen Y, Guo A, Shen Y. Comparative analysis of gut microbiota in healthy and diarrheic foals. Microbiol Spectr 2025 Mar 19;13(5):e0087124.
- Penazzi L, Pagliara E, Nervo T, Ala U, Bertuglia A, Romano G, Hattab J, Tiscar PG, Bergagna S, Pagliasso G, Antoniazzi S, Cavallarin L, Valle E, Prola L. Dietary supplementation of new-born foals with free nucleotides positively affects neonatal diarrhoea management. Ir Vet J 2025 Mar 1;78(1):7.
- Gomez DE, Kopper JJ, Byrne DP, Renaud DL, Schoster A, Dunkel B, Arroyo LG, Mykkanen A, Gilsenan WF, Pihl TH, Lopez-Navarro G, Tennent-Brown BS, Hostnik LD, Mora-Pereira M, Marques F, Gold JR, DeNotta SL, Desjardins I, Stewart AJ, Kuroda T, Schaefer E, Oliver-Espinosa OJ, Agne GF, Uberti B, Veiras P, Delph Miller KM, Gialleti R, John E, Toribio RE. Treatment approaches to horses with acute diarrhea admitted to referral institutions: A multicenter retrospective study. PLoS One 2024;19(11):e0313783.
- Bell J, Radial SL, Cuming RS, Trope G, Hughes KJ. Effects of fecal microbiota transplantation on clinical outcomes and fecal microbiota of foals with diarrhea. J Vet Intern Med 2024 Sep-Oct;38(5):2718-2728.
- Terpeluk ER, Schäfer J, Finkler-Schade C, Schuberth HJ. Supplementation of Foals with a Saccharomyces cerevisiae Fermentation Product Alters the Early Response to Vaccination. Animals (Basel) 2024 Mar 20;14(6).
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