Note: the European Equine Nutrition workshop is aimed more at the more conventionally trained nutritionists; however, there are plenty of excellent tips and takeaway messages to be had from it, as it's always good to have a foot in both conventional and 'natural' camps and knowing when to use what.

Last month, our brilliant support team of equine nutritionists from Premier Nutrition attended the 11th European Workshop on Equine Nutrition in Norway. They had an inspiring three days filled with quality speakers, workshops, as well as the opportunity to visit the Equine Research Centre at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences.
 
We’ve selected a few of the topics from the team's report for you.

Seasonal key mineral variations in pastures 

Verena Schmidt’s presentation (SRUC Aberdeen), demonstrated how the mineral content in different types of pastures changes with the seasons. The aim was to improve understanding of factors influencing key mineral concentrations in equine pastures, in order to be able to have a more targeted approach to micronutrient supplementation.

She found that diverse grass-species pastures achieved significantly higher concentrations for all minerals, whilst the single species equine mix was consistently the lowest. By the 4^th grass cut of the year, mineral levels had dropped significantly, regardless of fertiliser use to improve nutrient yield.

It was noted that the swards with a mixture of long and short root systems gave the highest mineral concentrations, so Verena’s advice was to incorporate mixed species swords into equine pastures and forage to get a variety of root systems going, to maximise mineral concentrations.

*See our Mineral Solutions page in the Advice Centre (main menu above) for the latest updates.

Ecdysterone: a naturally occurring prohibited substance found on horse pasture

Another interesting, if not slightly worrying (!), presentation, focused on the occurrence of ecdysterone (ECD) in horse pasture.

ECD is a naturally occurring anabolic steroid found in horse pastures, and a banned substance under FEI rules. It comes with no limit of reporting, which means any level, no matter how tiny, will trigger a positive test. However, in nature ECD is used by plants and insects as a defence mechanism, which makes it one of the most common steroids in the plant world. This means unintended exposure – and ingestion - may be unavoidable.

The aim of this project, led by Martin Silence and Katherine Holt (Queensland University of Technology), was to examine the risk of dietary exposure and to raise awareness in owners and sports authorities. In their study, 54 weed species were tested, with low concentrations of ECD found in 6 species, and high levels found in 3 species. Low levels were also found in some of the feeds that were analysed. 

The team presented a second paper where they looked at how this steroid behaves in horses. This study looked at the reaction of 8 horses fed 5mg/kg BW ECD for 7-days, with results showing that 90% of the ECD was excreted in the faeces when ingested. 10% appeared in the blood after 5 mins of consumption and then was excreted in the urine.

What was particularly interesting (and alarming!) was that some horses had detectable ECD levels before treatment, which adds to the argument that the FEI needs a realistic threshold, rather than zero tolerance. There was also significant variation in the levels seen after ingestion, interestingly thought to be due to differences like worm burdens, although not confirmed.

The study also demonstrated that repeat dosing does not cause accumulation, with 7 out of the 8 horses returning to pre-test levels after 3 days. The study also demonstrated 'horse individuality' perfectly – where 7 out of the 8 horses had declining levels after 3 days, one horse had higher levels after three days than they did at the start.

While the levels in most weeds and feeds are low, the fact that it’s out there is something we all need to be aware of - especially if your horse competes. It’s not as simple as what goes in must come out!

Herbal supplements and horse movement

Now, onto something a bit more uplifting - literally. Simon Daniels presented a paper which looked at the effects of supplementing sound horses with joint-supporting herbs to improve a horse’s stride.

In this study with 9 horses (a collaboration between the Royal Agricultural University and Hartpury University), videos of the horses working before and after supplementation were sent to vets for comment. Vets noticed that after the horses were given joint-appropriate herbs, their stride looked noticeably better. Free radicals in the urine also dropped by an impressive 24%, suggesting reduced oxidative stress following supplementation. This demonstrating that a nutritive herbal boost might just do the trick!

*See our Joints & Mobility page in the Advice Centre for the latest updates.

Managing PPID in horses

Pituitary Pars Intermedia Dysfunction (PPID) in horses is becoming a real issue for horse owners with more and more horses being diagnosed with the disorder, and often at a much younger age than previously seen. The standard veterinary treatment is Prascend, which as we know doesn’t suit every horse, so managing the total diet is key to minimising the symptoms for horses.

Marie Hottat (Ghent University) shed some light on how horse owners are managing PPID, presenting the findings of a survey she'd carried out with owners in Belgium and the Netherlands. She found some interesting trends; for starters, a huge 80% of PPID horses were on Prascend, no doubt due to the effective collaborative marketing tactics between the pharma producer and vets. However, many owners were also tweaking their horses' diets and grazing habits, with a significant 80% of owners noticing improvement with other supplements.
 
Further interesting statistics from this survey include:

• 66% horse owners changed their hard feed choices.
• 50% horse owners reduced grazing time.
• 46% of respondents were using other supplement to control PPID symptoms,with 23% using 3 or more supplements.
• 80% of the supplements were herbal/plant based, with:
• 30% owners saying they saw slight improvement,
• 40% with strong improvement,
• 10% seeing complete removal of PPID symptoms in horses following use of PPID supplements.

I think you can tell that I was impressed that 80% of the horse owners surveyed felt there had been an improvement following PPID targeted plant supplementation. But it does perhaps beg the question that future research might necessitate randomised, double-blinded, long-term clinical trials to investigate what really works.

*See our Cushings/PPID page in the Advice Centre/A-Z Equine Condition for the latest updates.

Gastric ulcers and feeding

The conference finished with an engaging interactive workshop on EGUS, led by Pat Harris and Nanna Luthersson. There were several useful reminders and points raised, with the takeaway being that glandular ulcers are more likely to show behavioural changes. (Note: With my EquiNatural hat on, we target both squamous and glandular ulcers very differently).

Here are the top pointers from the session:

• EGUS is (now) split into two categories – ESGD – Equine Squamous Gastric Disease and EGGD – Equine Glandular Gastric Disease. It’s important to remember the difference as they are often lumped together, but they affect different parts of the stomach, with EGGD trickier to spot as damage can be below surface, evading the gastroscope.
• Behaviour clues: Cantering requires abdominal muscles to contract and so brings out behaviours not normally seen, which could explain why ulcer-like behaviour can be more evident in dressage horses. As for racehorses, adrenaline might be masking ulcer pain.
• Time really can be the best healer for EGUS. A study on a semi-feral herd of Icelandic horses found that those who developed ulcers when taken off the hills to be broken for riding, then showed significant improvement within 8 weeks after initial scoping, simply due to them having had time to adjust to their new surroundings.
• Omeprazole Isn’t a magic bullet: (Note: again with my EquiNatural hat on, I think you all know my thoughts on PPIs 😒). While it’s the vets’ go-to treatment, studies show that omeprazole doesn’t work for every horse. And even when it does, appropriate changes in diet and management were still vital to make, to support the horses following treatment.
  

*See our Ulcers page in the Advice Centre/A-Z Equine Condition page for more information.

Wrapping Up

The workshop was packed with cutting-edge research and practical tips. Whether it’s understanding the minerals in pasture, navigating the risks of natural steroids, or finding the best way to manage conditions like PPID and EGUS, staying informed is key to keeping our horses healthy and happy.
 
Looking forward to keeping you up to date with more insights as we hear them. 😉