Digestive health in the horse is a growing concern over the past couple of decades, being readily evident in the high usage of ulcer medications, ulcer supplements, high rates of colic, allergies, skin issues, and metabolic problems.\u00a0 Depending upon how you look at the problem and what you ‘see’ as the main issue of concern, this dictates your approach, which then creates the result, be it positive or negative. Digestive health is not that complicated in the horse, but creating better results does require taking a different perspective and a certain level of understanding.\u00a0 Let’s dive into the concepts of dampness and ama from an alternative medicine perspective on digestive health in the horse. <\/p>\n
Equine digestive health is connected with almost every health and lameness condition you can mention or imagine.\u00a0 It may not be readily apparent or obvious, but it is there on some level, and playing a role.\u00a0 How big of a role?<\/em>\u00a0 That is dependent upon the horse as an individual, factors at play, and how long the condition has been present.\u00a0 It plays a part in every horse that I have personally interacted with and consult with via the owner, so much so that every horse has this issue addressed as a part of their therapy to some degree. It doesn’t matter if it is a stifle issue, a back issue, a foot issue, allergies, or metabolic related problem, digestive health in the horse is addressed as it is VERY important.<\/strong><\/p>\n Okay, so why is digestive health in the horse THAT important?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Let’s step back and look at the average scenario in the horse, choosing ulcers, repeat colic episodes, and maybe laminitis as the examples.\u00a0 In all of these scenarios, treatments are put into place for the horse and create short-term or acute resolution to the problem, but none of these treatments provide long-term results.\u00a0 This means the horse continues to suffer from the malady, making no progress in their health, and as a result, the owner continues to put out money in search of a solution.\u00a0 In these scenarios, the question is why don’t those treatment options offer long-term resolution?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n I’ve talked about the importance of digestive health in the horse in many articles, but this topic is so important, that I feel the need to dig a little deeper.\u00a0 We can talk about the digestive microbiome and the impact on health and inflammation, which is real, but in truth, this upset in the balance is a result of something else, something potentially bigger than what we may believe.\u00a0 Many horse owners may be aware of digestive health problems in their horse, usually because they have obvious signs such as colic, gas, ulcers, or loose stools, then use various ‘stomach’ remedies which may or may not benefit the animal.\u00a0 Many choose probiotics<\/a><\/span>, which again may be a short-term remedy if that, but rarely provide the long-term benefits.\u00a0 In truth, probiotics are a short-term fix, aimed to re-establish balance, and are not a long-term remedy.\u00a0 If they are relied upon long-term, then the underlying cause of the imbalance has not been addressed, thus, the problem still exists.<\/p>\n To understand where I am coming from, you have to take a walk on the ‘wild side’ and look at the problem standing outside of traditional western medicine.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Alternative medicine differs from traditional or allopathic medicine in one main way.\u00a0 Western medicine views a disease as being an entity of its own, while many alternative medical traditions view that disease as being an ‘effect’ of a greater problem, an imbalance within the body as a whole<\/strong>.\u00a0 This is putting it very simply.\u00a0 Alternative medicine generally views the body as being healthy when in balance, and when out of balance, disease is a result.\u00a0 The body is one big unit, with all organ systems not only working together for the greater good and health, but also reliant upon one another.\u00a0 If one system is out of balance, another is impacted, then over time if this persists, health can be impaired on many levels.<\/p>\n For me, two main forms of alternative medicine exist and are recognized, which include Ayurvedic and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM).\u00a0 Both of these philosophies or approaches view the body as a whole as mentioned above, and both are very similar to one another on a basic level, but tend to use different herbs based on the geography of the philosophies.\u00a0 When it comes to disease in both philosophies, it is due to an imbalance within the body, and digestive health is one key and very important area of concern because it is so interconnected with the other organ systems. <\/strong>\u00a0Interestingly enough, emotions are also a key player in both Ayurveda and TCM, which are viewed as major contributors to the imbalance creation, including digestive health.<\/p>\n Now, before you dismiss emotions as being a contributor in the horse, take a moment and reflect on that, thinking about your horse, other horses in the barn, how they act, how they interact, and how they respond to various things that happen to them or in their environment.\u00a0 Those responses in the horse are emotions, plain and simple, but the emotional response can be typical of their constitution (TCM) or dosha (Ayurveda) and further amplified by an imbalance in the body.\u00a0 These emotions are also heavily linked to the stress response, which in alternative medicine impacts energy flow (Qi) and can then impact the act of digestion.\u00a0 Think about the last time you were heavily anxious and how that impacted your digestion, often speeding things up.\u00a0 Then think about the last time you were maybe sad or depressed, and how this likely slowed down digestion.\u00a0 The same things happen in the horse as they too experience emotions.\u00a0 That is the impact of emotions on energy flow in the body, specifically impacting digestive function.<\/p>\n Both Ayurveda and TCM place heavy importance upon digestion, not only recommending various herbs for daily usage to support this natural act and the importance of a proper diet, but also various meditative practices including yoga and other exercises.\u00a0 All of these things impact digestion and energy flow in the body, which is connected with health, hence why they are heavily recommended and relied upon.<\/p>\n When digestion goes wrong, bad things happen in the horse, and you and I for that matter.\u00a0 This goes beyond eating a meal and having your horse experience loose stools or even gas colic.\u00a0 Most will recognize digestive upset in the horse when one of those two things happen, but what if your horse experiences allergies, skin eruptions, uveitis, joint lameness, metabolic issues, or even poor hoof growth?\u00a0 Not so obvious then, right?\u00a0 Despite, the problem is present.<\/p>\n To begin with, look at the digestive tract as being something more than a stomach, small intestine, large and small colon.\u00a0 Those are just organs within the system, each with their own purpose and function, but still organs.\u00a0 Look at the digestive tract as having a bigger purpose.\u00a0 See it as a black cauldron, being full of foodstuff with a fire beneath it, like in the image noted above.\u00a0 The black cauldron is the digestive tract, the contents within it are the food that is ingested, and the fire below is what is termed ‘agni’ or digestive fire, also referred to in the sense of Qi or digestive energy.\u00a0 This agni or digestive Qi is present within each horse, as it is a person, but is further created by various foods, herbs, and lifestyle events.\u00a0 In order for the food to be digested properly, there must be fire below to help the process of digestion and fermentation.\u00a0 If that fire is not present or very weak, proper digestion will not take place and could contribute not just to poor nutrient absorption but also other major problems.<\/p>\n In the world of Ayurvedic medicine, they use the term Ama, as being reflective of the accumulation of toxic buildup in the body as a result of poor digestion.\u00a0 In TCM, this is viewed as ‘dampness’. The word “Ama” and “dampness’ generally refer to the concept of ‘undigested’ and results in accumulation of toxic debris in the body of the horse.\u00a0 Under normal circumstances, with a healthy digestive process, the act of fermenting the food should create a clear mist or steam, which is literally energy being created out of the food.\u00a0 When digestion is not proper, this clear mist becomes cloudy, heavy, and like an oil. This byproduct is not conducive to proper energy production within the body.<\/p>\n This toxic debris can be seen as something ‘thick, heavy, oily, and cold’ which tends to then impact the normal flow of energy in the body, creating stagnation on various levels.\u00a0 This can be obviously evident in the horse with oily skin, a productive cough with mucous or phlegm, skin allergies with discharge, lymphangitis with drainage, and runny eyes as basic examples.\u00a0 All of those have some sort of discharge, which is ‘Ama’ in basic terms.\u00a0 However, many conditions have ‘Ama’ or ‘dampness’ present as a main contributor, but it is not so obvious.\u00a0 This may include the simply overweight horse, one with laminitis, poor circulation, joint issues, and metabolic concerns.<\/p>\n Don’t believe a simply overweight horse has ‘dampness or ama’?\u00a0 Fat accumulation is dampness and is ama by traditional standards.\u00a0 Fat is heavy, oily, thick and often contains many toxins present within it due to accumulation.\u00a0 Cut through the skin of an overweight horse and you will encounter a fat layer which will literally ooze oil.\u00a0 That is dampness and ama on a very basic level.<\/p>\n Indicators of Dampness or Ama in the Horse include:<\/strong><\/p>\n Okay, so your horse is overweight or may have some of the problems mentioned above.\u00a0 What’s the big deal, right?\u00a0 Well, it’s actually a really big deal.\u00a0 The reason being is that if you have any of the problems mentioned above in your horse, and that is a short list, then your root problem stems back to digestion.\u00a0 You can chase the problem all day long with medications, improper supplements, or other therapies, but unless you aim to resolve the bigger problem, it will continue to exist and pop up now and again.<\/p>\n Dampness or Ama are extremely important in the world of alternative medicine, which is why they are often addressed in every patient.\u00a0 Dampness and Ama reflect not just toxic buildup and poor digestion in the body, but signals larger problems involving proper energy and blood flow in the body.\u00a0 This ‘fluid’ or toxic debris can settle into tissues throughout the body, which then becomes like a saturated sponge on a certain level.\u00a0 Energy cannot flow properly through that saturation and is impeded, creating stagnation.\u00a0 As a result, in the long-term, if energy flow is impaired, then circulation can also be impaired as it takes energy to move or circulate blood.\u00a0 In addition, think of the blood as become thick and oily.\u00a0 This becomes heavy and hard to move, which is associated with high lipid or fat levels in people and animals. This stagnation is not only associated with pain and cramping, but also bloating, and can impact nutrient delivery to tissue.<\/p>\n Now, think about that laminitic horse that is overweight.\u00a0 He may be in pain with his feet and is receiving specialized shoes and pain medications, helping on some level but not resolving the issue.\u00a0 Given what we have discussed, now look deeper.\u00a0 He is overweight which tells us he has dampness and poor digestion.\u00a0 This didn’t happen yesterday, but over time, so that dampness is well seated, enough so that it is now impairing circulation to the foot.\u00a0 In addition, it is impacting his gut, the microbiome is out of balance and likely there is increased bacterial shift or translocation into the blood stream, such as LPS, which is now equating to higher levels of inflammation.\u00a0 This then is also impacting his insulin function creating metabolic issues.<\/p>\n Also, look at the average COPD horse, maybe a barrel racing QH.\u00a0 He may have mild COPD with a productive cough with mucous when he works.\u00a0 The cough is not always there, but more present when he is worked heavily, and it impairs his energy and stamina.\u00a0 He is overweight as well or based on the breed, he is ‘heavy’.\u00a0 Simply put he has dampness and poor digestion, which is creating the phlegm in his lungs.\u00a0 This phlegm is also impairing energy circulation, reducing the ability of the lungs to function properly and reducing his energy levels.\u00a0 You can choose to use a medication, like Lasix, which does help to reduce moisture in the body, but it is not addressing the main problem, which is digestion, hence the constant need for the medication and often increasing doses.<\/p>\n These examples can continue on and on, going to the skin allergy horse, the uveitis horse, or even the warmblood that is heavier by nature and experiencing back or SI issues.\u00a0 The main point here is that unless you address the bigger problem, the root issue, you will likely continue to contend with those issues time after time.\u00a0 One major thing to point out is that the longer dampness or ama has accumulated, meaning the longer the digestive process has been out of kilter, the harder it is to eliminate or resolve.\u00a0 It is not impossible, but it takes more time.\u00a0 Think of it as being moisture in a basement carpet that has accumulated for months or even years.\u00a0 You can get rid of it, but it’s not easy and takes time.\u00a0 Or like grease that has splattered up from the stove onto the sheet rock wall behind it. That oil penetrates and is hard to remove, even hard to cover up at times.<\/p>\n It is much easier to avoid dampness and ama from the beginning by supporting proper digestion than it is to try to resolve.\u00a0 Prevention is always the best measure.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Digestion is of utmost importance in the horse, as it is in people.\u00a0 Considering that dampness or ama accumulation are very common in health and lameness conditions, the ultimate goal should be to support that digestion and minimize any accumulation.\u00a0 This can be done in a variety of ways.<\/p>\n First<\/strong>, look at the diet.\u00a0 Foods comes in all shapes and sizes, and no two foods are the same, not just in nutritional content but their energy and impact upon the body.\u00a0 Foods can be encouraging to the digestive process or they can discourage it just as well.\u00a0 If your horse is dampness prone, which many are, the diet is the first thing to evaluate.\u00a0 Grains can be very heating, which is somewhat beneficial to digestion, but they tend to also encourage dampness in the body as many can be hard to digest.\u00a0 The high carbohydrate loads in grains can also present problems to the digestive microbiome, easily encouraging negative shifts in the populations.\u00a0 Oils and even flax seed are also potentially problematic for the damp-prone horse.\u00a0 These types of foods are literally dampness in and of themselves, like dairy products to a person.\u00a0 Not only are they high in calories, but they easily contribute to the damp load in the horse, creating more of the same.\u00a0 They are heavy, oily, and hard to digest.\u00a0 It is not a good idea to give a damp forming food to a horse with damp issues, unless their digestive fire is really strong.\u00a0 \u00a0This is akin to giving a person with sinusitis a bowel of yogurt or ice-cream.\u00a0 It will make matters worse.\u00a0 Different forages also present benefits and cons.\u00a0 Some forages can be hard on the digestive tract, due to high stem content, or in the case of Bermuda, little fibrous debris to stimulate proper colonic contractions.\u00a0 Many, such as alfalfa, are beneficial to the digestive process due to inherent phytochemical present, impacting the microbiome and supporting healthy liver function.<\/p>\n Second<\/strong>, look at supplements that are being given.\u00a0 Many supplements on the market are synthetic based and being that, they are naturally very bitter to the taste.\u00a0 In light of this, most manufacturers cover this with synthetic ‘all natural’ flavoring, which is artificial and loaded with sucrose or fructose. These can be heating to the digestive tract and can be quite irritating to the overall digestive process, influencing the microbiome.<\/p>\n Third<\/strong>, feed foods that are damp resolving and ‘clean and light’, not heavy.\u00a0 This would include all greens, such as alfalfa, spinach, clover, and even some forms of roots including yam and sweet potato.\u00a0 Grains, nuts, and seeds are heavy in nature, due to fat content.\u00a0 General rule of thumb is that if you ground up that food and added water, does it dissolve or make a thick paste?\u00a0 If it makes a thick paste, it is likely damp creating, rather than resolving.\u00a0 \u00a0Heavy foods in that cauldron are hard to cook, they take more heat to get going, and the end result is often a sludge rather than a clear mist.\u00a0 That is your dampness.<\/p>\n Fourth<\/strong>, utilize various herbs to target the digestive fire.\u00a0 The digestive fire is what is needed to aid in the digestion and assimilation of all foods, whether if heavy or light and clean by nature.\u00a0 Many horses have a very strong digestive fire, which is typical of the leaner and high strung Thoroughbred, for instance.\u00a0 However, many others are lacking in this area which can be reflective in the dampness which is present, as well as a reduced overall energy and sluggishness.\u00a0 They may seem ‘cold’ at times, in energy and personality.\u00a0 The easier keeper type can go both ways, either too much or too little.\u00a0 Horses that have been dealing with a long-term health problem are often deficient, as their condition has literally sucked the life out of them, impacting their digestion. There are many herbs that can assist in this area, which will be discussed in another article.\u00a0 Overall, these types of herbs are warming in nature, with some being rather hot and others not so much.<\/p>\n When it comes to managing this concept of dampness in the horse, we utilize digestive herbs which are often warm in nature and either ‘burn’ up the dampness or cause it to leak out of the body through urine or feces.\u00a0 How you address this concept in the horse is dependent upon how severe the condition may be.<\/p>\n If the horse is fairly mild in regard to clinical signs,<\/strong> I will choose the Cur-OST EQ Tri-GUT<\/a><\/strong><\/span> or the SV EQ Gut Blend I<\/a><\/strong><\/span>, which are similar but the later is slightly more potent in action.\u00a0 \u00a0Another option is the Cur-OST EQ Total Body & Joint<\/a><\/strong><\/span>, which aids several areas of health in addition to benefitting digestive health and dampness through the inherent Triphala blend present in the formula along with other digestive herbs, including blueberry.<\/p>\n If the horse has more moderate problems with dampness<\/strong>, which may be loose stools, a productive cough, stocking up and metabolic problems, I will use the Cur-OST EQ Tri-Guggul<\/a><\/strong><\/span> formula or the SV EQ Gut Blend II<\/strong><\/a><\/span>.<\/strong>\u00a0 Both are fairly potent in action.<\/p>\nAlternative Concepts of Digestion in the Horse<\/span><\/h3>\n
Ama, Dampness, and the Digestive Fire in the Horse<\/span><\/h3>\n
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Dampness in the Horse and Importance<\/span><\/h3>\n
Improving and Supporting Digestion in the Horse<\/span><\/h3>\n
Solutions for Digestion and Dampness in the Horse<\/span><\/h3>\n