Effects of transport, fasting and anaesthesia on the faecal microbiota of healthy adult horses.
Authors: Schoster A, Mosing M, Jalali M, Staempfli H R, Weese J S
Journal: Equine veterinary journal
Summary
# Editorial Summary Transport, fasting and anaesthesia each trigger measurable shifts in equine faecal microbiota composition, according to this 2016 investigation by Schoster and colleagues, who used next-generation sequencing to track microbial changes in eight healthy horses across multiple timepoints. The researchers observed significant reductions in Clostridiales following transport (P = 0.03) and decreased Rickettsiales abundance after 12 hours of fasting (P = 0.024), whilst anaesthesia produced detectable alterations in overall microbial community structure when assessed using phylogenetic analysis (P = 0.02 for both Jaccard and Yue-Clayton indices). Notably, alpha diversity—a measure of richness and evenness within the microbial population—remained stable across all interventions, suggesting that whilst the relative proportions of bacterial groups shifted, the overall complexity of the microbiota was preserved in these healthy individuals. These findings indicate that transport, feed withdrawal and general anaesthesia function as stressors to the intestinal microbiota, which has important implications for managing horses undergoing surgery or long-distance travel, particularly given the potential link between microbiota disruption and post-operative colic. Practitioners should consider these results when counselling clients on perioperative risk factors and may warrant investigation into targeted interventions—such as strategic pre-travel or pre-anaesthetic feeding protocols—to maintain microbiotal stability during inherently disruptive procedures.
Read the full abstract on PubMed
Practical Takeaways
- •Transport, fasting, and anaesthesia are confirmed stressors that alter the equine intestinal microbiota composition; monitor horses carefully during and after these procedures for potential post-procedural complications
- •While microbiota changes occur with these routine procedures in healthy horses, the clinical significance and disease implications remain unclear and warrant further investigation
- •Consider supportive management strategies (dietary, probiotic, or other interventions) for horses undergoing transport and surgery, particularly given the documented microbiota perturbations
Key Findings
- •Transport significantly reduced Clostridiales abundance compared to baseline (P = 0.03)
- •Fasting decreased Rickettsiales abundance (P = 0.024)
- •Anaesthesia had significant effects on microbial community membership and structure (Jaccard and Yue-Clayton indices both P = 0.02)
- •Alpha diversity showed no significant changes across all time points (P > 0.21)