Equine Probiotics-What Are They, Where Are We and Where Do We Need To Go?

Summary

# Equine Probiotics: Closing the Gap Between Marketing and Evidence Berreta and Kopper's 2022 review examines a fundamental problem in equine nutrition: whilst probiotics—live microorganisms administered to improve host health—are widely marketed to horse owners and professionals, substantial gaps exist between product labelling and actual contents. Drawing on 19 years of quality-control research, the authors identified consistent discrepancies between stated and measured bacterial counts, alongside frequent omission of critical information such as expiration dates and storage protocols. Key findings revealed that many commercial equine probiotic products fail verification testing, raising questions about efficacy and consumer protection in an largely unregulated market. For practitioners advising clients on supplementation, this synthesis underscores the need for evidence-based product selection criteria and highlights that marketing claims alone cannot be trusted; establishing standardised labelling requirements, transparent manufacturing practices, and independent verification testing would substantially improve both product reliability and outcomes in equine digestive health management.

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Key Findings

• •Studies over a 19-year period consistently identified deficiencies between actual probiotic contents and label claims in equine products
• •Basic information such as expiration dates and storage instructions are frequently missing from probiotic supplement labels
• •Quality control standards for equine probiotics are inadequately defined and inconsistently applied across marketed products

Conditions Studied

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