Heart Horse 4U

09/30/2026

09/30/2026

Yes!!!

My friend Jill shared this picture with me of one of her horses hooves. The horse had lived on a grass pasture and has been on a dry lot the last 3 months. This horse does not have hoof problems.

I thought it was a great example to show that even in horses that don’t have hoof problems the grass can still cause low grade inflammation and can still compromise the quality of the hoof even if the horse never takes a lame step.

09/12/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1F91gGTHUw/?mibextid=wwXIfr

08/17/2026

Very thought provoking….

🔬 Health & Nutrition: The Lusitano Gut Microbiome

A comparative study examined the faecal microbiota of 189 healthy horses from six sport horse breeds, kept under similar conditions.

Among the breeds studied, the Purebred Lusitano showed the lowest bacterial diversity, while Hanoverian horses showed the highest.

The study also identified differences in microbial composition between several breeds and found 27 bacterial genera whose abundance varied significantly between breeds. Interestingly, the microbial communities of Lusitano and Anglo-Arabian horses showed greater temporal stability during the study period.

🧬 What does this research tell us?

• Equine gut microbiota varies between breeds.
• Lusitanos showed particularly low bacterial diversity within this study population.
• Diet, management and environmental conditions remain important factors when interpreting equine microbiome research.
• These findings highlight the need for further research into the relationship between breed, microbiota, nutrition and health.

An intriguing scientific finding. Not a clinical verdict.

📖 Want to explore more research on the Purebred Lusitano?

Source: Massacci et al., Inter-breed diversity and temporal dynamics of the faecal microbiota in healthy horses, Journal of Animal Breeding and Genetics.

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08/15/2026

What may lie underneath will relate to the surface