Tips from the Field: Summer 2025

As BioStar’s founder and formulator, I love getting feedback, stories, and tips from horse people; I always learn something new! I think that’s what makes loving horses and dogs so special: there is always more to learn.

And this summer has provided me with no shortage of new lessons!

The beta test surprise: Eating crow

Photo courtesy of © E. Berkery Photography

In the BioStar lab, we’ve been beta-testing a new hydration product that goes in water, rather than feed. Our customer service manager, Becca (pictured left), agreed to try it out with her Choctaw pony, despite the mare being very selective about water (and would most likely not touch it).

To Becca’s surprise, the pony drank half a bucket right after being presented with water.

Becca’s response to my asking how the beta test?

“I’m eating crow.”

Water bucket color preferences in horses

A Massachusetts-based customer recently told me about a study in the Austral Journal of Veterinary Sciences that showed horses preferred to drink water from light blue/turquoise buckets over red, green, and yellow buckets (Yildirim & Yildiz, 2020).¹ The water buckets in her barn were green, so she promptly changed them out to a light blue and noticed her horses drinking more water.

So, if your horse isn’t drinking well, check the color of the water bucket! That may end up making a world of difference.

Microbiota composition in varying diets of horses

A veterinarian referred me to a study, published in the Frontiers in Veterinary Science Journal, that highlighted the differences in microbiota composition in horses based on their diets. Conducted over 129 days, the study focused on 19 healthy horses.

The findings showed that horses on high starch diets had lower microbiota diversity than horses on high fiber diets. The authors noted that “high levels of bacterial diversity have been associated with… greater colonization resistance against potentially pathogenic bacteria” (Raspa et al., 2024, p. 8).²

I found it fascinating that the horses on the high starch diet had an increased presence of one specific family of bacteria, Proteobacteria, in the small intestine. Proteobacteria has been reported to be associated with inflammatory intestinal diseases. Some of the pathogenic bacteria in this group includes E. coli and Salmonella spp., which can lead to intestinal barrier dysfunctions and, therefore, leaky gut and enteritis.

Remember: Often feed companies’ marketing term “low starch” is relative. Some “low starch” feeds are over 20% starches and sugars (NSC).

Summertime recovery

Photo courtesy of © Michelle Morgenstern Photography via Allison’s Instagram

Team BioStar Sponsored Rider Allison Kavey has had good success with one of her younger horses (pictured left) on BioStar’s Star-Lixir EQ™ and Alixir EQ™ paste.

After finding that her young Dutch Warmblood horse was struggling with muscle fatigue during the 2024 and 2025 summer months, she decided to add the products to his competition feeding regimen.

Allison told me that this addition has made an enormous difference in his daily work efforts on show days, as well as contributing to faster recoveries.

Star-Lixir EQ™ not only provides electrolytes and salt from Celtic sea salt and Hawaiian black lava salt, it also provides Shilajit, the Ayurvedic bio-resin from the Himalayas known as “the conqueror of weakness.” In Nepal, the Sherpas drink Shilajit tea before they climb. Shilajit helps regulate the mitochondria of the cells for recovery and energy.

Alixir EQ™ also provides Shilajit and Celtic sea salt, along with holy basil, micro-crystallized aloe, and various antioxidants to help horses recover and hydrate. It utilizes the oral transmucosal pathway, providing fast delivery to the systemic circulatory system.

CoQ10 for competition

Several trainers have told us how well Phoenix Q10™ paste works when administered on an as-needed basis.

When given at night during competition, Phoenix Q10™ works to help muscles recover, so the horse can perform well throughout the show days. It can also be given in the morning hours for horses needing energy support before a class.

In particular, I have found that dressage horses who run out of gas in the summer can benefit from daily doses of Phoenix Q10™, especially in hot, humid weather.

If you want to learn more about CoQ10 and Phoenix Q10™, read Does My Horse Need CoQ10? on the BioStar Blog!

Popping an abscess

An owner in California shared her story of a stubborn hoof abscess that just wouldn’t drain. She tried Animalintex®, ichthammol, and soaking the foot in epsom salts. Finally, she decided to borrow some Circuvate EQ™ from her more senior horse and give it to the horse with the abscess. The abscess popped two days later!*

Gastric support

After being diagnosed with grade 3 glandular ulcers, an owner in Texas put her horse on BioStar’s Thera-Gard EQ™, giving one scoop two times per day. Six weeks later, the horse showed a clean scope.*

Fecal water syndrome

We have had numerous reports on how well BioStar’s Bio Yeast EQ™ helps horses with fecal water syndrome (FWS).

One pony had been dealing with FWS for over a year, and the owner had tried every remedy under the sun. The pony would improve for a few days, then the FWS would return. The pony has since been on Bio Yeast EQ™ for six weeks with no evidence of returning FWS symptoms – the pony’s longest symptom-free period to date.*

Bio Yeast EQ™ is unique in that it provides two strains of active yeast: S. boulardii and S. cerevisiae, supplying 100 billion CFU’s per teaspoon.

Hay in the water

Quite a number of trainers are adding hay to their horses’ water when they compete, helping the horses adjust to a new water source that isn’t from their home barn.

However, some trainers have reported that they have had to remind the grooms (who are used to seeing clear water in the buckets) to not dump the hay water!

Canine theft in the feed room

An owner mistakenly left her ten-year-old, 15-pound poodle mix in the feed room while she worked horses. She had three buckets of soaking feed made up, each with a towel lying over the top. Rather than bark in distress, the clever canine pulled the towels off the buckets and ate all the top dressing: BioStar’s Optimum EQ 2.0™.

The owner called me in a panic, asking if she should rush the dog to the emergency vet. She told me she was shocked the dog would eat the Optimum EQ 2.0™, since she is normally a picky eater.

I told her not to worry; this has happened before (which is why we developed Optimum K9™). I did mention that the dog might get the zoomies.

The owner called me the next day to inform me that her dog was fine, that she did have the zoomies (both outside and inside the house), and that she had gobbled up her breakfast the next morning.

May all our critters stay healthy this summer!

Header photo of Allison Kavey riding Otis Redding courtesy of Phelps Media Group

* This is one experience and is not proven to be a result of BioStar products. Your horse’s results may vary.

References

1 https://ajvs.cl/index.php/ajvs/article/view/22/15

2 https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/veterinary-science/articles/10.3389/fvets.2024.1386135/full