Yeast Supplementation Improves Colostrum Quality in Horses

At the recent meeting of the French Equine Veterinarian Association, a presentation on the effect of yeast supplementation on mares’ colostrum showed that equine colostrum immune quality can be significantly enhanced by this practice. Colostrum, the first liquid produced by a mare’s mammary glands in the hours after a foal’s birth, is the method by which the foal receives antibodies to protect it from disease while its immune system matures. Mares with low-quality colostrum can’t provide sufficient antibodies and this is one risk factor in neonatal infections, some of which prove fatal to very young foals.

In the study conducted at a French equine clinic, supplementation of live Saccharomyces cerevisiae ss. boulardii CNCM-1079 yeast to pregnant pony mares was shown to increase immunoglobulin level and persistence in colostrum. The same result has been shown in sows and other animals. Live yeast supplementation has also improved vaccine efficacy and nonspecific immunity in some species.