Saracen PRO-YEAST is a research-proven, live yeast additive that provides a probiotic effect. This supplement will help to optimize fibre digestion, nutrient, and energy utilisation. It is suitable for all types of horses and ponies and is particularly useful for performance horses to help maintain optimal microbial health whilst supporting and maintaining a normal hindgut environment and stable hindgut pH.

Hindgut Health

Maintaining hindgut health is vital as horses rely on energy production through the fermentation of fibre in
the hindgut. To maximise energy extraction from fibre a symbiotic relationship with the hindgut
microorganisms needs to be achieved.

These microorganisms require an anaerobic (without oxygen) environment with a pH of 6.5‐7 to thrive
and when the environment is not at these ideal conditions, this can have a detrimental effect on health
and performance.

Risk factors include:

• High starch diets
• Changes to feed and forage
• Rich grazing
• Stressful events
• Lack of forage/fibre

All of these things can lead to the pH of the hindgut being lowered and the proliferation of lactic acid-producing
microorganisms in favour of fibre digesting microbes which leads to a change in the
microorganism populations in the hindgut. This change exacerbates the reduction of hindgut pH as higher
levels of lactic acid are produced and this then becomes a cycle, making it difficult for the horse to rectify
hindgut health.

So, what does this mean?

At a pH of 5 or lower hindgut acidosis can occur, and you may see symptoms such as:

• Poor appetite
• Colic
• Stereotypic behaviours such as cribbing

However, you may also see no symptoms even if your horse is experiencing hindgut issues.

Supporting your horse's hindgut health is easy through the provision of a high fibre diet, however modern management and feed practices combined with competition schedules and travelling can make it hard to rely solely on fibre to fuel your horse. Considering the use of a digestive aid can be beneficial in the management of optimal hindgut health but knowing which one to choose can be tricky. Saracen PRO-YEAST is a research-proven supplement that contains VistaCell, a live yeast that can help to promote a more stable hindgut environment and help to improve fibre digestion.

How does PRO-YEAST work?

Saracen PRO‐YEAST works by competing with the lactic acid-producing microorganisms that thrive in a low pH environment, to reduce the additive acid load whilst also removing oxygen from the hindgut. This process makes the hindgut environment more desirable to fibre digesting bacteria which then encourages the proliferation and activity of these microorganisms, which is what we want.

The proliferation of fibre‐digesting bacteria leads to an increase in energy supply via volatile fatty acid production which will have a direct effect on health and performance.