In Her Own Words With Allison Hinson
- Written by Allison Hinson
How did you get into horses?
When I was three years old I spent my days with my loving grandparents and enjoyed riding with my grandfather to take care of his Black Angus cattle every day. Occasionally, we would have to take his truck to his mechanic, Phillip. Instead of us leaving while the work was done, I would beg that we stay so that I could ride the horses. One of the very first memories that I can recall is riding across the pasture, bareback, with the Phillip’s daughter holding on to me.
Bridlewood Farm - Aiken, SC
- Written by The Carolinas Equestrian
Visit http://www.jpking.com/properties/bridlewood/ for more info
Nutrition and Gut Health: Going Beyond Digestion
- Written by Lynsey Whitacre, PhD - BioZyme, Inc
“All disease begins in the gut.” Hippocrates, the famous historical Greek physician, is known for this short and sweet quote. Is something thought to be so precise over 2,000 years ago still relevant today? And what exactly is gut health?
Gut health refers to the collective viability of the gastrointestinal tract and has an impact on many aspects of overall well-being. The most intuitive, of course, is digestion and absorption of nutrients. The horse’s foregut, composed of the stomach and the small intestine, is primarily responsible for the digestion and absorption of protein, fat, and simple carbohydrates like starch and sugar. The digestion of protein, fat, and sugar is usually relatively easy for the horse. The digestion of starch and fiber is more difficult because they are more structurally complex. Good gut health is very important to making sure these digestion processes go smoothly. In the foregut, good gut health means maintaining a correct and steady pH, maintaining the integrity of the gut lining, and maintaining the activity of the various cells that live there.
