Did you know that your horse’s skin is the largest organ in their body, accounting for 12-24% of their total weight? It also plays multiple crucial roles, such as

• The first line of defence against harmful pathogens, insects, and diseases
• Helps the horse sense temperature change
• Regulates body heat
• Secrete natural oils
• Excrete waste products
• Synthesise Vitamin D
• Respond to even the lightest touch, like that of a fly

Healthy skin is more resilient against infection and disease, and while grooming is helpful, true skin health starts from within through proper nutrition. Lisa Elliott. MSc – Equine Nutrition Solutions shares some essential guidelines to help you keep your horse’s skin in tip top condition.

The Structure of Skin

Your horse’s skin consists of three main layers: the epidermis (outer layer), the dermis (middle layer), and the deeper hypodermis, which connects the skin to underlying structures. It’s important to understand that skin isn’t just an external covering – it also extends internally, meaning that internal body health directly impacts skin health.

Start with a Fibre-Focused, Balanced Diet

A balanced diet is key to overall well-being, which includes supple, healthy skin and that requires specific vitamins and minerals to function properly. Essential minerals for skin structure and integrity include copper, magnesium, and zinc, which is important for skin cell reproduction, maintenance, and repair. Vitamins A, E (an antioxidant), and B are also vital for skin health.

Providing these nutrients through a well-balanced diet, which includes a high specification, nutritious balancer like Coligone Balancer, fed alongside good quality forage, is crucial for promoting skin health.

Biotin, a B vitamin is essential for normal skin growth and repair, and is produced by the billions of microbes in your horse’s hindgut. These microbes thrive on fibre, so supplying your horse with plenty of high-quality fibre and forage will support skin health by keeping the gut microbes active and productive.

A fibre-rich diet ensures a healthy digestive system, which in turn benefits your horse’s skin. Again, providing ad-lib forage will help supply plenty of complex fibre for hindgut microbes to break down through fermentation and produce a good supply of B vitamins. 

Additionally, adding in some diversity, through additional fibre like Coligone Fibre Cubes, will also help keep your horse’s gut microbiome healthy, balanced and functioning well, as well as promoting Vitamin B production.

Provide Quality Protein

Skin is primarily composed of protein, including keratin (which provides structure in the epidermis), collagen (a key component of connective tissue in the dermis), and melanin (responsible for pigmentation).

Protein is essential for overall health, and a diet rich in quality protein will positively impact your horse’s skin. Look for feeds that include good levels of key amino acids like both Coligone MultiVit Pro and Coligone Balancer to ensure your horse receives the essential nutrients needed to build keratin and collagen for strong and healthy skin.

Supply the Correct Omega Balance

Both Omega-6 and Omega-3 fatty acids are crucial for maintaining skin suppleness and condition. Both contribute to skin structure and help the body resist infection and allergic reactions, but the skin is healthiest when these fatty acids are supplied in the correct balance.

Omega-3 is needed in greater amounts, but many horse diets tend to be higher in Omega-6, particularly those higher in cereals – which could lead to increased inflammation and may compromise skin health. Omega-3 fatty acids, on the other hand, have been shown to reduce inflammation and improve inflammatory allergic skin conditions.

Fresh grass is a great source of Omega-3 fatty acids and supplies an ideal ratio of Omega 3 to Omega 6 fatty acids. Making sure your horse has good access to grazing will help support skin health.

If your horse has restricted access to grass or during winter when grass loses its nutrition, and horses are stabled more frequently, adding a good source of both Omega 3 and 6 at the right ratio is recommended such as Coligone ExSelenium Oil.

Don’t Forget Water!

Water is vital for keeping body and skin cells hydrated and functioning properly. Just as you might notice the difference in your skin when you’re dehydrated, your horse’s skin will also suffer without adequate water intake.

Providing clean, fresh water and ensuring your horse always has access to it will help maintain hydration and improve skin health. Also, providing a salt lick to help meet your horse’s daily salt needs, and stimulate thirst, will further support fluid and water balance for optimal skin health and elasticity. 

Skin Problems and Immunity

Skin problems like allergies, itching and mud fever can be fairly common in horses and can occur throughout the year. Horses with pink areas of skin are often more susceptible to sunburn and conditions like mud fever as their skin is generally more sensitive.

However, skin problems are rarely just skin-deep and are often indicative of a compromised immune system brought on by poor nutrition, age or other disease.  Immunity is, therefore, key in trying to prevent and mitigate common skin problems and this can be supported through focused nutrition.

Omega fatty acids and immunity

Optimal levels of Omega-3 fatty acids have been shown to reduce body-wide inflammation and to support normal immune function, with specific applications for allergies, skin conditions, respiratory issues, and joint health.

Due to their anti-inflammatory properties, Omega 3 fatty acids can help mitigate inflammation within the body, which is often reflected by itchy skin, and could help reduce inflammation associated with sunburn. The most useful Omega 3 fatty acids for conferring health benefits are docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), as they have the most biological activity.

Research (O’Neil et.al.2002) suggests that when horses’ diets were supplemented with Omega-3 fatty acids the allergic response to midges that cause sweet itch was significantly reduced. Omega-3 fatty acids can also help with skin lesions and inflammation and can potentially help to reduce inflammation associated with conditions like mud fever.

Omega-3 fatty acids can be supplied daily through ExSelenium oil, to mitigate skin inflammation and support immunity, helping to combat skin conditions and support skin health. 

Hindgut microbiome and immunity

Your horse’s gut microbiome is a diverse community of microorganisms residing in the intestinal tract, particularly the hindgut (Caecum and colon).  The hindgut microbiome plays a pivotal role in maintaining overall health, including skin health. A healthy gut microbiome helps regulate the immune system, preventing excessive inflammation that can lead to skin disorders such as hives, allergies, or dermatitis.

Research has shown that gut microbes are involved in blood vessel development and help strengthen and stimulate the immune system. The gut microbes are also a critical line of resistance to invading pathogenic or disease-causing microorganisms. This is known as the ‘barrier effect’, and it means that harmful bacteria are competitively excluded, which helps to prevent serious illness and disease. In this way disease within the digestive tract which could lead to inflammation within the body, and in turn skin problems and itching, is minimised.

Imbalances in the gut microbiota, caused by factors like stress, poor diet, or antibiotic use, can compromise immunity and contribute to skin problems and conditions like mud fever, which is linked to decreased immunity. Ensuring that immunity is the best it can be helps horses become less susceptible to certain diseases .

Coligone Powder and Liquid can be fed to help maximise and support hindgut microbial health and promote a healthy, balanced, functional microbiome. Both contain generous levels of key pro and pre-biotics to support hindgut microbes and help maintain a healthy, balanced hindgut, namely, scFOS, MOS and Yeasacc. 

• ScFOS provides food for beneficial bacteria and can help mitigate disruptions to the hindgut microbes and restore a healthy balance.
• MOS can bind to invading pathogenic microbes taking them out of the hindgut, to maintain a healthy microbial balance and further support immunity.
• Yeasacc has been shown to both stimulate beneficial bacteria and improve fibre digestion, which in turn helps to further support a healthy, balanced microbiome for optimum immunity.

To ensure optimal skin health, it is essential to focus on a balanced diet rich in essential vitamins, minerals, quality proteins, and the correct omega fatty acids. Proper nutrition supports a resilient immune system, which is key to preventing and managing common skin conditions. By prioritising your horse’s diet and hydration, whilst supporting the hindgut microbiome, you can help them maintain healthy, supple skin that is better equipped to fend off infections and withstand environmental challenges.

Remember, healthy skin starts from within.