JULY 2021 THE RIDER /29


Equine Robo-Gut Helps OVC Researchers Study Gastrointestinal Diseases In Horses


Originally published by Ontario Veterinary College – June 14, 2021 A University of


Guelph researcher is ad- vancing knowledge into prevention and early de- tection of gastrointestinal diseases in horses using a mechanical replica of a horse’s GI system to mimic equine digestion and disease. Dr. Luis Arroyo,


professor in the Depart- ment of Clinical Studies at the University of Guelph’s Ontario Veterinary Col- lege, uses the horse robo- gut to understand how various food compounds are digested. By manipu- lating the mechanical gut, he can observe how certain GI diseases affect the ani- mal and suggest potential treatments. “The robo-gut offers


OSAS Welcomes


Hysteria & Britches Say What


Two new horses were recently welcomed into


the Ontario Standardbred Adoption Society. Britches Say What, a seven-year-old daughter of Mister Big, spent most of her racing career at her home track of Kawartha Downs. She earned just over $20,000 before retirement. She hails from a prominent pacing family fea-


turing millionaires Remember When, Leah Almahurst, Mr Feelgood and Western Ideal. Britches Say What is now at the foster farm of Susan and Bert Mollica where she started her under saddle training this past weekend. Another newcomer to OSAS is the Shadow Play


gelding Hysteria who earned just under $50,000 during his racing career. His second dam is the $376,000 win- ning Artsplace mare Decor, the dam of $860,000 win- ner Northern Sky. Hysteria came into the program in unusual fash-


ion and will spend some time receiving R&R before starting training under saddle.


us ways to understand mechanism of disease and potential treatment options for our patients, as well as helping us learn more about early detection and prevention of GI diseases,” says Arroyo. Researchers are par-


ticularly interested in the gut microbiome, where abundant and diverse bac- terial communities can help ensure overall health. This system is based


on the groundbreaking human robo-gut created earlier by Dr. Emma


Allen-Vercoe, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology in the College of Biological Science. She studies the GI tracts of people with ulcerative co- litis, a form of inflamma- tory bowel disease. By adjusting the


model-gut’s humidity and temperature, for instance, researchers can mimic gut conditions in a live horse. “Through this ma-


nipulation, we can encour- age


a horse gut


microbiome to thrive in the robo-gut,” says Ar-


royo. “Native microbiota play an important role in the digestion, absorption and fermentation of nutri- ents to maintain a healthy state.”


Horses are hind-gut


fermenters that require na- tive bacterial colonies in the cecum (the junction between the small and large intestines) to ferment roughage, extract nutrients and produce short-chain fatty acids that are ab- sorbed for energy. When an imbalance


occurs in these intestinal


bacterial communities — which can happen due to an overabundance of po- tentially harmful gut bac- teria — the animal’s health can be thrown off. This is also where GI diseases, such as colic and colitis, arise.


Colic encompasses


myriad GI conditions that cause abdominal pain. Co- litis is inflammation of the mucosal lining of the large intestine (cecum and or colon), and can result in diarrhea and colic. “A healthy gut mi-


crobiome is essential for the proper systemic func- tioning of the horse’s en- tire body,” says Arroyo. “By looking at horse health holistically, we are able to prevent local and systemic ailments from flourishing.” Using the horse


robo-gut, researchers can analyze patient-specific problems and see the issue underlying GI disease. This


funded by the Ontario Equestrian


research is Member


Equine Research Fund.


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