EquiNectar research Microbiome & metabolomics

EquiNectar Individual Microbiome & VOC Pilot Study

An exploratory 2026 pilot followed individual microbiome and fermentation-metabolite responses during EquiNectar supplementation. All three healthy leisure horses showed increased butyrate, although the magnitude and wider microbial response varied substantially between individuals.

Original study title

ERME Microbiome & VOC Trial 2026: Individual-Level Mechanism

Microbiome Volatile organic compounds Butyrate Individual response Lactate metabolism

Study at a glance

Year 2026

Study type Exploratory before-and-after pilot study

Sample 3 healthy horses plus 1 separate antibiotic case

Population Healthy leisure horses, with one separate horse receiving systemic antibiotic treatment

Publication Internal exploratory trial report

EquiNectar tested? Yes

Peer reviewed No / not specified

Open access No / not specified

Relationship EquiNectar research

Healthy leisure horses in the exploratory cohort

+55% to +395%

Range of butyrate increases across all healthy horses

−33%

Reported Treponema change in the healthy cohort

+43%

Reported Selenomonas change in the healthy cohort

Research question

What did the researchers want to understand?

Can individual-level microbiome and fermentation-metabolite analysis identify consistent and horse-specific responses during EquiNectar supplementation, and which biomarkers may be most useful for future larger studies?

Research organizations

Research institutions

Tharos Ltd

Commercial research organization

Website ↗

Royal Army Veterinary Corps

Military veterinary service
United Kingdom

Methodology

How the study was conducted

Study design

This was an exploratory individual-level EquiNectar pilot study.

The principal cohort comprised three healthy leisure horses receiving EquiNectar. Changes in fecal microbial populations and fermentation metabolites were assessed at individual-horse level.

A fourth horse receiving systemic antibiotic treatment was considered separately as an exploratory case rather than part of the healthy cohort.

The study was designed primarily to explore mechanisms, biomarkers and individual response patterns rather than to estimate treatment effects across the wider horse population.

What was measured

The study examined individual changes in fecal microbial populations and volatile fermentation metabolites before and during EquiNectar supplementation.

Reported endpoints included short-chain fatty acids such as butyrate and propionate together with changes in bacterial groups associated with carbohydrate and lactate metabolism.

Particular attention was given to individual rather than solely group-level responses, allowing differences between horses' baseline microbiomes and subsequent response patterns to be explored.

Study findings

Key results

• All three healthy leisure horses showed increased fecal butyrate during the study.

• Individual butyrate increases ranged from +55% to +395%.

• The study summary reports an approximately 33% reduction in Treponema across the healthy cohort.

• Selenomonas increased by approximately 43% across the healthy cohort and was reported to increase in all three healthy horses.

• Individual horses showed substantially different baseline microbial profiles and magnitudes of response.

• The researchers identified different proposed responder patterns, highlighting the potential importance of baseline microbiome status.

• A separate horse receiving systemic antibiotics showed a different response pattern; because this represents a single case, it should be considered an exploratory observation rather than evidence of a general antibiotic interaction.

Interpretation

What do the findings mean?

The most consistent observation in the healthy horses was an increase in butyrate.

All three healthy horses showed higher butyrate following EquiNectar supplementation, with individual increases ranging from +55% to +395%. The available study summary reports an overall headline change of approximately +120%.

Changes were also reported in microbial taxa associated with fermentation, including a 33% reduction in Treponema and a 43% increase in Selenomonas in the healthy cohort.

The variation between individual horses suggests that EquiNectar may influence a horse's existing microbial ecosystem differently depending on its starting microbiome.

Because only three healthy horses were studied, these observations cannot establish population-level effect sizes. Their main value is mechanistic: they identify potentially useful biomarkers and response patterns for larger prospective studies

In practice

Why this research matters

The equine microbiome varies substantially between individual horses, meaning that two horses receiving the same diet or nutritional intervention may not respond in exactly the same way.

This pilot study examined that individuality rather than relying only on group averages.

All three healthy horses showed increased butyrate during EquiNectar supplementation, but the magnitude of change ranged from +55% to +395%. Changes were also reported in microbial groups including Treponema and Selenomonas.

This pattern is consistent with the idea that EquiNectar works with the horse's existing microbial community rather than producing an identical microbiome in every horse.

The findings are hypothesis-generating and should be tested in a substantially larger, controlled population before population-level conclusions are drawn.

Research transparency

Study limitations

This was a very small exploratory study.

The primary healthy cohort consisted of only three leisure horses, so percentages and apparently universal responses must be interpreted cautiously. A finding in all three horses is scientifically interesting but cannot establish that the same response will occur across the wider horse population.

The study also included one separate horse receiving systemic antibiotic treatment. An observation from a single antibiotic case cannot establish a general interaction, contraindication or recommended washout period between antibiotics and EquiNectar.

There was no untreated control group described in the available study summary.

The currently available source is an internal clinical trial report rather than a peer-reviewed publication, and a complete public protocol containing detailed methods, individual data, statistical analyses and formal investigator information is not currently available.

The results should therefore be treated as exploratory mechanistic observations that justify larger controlled studies.

EquiNectar context

How this research relates to EquiNectar

This study directly evaluated EquiNectar and provides exploratory individual-level evidence of changes in microbial populations and fermentation metabolites during supplementation.

All three healthy horses showed an increase in fecal butyrate, although the magnitude of response varied considerably between individuals. Changes were also reported in bacterial groups involved in carbohydrate and lactate metabolism.

The study is particularly useful for generating hypotheses about individual response to EquiNectar, but its very small sample size means the findings should be interpreted as exploratory rather than confirmatory.

Tharos / EquiNectar involvement

This is an exploratory EquiNectar research study currently documented in internal Tharos science materials. EquiNectar was the intervention evaluated. The study has not yet been published as a peer-reviewed paper and a complete public study report, including formal authorship and funding declarations, is not currently available.

EquiNectar evaluated Yes

Source record

Publication details

Year

2026

Species

Horse

Population

Healthy leisure horses, with one separate horse receiving systemic antibiotic treatment

Sample

3 healthy horses plus 1 separate antibiotic case

Setting

Leisure horses

Sources & further reading

EquiNectar — Is Your Horse's Gut Affecting Their Mood?

EquiNectar Individual Microbiome & VOC Pilot Study

What did the researchers want to understand?

Research institutions

Tharos Ltd

Royal Army Veterinary Corps

How the study was conducted

Key results

What do the findings mean?

Why this research matters

Study limitations

How this research relates to EquiNectar

Publication details

Sources & further reading

Related research

EquiNectar Racehorse Fecal pH Study

Racehorse Microbiome & Metabolome Study

EquiNectar Leisure Horse Microbiome & Metabolome Study

EquiNectar Spring Pasture Metabolomics Study

Related practical resources

Hindgut Acidosis in Horses: Signs, Causes & Management