SLAB51 probiotic supplementation in athletic horses: effect on the training performance

Background: Lactic acid is mainly produced in muscle as a consequence of anaerobic energy production, accumulates during high-intensity training and contributes ultimately to muscle fatigue onset. Lactate concentration in blood is largely employed for assessing athletic performance, since it reflects the production and accumulation of lactic acid in muscular cells. It can also provide useful diagnostic, prognostic and monitoring information about gastrointestinal disorders and colic, which often occurs during intensive exercise in horses. Research has shown how dietary intervention, including probiotics integration, can be used to help tackle muscle acidosis, a key element in the process of muscle fatigue, and secondarily, to prevent the colic onset. Objectives: The aims were to evaluate the role of probiotics in reducing post-exercise blood lactate concentration in horses in athletic activity; to assess whether probiotics can reduce the risk of gastrointestinal disorders during intensive training. Methods: 30 healthy horses (Arabian breed) subjected to high-intensity training period were randomly divided in 2 groups and supplemented for 21 days as follow: one group received a combination of live bacterial strains named Slab51® (Ormendes SA) and the other one was fed with placebo. To assess the health and the onset of sub-clinical signs of colic, horses underwent clinical evaluation twice a week. Blood lactate concentration was tested before and after the training session weekly. Fecal pH, commonly used to evaluate gastrointestinal health in equine, was also recorded. Results: Probiotics integration was well-tolerated with no adverse reaction; no signs of colic were observed during clinical examination; fecal pH value slightly increased in both groups. Before all training sessions, both groups showed a similar blood lactate concentration. During the study, due to the COVID-19 emergency, all training sessions were cancelled, then for the lactate outcome two weeks of treatment is the final endpoint. After two weeks, the mean value for the lactate concentration in horses integrated with probiotics was 4,73±0.82 after exercise, whereas in the placebo group it was 6,02±0.89. This data indicates that animals integrated with SLAB51® showed a blood lactate level lower than the controls post-training, although this difference did not reach statistical significance. Conclusions: Results indicate that SLAB51® can reduce post-exercise blood lactate concentration and prevent colic onset in trotter horses, which could be in turn correlated with better performance. Based on the trend of showed results, authors believe that data from additional time points would have positively affected the final outcome.