Please share.
And, how does one know a horse’s immune system is improving if there’s no acute symptoms in the first place? (he’s just finished a month of doxy after testing moderately positive, but exhibiting overall body soreness and cranky pants attitude)
Thanks.
Testing moderately positive for what? Acute symptoms of what? Why was the horse on doxycycline? More info, please! 
Colostrum contains antibodies, immunoglobulin proteins which are absorbed in the gut of a neonatal mammal for only a few hours after birth. Shortly after that window of time, the gut lining can no longer absorb the antibodies. So if you are treating anything other than a few-hours-old foal, colostrum is not effective at all in “boosting the immune system”. The proteins would simply be digested and broken down into their components like any other protein.
Probiotics and prebiotics may be more useful in re-seeding the GI system of an animal that has been on oral antibiotics. They replace the beneficial bacteria that the antibiotics may have killed off.
Keysfins- I’d always thought the same as you, that colostrum was only useful in newborns. My friend and vet told me of a new study showing that it can be partly absorbed and can be beneficial in adult horses. We tried colostrum with a very immunocompromised rescue case figuring it couldn’t hurt. Doing a quick search, this article summarizes the new info http://equimed.com/news/health/colostrum-an-exceptional-superfood-for-adult-horses
And I have no idea the effect on general healthy of a healthy horse. Like I said, it was one thing of many we tried with a rescue horse.
Keysfkns: Lyme. So what are your personal experiences with colostrum?
I can google, too.
Cupcake: what did you witness in your rescue in the way of improvement?
[QUOTE=Sansena;8928985]
Keysfkns: Lyme. So what are your personal experiences with colostrum?
I can google, too.
Cupcake: what did you witness in your rescue in the way of improvement?[/QUOTE]
My personal experience with colostrum is raising foals who received plenty of colostrum from their dams. Their IgG levels were excellent when tested about 12 hours after birth. I have not had a need to use it for an adult horse.
Cupcake, thanks for the link.
That article is very vague and is written by someone selling something, which always makes me leary. I went digging through the list of references and reviewing the the studies and the ones specifically on horses used not plain colostrum but a colostrum with additives.
" A previous study [26] showed no effect of BC <bovine colostrum> on RD <respiratory disease> in horses in race training, but the authors felt that this was likely a result of the low incidence of RD in this cohort of horses. The authors hypothesized that investigating an age group that experienced a higher rate of RD would produce more meaningful results, which led to the present study in younger individuals more susceptible to RD. In addition, the previous study included only BC and not the other ingredients in the BCS used here (MOSs; vitamins A, C, and E; zinc; and folic acid), which likely contributed to the immune effect…"
Fenger, C.K., Tobin, T., Casey, P.J., Roualdes, E.A., Langemeier, J.L., Cowles, R., and Haines, D.M., 2016. Enhanced bovine colostrum supplementation shortens the duration of respiratory disease in Thoroughbred yearlings. Journal of Equine Veterinary Science, 42, 77-81.
So I left the horse world with a problem horse who I did EVERYTHING to fix. I’m back into it 5 years later with a better mindset. I mentally list the powdered colostrum very high on the list of “dumb things I did to avoid admitting to myself that my horse needed to retire” - I did not notice any difference in him with regards to his frequent lymphagitis.
It’s hard to say if the colostrum did anything. This was a SEVERE rescue case and he had been in a bad situation for far too long. He was a 1.5 on the H.scale. He was covered in some kind of skin gunk, had multiple abscesses in all 4 feet. His blood work, liver, kidney, and heart functions were all abnormal. We put him on antibiotics, colostrum, treated his selenium defficiency… I had him for a year, put weight on him, but he was never normal. His liver function was never normal and it finally reached the point of failure and we had to put him down. It was so, so sad. He’d spent years in absolute neglect and squalor. He was only 10. At least he got 1 good year of ample feed and turnout and horse buddies.
So, to answer your question, no clue if it did anything. Sorry :sadsmile:
Cupcake… I’m so sorry about your rescue. You’re a good person for having taken him on. And thanks for the info…
Sansena, what does your vet say about using colostrum? Are there other vet recommendations to help your horse? Sorry you are dealing with Lyme, I know that can be very difficult to treat.
I am just verrry leery of any claims of colostrum “boosting the immune system” of an adult mammal. I’ve seen bovine colostrum in health food stores for human use, but that has never made sense to me, from an immunological perspective. Maybe one of the vets here could offer an opinion.
Good luck with you horse, Sansena. There are many threads here with info from others who have treated Lyme disease, whether acute or chronic, and different treatments. So you should be able to find some useful input in the related threads that are listed in the box right below this thread, as a start.
One of the flaws in Biostar’s own PR:
Bovine colostrum provides the immunglobin IgG, one of the most important antibodies because of its effectiveness against multiple microorganisms, many of who are now resistant to antibiotics.
Immunoglobulins are specific. A given IgG targets one antigen, and one antigen alone. So unless you are getting IgG from an animal that has been exposed to the same antigen you are concerned about, it will not help, even if absorbed intact.
That said, there are a number of other components of this stuff that, in some publications , have been shown to have various useful properties. whether they are present in significant amounts in this product is anyone’s guess.
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