Bee Pollen Product Increases Appetite, Study Shows

Researchers at Michigan State University (MSU) have reported in a pilot study that a bee pollen-based product shows promise in improving athletic horses’ feed intake.
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Keeping weight on a horse that’s in intense training can be difficult; his appetite can fall off just as soon as you think he’s reaching his athletic peak. Researchers at Michigan State University (MSU) have reported in a pilot study that a bee pollen-based product shows promise in improving athletic horses’ feed intake, and it could be applicable in this type of scenario.

Brian Nielsen, PhD, PAS, Dipl. ACAN, associate professor in Equine Exercise Physiology at MSU, says, "I was as big of a skeptic on bee pollen as the world has ever found, but these owners of the company (WINNERS Bee Pollen Co.) were willing to put their money where their mouth was," notes Nielsen, and he says this quality is rare among supplement product companies.

Nielsen and his colleagues investigated the efficacy of supplementing Dynamic Trio 50/50 on several different variables. Their results were published in the Journal of Animal Physiology and Animal Nutrition. "Our main goal was to see if it would improve exercise performance," he says. "People were also saying how it helped with nutrient absorption, so we wanted to take a look."

Ten Arabians underwent a standardized exercise test in a gate walker and were pair-matched by sex and fitness, and they were randomly assigned to either a bee pollen group (receiving 118 g of Dynamic Trio 50/50 daily) or a control group (receiving a placebo) for 42 days. The horses received identical amounts of grain and were given free choice hay. The researchers collected urine from six geldings on days 18 to 21 (it was too difficult to get a clean sample from the four mares) that they used to determine how well the horses digested the fiber and retained nutrients

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Written by:

Stephanie L. Church, Editorial Director, grew up riding and caring for her family’s horses in Central Virginia and received a B.A. in journalism and equestrian studies from Averett University. She joined The Horse in 1999 and has led the editorial team since 2010. A 4-H and Pony Club graduate, she enjoys dressage, eventing, and trail riding with her former graded-stakes-winning Thoroughbred gelding, It Happened Again (“Happy”). Stephanie and Happy are based in Lexington, Kentucky.

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