EquiNectar

EquiNectar® Benefits

1. Supports Hindgut Function

EquiNectar® contains active digestive enzymes that help optimise hindgut bacterial balance and support overall hindgut health.

2. Improved Nutrient Absorption

By breaking down feeds and forage, EquiNectar® ensures your horse gets the most from its diet, leading to better overall health.

3. Healthy Gut Microbiome

Promotes beneficial gut bacteria, enhancing digestion, immunity, and reducing harmful microbes.

4. Enhanced Mood

Less digestive discomfort means a happier, more relaxed horse. 

5. Supports Overall Condition

By promoting efficient digestion and nutrient absorption, it may help horses maintain condition and support consistent work and training demands.

6. Healthy Dropping Consistency

By supporting balanced digestion and gut bacteria, it may contribute to improved manure consistency.

Does your horse have ulcers or could the problem be in the hindgut?

Learn more

Product Information

EquiNectar® is made from malted barley using ancient, artisan barley varieties that have been cherished in Europe for over 800 years for their high levels of natural enzymes. 

It is produced using our patented process that preserves the enzymes.

Each drop of delicious EquiNectar® gives your horse:

Enzymes

Naturally occurring digestive enzymes that help your horse digest its feed, grass and hay optimally.

  • Amylase: digests starch
  • Fructanase: digests fructans from grass and hay
  • Cellulase: digests cellulose from plant cell walls
  • Xylanase: digests xylans from plant material
  • Beta Glucanase: digests beta-glucans from plant material
  • Phytase: breaks down phytic acid allowing better mineral absorption
  • Protease: digests proteins
  • Lipase: digests fats

Vitamins

Excellent source of B vitamins, including:

  • Thiamine (B1): Important for energy metabolism and nervous system function
  • Riboflavin (B2): Crucial for cellular function and metabolism
  • Niacin (B3): Supports energy production and DNA repair
  • Pyridoxine (B6): Important for protein metabolism and red blood cell formation
  • Folate (B9): Crucial for DNA synthesis and cell division
  • Vitamin B12: Supports nerve function and red blood cell formation

Antioxidants

Rich in various phenolic compounds, which have potent antioxidant properties. These include:

  • Ferulic acid: A potent antioxidant that may have anti-inflammatory effects
  • Flavan-3-ols: Including catechins and epicatechins, known for their antioxidant activities
  • Other phenolic acids: Such as vanillic acid, p-coumaric acid, and syringic acid. These compounds contribute significantly to the antioxidant capacity of malt extract

Minerals

Key minerals include:

  • Magnesium: Important for muscle and nerve function, as well as bone health
  • Potassium: Crucial for heart function, fluid balance, and muscle contractions
  • Selenium: An antioxidant mineral that supports immune function
  • Zinc: Important for immune function, wound healing, and DNA synthesis
  • Iron: Essential for oxygen transport in the blood and energy production
Horse supported by EquiNectar
EquiNectar® · Daily digestive foundation

Digestive support, from the inside out.

An enzyme-rich malt extract developed to support digestion and the wider gut environment — every day.

Made in Britain BETA NOPS Patented process
Professional horses supported by EquiNectar
Professional trust

Trusted where consistency matters.

From everyday owners to professional and working horses.

Professional yards Working horses Competition
EquiNectar as part of the daily feeding routine
Everyday simplicity

Serious science. Simple to feed.

Add EquiNectar to the normal feed and make digestive support part of the everyday routine.

Add Mix Feed
Why EquiNectar?

Better digestion can show up in more ways than one.

Digestive health is not one single measure. The environment inside the hindgut, the microbial community living there and the everyday signs owners see can all be connected. EquiNectar has been studied across that wider digestive picture.

Hindgut environment

A measurable change inside the digestive system.

In a study of Thoroughbred racehorses maintained on their existing high-starch diet, mean faecal pH moved in a more favourable direction after EquiNectar supplementation.

6.20 6.40
Mean faecal pH Before → after 4 weeks
High-starch diet unchanged p<0.0001 55% reached normal pH
Microbiome

Support the community already there.

Research has shown changes within the horse's existing microbial community after EquiNectar supplementation, including increases in bacterial groups associated with fibre degradation and lactate utilisation.

Fibrobacter ↑ Ruminococcaceae ↑ Prevotellaceae ↑
Everyday signs

What happens inside can become visible outside.

Digestive balance can be reflected in some of the things horse owners monitor every day — from dropping consistency to condition and how effectively the normal ration is being utilised.

Dropping consistency Condition Feed utilisation Digestive balance
The whole horse

Digestion doesn't exist in isolation.

EquiNectar research has also explored relationships between digestive health, demeanour and reactivity — part of a much wider picture than simply what happens in the gut.

Demeanour
Reactivity
Focus
Performance consistency
Different outcomes. One common thread: digestive function. So what is EquiNectar actually doing inside the digestive system? That's where the mechanism gets interesting.
How it works ↓
EquiNectar customer horse
Real horses. Real experiences. From the EquiNectar community
“He's gaining weight slowly, his coat is so much better and he moves so much more easily.”

Karen introduced EquiNectar as part of her horse's daily feeding routine and reported clear changes in his condition, coat and the way he was moving.

Karen Verified EquiNectar customer
Read more reviews
One foundation. Targeted support when it's needed.

Start with EquiNectar. Add support for a reason.

The products in the EquiNectar range have different jobs. EquiNectar provides the daily digestive foundation; the targeted products sit alongside it when a horse needs additional support for a more specific purpose.

Daily digestive foundation

EquiNectar

Enzyme-rich malt extract designed to support digestion upstream and help create a more favourable nutritional environment for the horse's existing hindgut microbiome. This is the foundation of the range.

Every day Eight digestive enzymes Wider digestive support
EquiNectar
Add when appropriate Three targeted products. Three distinct reasons to use them.
You don't need all of them.
You need the right support for the situation.
EquiBarrier
Ongoing targeted support

EquiBarrier

Daily nutritional support focused on the gastric environment and protective barrier.

Where it fits When a horse needs ongoing gastric and barrier support alongside the wider digestive foundation.
Built around
Apple pectin Sunflower lecithin Bentonite L-glutamine L-threonine
Typical role Ongoing daily support
Explore Foregut Support →
EquiBuffer
Targeted buffering

EquiBuffer

Purpose-built nutritional support to help buffer excess stomach acid.

Where it fits When additional buffering support is wanted alongside the horse's normal digestive programme.
Built around
Calcium carbonate Magnesium hydroxide Apple pectin Sunflower lecithin Yeast cell wall
Typical role Targeted buffering support
Explore Foregut Support →
EquiCharcoal
Short-term digestive support

EquiCharcoal

High-purity activated coconut-shell charcoal for short, targeted periods.

Where it fits During periods when short-term adsorptive digestive support is useful.
Built around
Activated coconut shell Acid-washed Neutral pH No fillers
Typical role Short targeted cycles
Explore EquiCharcoal →
Don't choose by product. Choose by purpose. EquiNectar provides the foundation. Add targeted support only where the horse's situation calls for it.
Which one do I need? ↓
How EquiNectar works

Change the digestion.
Change the environment.

EquiNectar works by supporting digestion upstream first. Its naturally occurring digestive enzymes change the balance of substrate arriving in the hindgut, creating a different nutritional environment for the horse's existing microbiome.

01 · Daily feed

Add EquiNectar to the normal diet.

Enzyme-rich malt extract is fed alongside the horse's normal ration, complementing feed, grass and forage.

Feed Grass Forage
02 · Enzyme activity

Digestive enzymes act upstream.

Enzymes including amylase and fructanase support the breakdown of starch and fructans earlier in the digestive process, alongside enzymes acting on other dietary components.

Starch Fructans Protein Fats
03 · Substrate change

A different balance reaches the hindgut.

Better upstream digestion changes the amount and balance of rapidly fermentable carbohydrate arriving in the hindgut, including undigested starch and fructans.

Changed substrate Less rapid fermentation
04 · Microbiome response

The hindgut environment responds.

Reduced rapidly fermentable carbohydrate supports a more favourable hindgut environment, including conditions that support cellulolytic and lactate-utilising bacterial communities.

Microbiome Hindgut environment Fibre utilisation
The key difference We don't add bacteria. We change what the existing microbiome has to work with.

EquiNectar works with the horse's existing microbial community by changing the nutritional environment reaching it, rather than introducing foreign microorganisms.

Anabiomics
Better upstream digestion changes the downstream environment.
Inside EquiNectar

Built around what malt does best.

EquiNectar begins with carefully selected malted barley. Our patented production process preserves its enzyme-rich character, creating a broad digestive enzyme system within a naturally complex malt matrix.

Naturally occurring · Eight digestive enzymes

A complete enzyme system, not one isolated enzyme.

Different parts of the diet require different enzymes. EquiNectar brings eight together in one malt-derived system, covering carbohydrates, proteins, fats and plant material.

Amylase Breaks down dietary starch.
Fructanase Acts on fructans found in grass and forage.
Cellulase Targets cellulose within plant cell walls.
Xylanase Acts on xylans found in forage and cereals.
Beta-glucanase Breaks down beta-glucan carbohydrates.
Phytase Acts on phytate within plant-based feeds.
Protease Breaks dietary proteins into smaller components.
Lipase Supports the digestion of dietary fats.
Look deeper

Malt is more than its enzymes.

Enzymes are why EquiNectar exists. But the ERME matrix also carries vitamins, minerals and plant compounds inherited from the malt itself. They add nutritional depth without distracting from the primary mechanism.

Click to explore
8
The complete enzyme system Eight enzymes, each with a different dietary target
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The strength of the ERME profile is its breadth. Rather than concentrating on one nutrient class, its enzymes act across several important components of the diet.

Amylase Starch Helps convert complex starch molecules into smaller carbohydrates.
Fructanase Fructans Targets the fructan carbohydrates found particularly in grass and forage.
Cellulase Cellulose Works on cellulose, one of the structural carbohydrates in plant cell walls.
Xylanase Xylans Targets xylan-based carbohydrates within fibrous plant material.
Beta-glucanase Beta-glucans Breaks beta-glucans found within cereal and plant material.
Phytase Phytate Acts on phytate, a storage form of phosphorus within plants.
Protease Protein Helps break proteins into smaller peptides and amino-acid components.
Lipase Fat Helps break dietary fats into components that can be further utilised.
B
B vitamins in the malt matrix B1, B2, B3, B6, B9 and B12
+

Malt brings with it a useful spectrum of B vitamins involved in normal metabolism, cellular function and nutrient use.

B1 Thiamine Plays an important role in carbohydrate and energy metabolism.
B2 Riboflavin Supports normal cellular energy-producing pathways.
B3 Niacin Forms part of key metabolic reactions involved in energy release.
B6 Pyridoxine Has an important role in amino-acid and protein metabolism.
B9 Folate Involved in normal cell division and formation of new cellular material.
B12 Cobalamin Part of the broader B-vitamin profile identified within ERME.
These compounds add nutritional depth to ERME but are not positioned as a replacement for an appropriately balanced vitamin and mineral programme.
M
The mineral profile Magnesium, potassium, selenium, zinc and iron
+

ERME also retains a range of nutritionally relevant minerals originating within the malt.

Magnesium Important to normal muscle, nerve and metabolic function.
Potassium A major electrolyte involved in normal fluid and muscle function.
Selenium A trace mineral associated with the body's antioxidant enzyme systems.
Zinc Participates in numerous enzyme systems and normal tissue function.
Iron Central to haemoglobin and the normal transport of oxygen.
A
Phenolics & antioxidant compounds Another layer within the malt-derived matrix
+

Malt contains plant-derived phenolic compounds that contribute to its antioxidant profile.

Ferulic acid Phenolic acid A prominent phenolic compound associated with cereal grains and malt.
Flavan-3-ols Catechins A family of plant compounds contributing to the wider phenolic profile.
Phenolic acids Wider spectrum Multiple phenolic compounds combine to create the antioxidant complexity of malt.
This antioxidant profile comes from the malt matrix itself rather than from an added antioxidant premix.
Why malted barley? Where the enzyme system begins
+

EquiNectar's enzyme system is created by biology before it ever reaches the horse. Malting activates the grain's own machinery; the challenge is then to retain that activity.

01 Select the barley

EquiNectar begins with malted barley varieties chosen for their enzyme-rich characteristics.

02 Let malting do the work

Germination activates the biological machinery the grain uses to mobilise its own stored nutrients.

03 Preserve what was created

Tharos' patented process is designed to retain that enzyme-rich character in the finished extract.

ER
What does ERME mean? Enzyme-Rich Malt Extract
+

ERME is the malt-derived material at the heart of EquiNectar — preserving a broad enzyme system within the wider nutritional matrix created through malting.

Broad enzyme profile Eight digestive enzymes provide activity across several different components of the horse's diet.
More than an enzyme premix Vitamins, minerals and phenolic compounds remain part of the wider malt matrix surrounding the enzyme system.
Designed around the horse's own gut ERME changes digestion and substrate delivery rather than relying on the introduction of foreign microorganisms.
Malted barley used to create EquiNectar's Enzyme-Rich Malt Extract The origin of ERME
The starting point is surprisingly simple

It starts with malted barley.

Malting activates the grain's own biological machinery, creating the enzyme-rich character at the heart of EquiNectar. The challenge is not simply to create those enzymes - it is to retain them.

Biology creates the enzyme profile. Our process is designed to preserve it. Tharos' patented production process protects the enzyme-rich character of the malt as it becomes ERME — Enzyme-Rich Malt Extract.
01 Select
02 Malt
03 Preserve

From malted barley to Enzyme-Rich Malt Extract.

Developed by Tharos
The evidence

Different horses. Different settings. The same digestive story.

EquiNectar has been investigated in racehorses, leisure horses and horses under veterinary care — using measurements ranging from faecal pH and metabolomics to microbiome analysis and real-world clinical outcomes.

Thoroughbred racehorses · 4 weeks

A measurable shift in the hindgut environment.

Racehorses remained on their normal high-starch concentrated diet while receiving EquiNectar. Mean faecal pH increased significantly over four weeks.

6.20 6.40
Mean faecal pH Before → week 4
78 Thoroughbreds p<0.0001 Diet unchanged 55% reached normal pH
Randomised study 45

Horses and ponies at Redwings.

ERME produced a distinctly different metabolic profile from pasture alone in a controlled six-week study.

78.7% metabolome reclassification
Veterinary field study · BEVA 82%

Showed measurable improvement.

A retrospective field study followed 34 horses with diagnosed gastrointestinal conditions under veterinary care.

47% complete resolution · p=0.02
Evidence across multiple types of measurement. The research does not rely on one endpoint alone.
pH Hindgut environment
VOC Metabolome
16S Microbiome
Explore the studies

Want the detail?

The headline results stay simple. Open the studies below for design, measurements and key findings.

Click to open
pH
Racehorses: hindgut pH 78 Thoroughbreds · Waring, 2024
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The horses continued on their standard concentrated diet. Mean faecal pH rose from 6.20 to 6.40 over four weeks, with a statistically significant change.

6.20 → 6.40 Mean faecal pH
p<0.0001 Statistical significance
55% Achieved normal pH
45
Randomised study: metabolic response 45 horses and ponies · six weeks
+

Twenty-four horses received ERME alongside spring pasture while 21 controls received pasture alone. Metabolomic analysis showed the ERME group developed a distinct metabolic profile.

24 ERME + pasture
21 Pasture controls
78.7% Test-group reclassification
µ
Microbiome & metabolome studies Changes in bacterial groups and fermentation products
+

Across the research programme, EquiNectar supplementation has been associated with measurable changes in microbial and metabolomic profiles. Reported changes include increases in bacterial groups involved in fibre degradation and lactate utilisation.

Fibrobacter ↑ Reported in later microbiome work
Ruminococcaceae ↑ Fibre-associated bacterial group
Prevotellaceae ↑ Reported in foundational work
34
Veterinary field study 34 horses · presented at BEVA Colic Symposium 2024
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This retrospective field study examined horses with diagnosed gastrointestinal conditions managed by veterinary professionals. Outcomes were assessed over the standard EquiNectar protocol.

82% Measurable improvement
47% Complete resolution
p=0.02 Overall statistical result
Mechanism, measurement and real-world observation. Different study designs have examined EquiNectar from different angles — helping build a more complete picture of its effects on equine digestive function.
Household Cavalry horses Real-world trust
Beyond the laboratory

Trusted where consistency matters.

Research matters. So does what happens when digestive support becomes part of the routine in demanding, real-world environments.

Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment Chosen to support the digestion of its horses
Ceremonial & working horses British Army horse regiments EquiNectar is used within some of Britain's most recognisable working-horse environments.
Mounted policing Metropolitan Police Used by Metropolitan Police mounted units.
Everyday application The same EquiNectar. The same daily digestive foundation available to every owner.
And then there are the owners
Real horses. Real stories.

The science gives us data. Owners give us the rest of the story.

Different breeds, different disciplines, different reasons for trying EquiNectar. What matters most to owners is often much simpler — how their own horse looks, feels and behaves from day to day.

Demeanour & performance
“I now have the horse I have always dreamed of.”
Charlotte C. Verified EquiNectar customer
Long-term routine
“This is now a must have in my tack room!”
Victoria G. Verified EquiNectar customer
Smartie, an EquiNectar customer horse Read Smartie's story →

Smartie

“His digestion is far more settled, he holds weight better, and his coat and condition have transformed.”
Gemma · Verified EquiNectar customer
Which product does my horse need?

Start with the need. Then choose the support.

Different products have different jobs. Here's the simplest way to decide where to start.

1
Everyday digestive support

Start with EquiNectar.

The daily digestive foundation for wider digestive support.

Explore EquiNectar →
Looking for something more specific?
Not sure? Start with EquiNectar. Add targeted support only when there's a clear reason to do so.
Start here →
Which product does my horse need?

Start with the need. Then choose the support.

Different products have different jobs. Here's the simplest way to decide where to start.

1
Everyday digestive support

Start with EquiNectar.

The daily digestive foundation for wider digestive support.

Explore EquiNectar →
Looking for something more specific?
Not sure? Start with EquiNectar. Add targeted support only when there's a clear reason to do so.
Start here →
The EquiNectar approach

Designed to work together. Not designed to make feeding complicated.

Start with the digestive foundation. Add more targeted support only where it has a clear role.

Foundation first. Targeted support when it's needed.
EquiBarrier
EquiNectar
EquiBuffer
EquiCharcoal
The EquiNectar digestive range
The EquiNectar approach

Designed to work together. Not designed to make feeding complicated.

Start with the digestive foundation. Add more targeted support only where it has a clear role.

Foundation first. Targeted support when it's needed.
EquiBarrier
EquiNectar
EquiBuffer
EquiCharcoal
The EquiNectar digestive range