Original Scientific Article
The effects of bovine colostrum supplementation on faecal and blood parameters in adult racing horses
Damjan Mickov * ,
Magdalena Podsobinska ,
Elena Atanaskova Petrov ,
Ljupco Mickov ,
Martin Nikolovski ,
Artur Niedźwiedź

Mac Vet Rev 2026; 49 (2): i - vii

10.2478/macvetrev-2026-0024

Received: 02 November 2025

Received in revised form: 24 March 2026

Accepted: 19 June 2026

Available Online First: 07 August 2026

Published on: 15 October 2026

Correspondence: Damjan Mickov, damjan.mickov@gmail.com
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Abstract

This study assessed the effects of bovine colostrum supplementation on hematological and serological parameters as well as on fecal microbiome in twenty adult racehorses. The horses were randomly divided in two groups. The first was perorally supplemented with lyophilized bovine colostrum daily for 30 days, and the second was used as control and had no supplementation. Blood and fecal samples from each animal were collected on day 0 and 30. The results showed that the supplemented group displayed modest changes in some hematological and serological parameters compared to the nonsupplemented group. Lactic acid showed significant difference (p=0.03) between the experimental (2.13±0.24 mmol/L) horses in the experimental group, compared to 3 out of 10 horses in the control group on day 30, which shows a statistically significant increase. (p=0.008). Presence of fungal agents detected at day 30, showed a decrease in the experimental group compared to the initial measurements, specifically, Geotrichum spp. from present in 8 horses, to present in 5 and Mucor spp. from present in 6 horses to absent (p=0.002). The findings suggest that bovine colostrum supplementation had beneficial effects on microbial balance and systemic health adult racing horses.

Keywords: racing horses, bovine colostrum, hematology, serum biochemistry, fecal microbiota

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Copyright  

©2026 Mickov D. This is an open-access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Conflict of Interest Statement

The authors declared that they have no financial or non-financial conflict of interest regarding authorship and publication of this article.

Citation Information

Macedonian Veterinary Review. Volume 49, Issue 2, Pages i-vii, e-ISSN 1857-7415, p-ISSN 1409-7621, DOI:  https://doi.org/10.2478/macvetrev-2026-0024

The all content of the Macedonian Veterinary Review, except where otherwise noted, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License.