BIOMETONIC for Horses | Long-Term Gut Microbiome Maintenance
BiomeTonic isn't another gut reset - it's what comes afterwards.
" What a difference in just 24 hours - no more biting, and I can touch his belly comfortably now!” Emma
Here's a thing we see time and time again - getting a horse's gut settled is often only half the job. The harder part is keeping it settled.
Some horses seem to drift straight back into the same old patterns - a bit of belly bloat here, a touch of girthiness there, then gradually the digestive system starts feeling unhappy all over again.
That's exactly why we formulated BiomeTonic.
It's not about resetting the hindgut or repairing the gut lining - it's about maintaining the everyday conditions that allow a healthy microbial gut ecosystem to stay balanced. Think of it as ongoing housekeeping for the hindgut - supporting the beneficial microbes already there, while making life rather less welcoming for the everyday opportunists that would quite like to move in instead.
It's the blend we recommend once the hard work has already been done - t he everyday microbiome maintenance blend, protecting what you've rebuilt for a happier GI tract, steadier digestion, and a whole lot less " don't touch me there ! ".
NB: If your horse is currently unstable, gassy, or in active dysbiosis, we would normally start with SiboCARE first. Once balance has been re-established, BiomeTonic becomes the long-term maintenance layer.
*For the latest insights on equine gut health, see our A-Z Equine Condition/Gut System page in our Info Centre above.
Overview - why maintaining the microbiome is different from resetting it
Reset the gut. Repair the lining. Job done.
And yet - isn't it interesting how often that isn't what actually happens?
The hindgut is a living ecosystem containing billions of bacteria, fungi, yeasts, archaea, and other microbes, all competing for space and nutrients. Like any ecosystem, it's constantly responding to forage, weather, stress, management, antibiotics, pasture changes...
That's why some horses seem to relapse so easily.
Not because the "bad bugs" suddenly return out of nowhere, but because the environment gradually becomes less favourable for the beneficial microbes that normally keep everything in balance.
This is where BiomeTonic takes a different approach.
Let's quickly digress to probiotics - booming in the human supplement world - but for horses, the story is far more complex. For the last 10-years or so we’ve been tracking the science of the equine gut biome, and the truth is: horses don’t need us to add
microbes - apart from anything, there are no equine probiotics on the market that mimic the equine hindgut microbiome. What they need is for us to feed
the ecosystem that’s already there.
The equine gut evolved on diverse grasses, herbs, and plant compounds that naturally nourished their microbial community. It wasn’t designed for added factory-farmed yeasts, lactobacillus
blends (which acidify the hindgut, making microbial sensitivity worse
, not better), or sugar/starch-based “gut balancers.”
So, rather than adding inappropriate probiotic bacteria or another reset programme, BiomeTonic uses a carefully balanced combination of aromatic herbs that have been valued for centuries for helping maintain a healthy intestinal environment.
Think of it less as planting new flowers and more about tending the soil they grow in.
The healthier the environment, the easier it becomes for the beneficial microbes to flourish naturally and the harder it is for opportunistic organisms to gain a foothold.
In short?
SiboCARE helps restore balance.
LeakyGutCOMBO helps repair the lining.
BiomeTonic helps maintain the healthy ecosystem you've worked so hard to rebuild.
Paired with quality meadow hay and fibre-first feeding, this approach works with the hindgut’s natural intelligence: diverse, aromatic, cooperative, and self-regulating.
How BiomeTonic fits into your horse's support plan
BiomeTonic is a good fit once your horse's gut has settled and your focus shifts from resetting the microbiome to maintaining it long-term.
✔ Your horse has completed a SiboCARE or LeakyGutCOMBO course
✔ The gut feels much happier, but you don't want to lose the progress you've made
✔ Your horse benefits from ongoing support to help maintain digestive balance
✔ Belly sensitivity or girthiness occasionally starts creeping back, i.e. cow-kicking underneath when you're trying to do up circingles
✔ You're looking for long-term gut maintenance rather than another reset
✔ You want to support the beneficial microbes already living in the hindgut
✔ You find yourself thinking, "I really don't want us to end up back where we started."
In short: if the gut has become more stable and you're now thinking about keeping it that way, BiomeTonic is often the next step.
For many horses, BiomeTonic becomes the long-term maintenance layer that follows a successful gut reset.
Rather than repeatedly trying to "fix" the gut, it helps support the everyday intestinal environment that beneficial microbes rely upon to stay balanced.
From there, support can be adapted depending on what you're seeing.
- Earlier stages of the journey
- SiboCARE – where microbial imbalance, gas, bloating, or hindgut instability are still active and need resetting.
- LeakyGutCOMBO – where hindgut imbalance is accompanied by faecal water or a gut lining that also needs nutritional support.
- Foundation support
A healthy microbiome depends on healthy foundations. Plenty of quality forage, plant diversity, and a forage-balanced mineral solution such as VitaComplete or EquiVita help create the nutritional environment that beneficial gut microbes naturally thrive in.
*If you're not already feeding a mineral balancer, try one of our 1kg trial bags.
In summary
Use BiomeTonic once the gut has settled and your focus turns to maintaining a healthy microbial ecosystem. Think of it as everyday housekeeping for the hindgut - helping preserve the balance you've worked hard to rebuild.
Composition & feed guide
BiomeTonic is a nutritional food supplement and not veterinary medicine. For more on this, see Dr Kellon's article - Nutrition is not 'Alternative' Therapy .
Composition glossary
Each herb in BiomeTonic plays a targeted role in supporting a balanced, comfortable digestive system.
- Matricaria recutita – A calming base herb traditionally used to support digestive comfort and buffer stronger aromatics within the blend.
- Origanum vulgare – A polyphenol-rich aromatic herb traditionally used to support microbial balance within the gut environment.
- Tabebuia impetiginosa – Inner bark traditionally used to keep fungal and microbial populations in check.
- Salvia rosmarinus – Antioxidant-rich herb supporting the gut–liver axis.
- Salvia officinalis – Astringent tonic helping stabilise microbial populations and digestive tone.
- Thymus vulgaris – Warming aromatic digestive tonic supporting intestinal balance, motility, and microbial harmony.
Feed guide
🌿Dried herb blend
Produced to ecological standards and free from agro-chemicals. See our Quality page for for Organic Certification Documents.
- Feed 5g/100kg bodyweight per day. i.e. 25g daily for a 500kg horse.
- 1 level 75ml scoop = 16-grams.
Fussy eater?
Horses sometimes have their own opinions (and strong tastebuds!), so introduce gradually, building up over several days. See our Fussy Eaters guide for helpful tips if needed.
♻️ Eco Note: Our packaging is recyclable and refillable.
Why Choose BiomeTonic for Horses
Energetic Architecture explains how the herbs in a formula are structured to work together in a balanced and purposeful way.
BiomeTonic is built around one simple idea: maintaining the healthy ecosystem you've already worked hard to rebuild.
Rather than resetting the gut again, it supports the everyday conditions that help beneficial microbes continue to flourish.
Functional intent
BiomeTonic is designed to support:
- long-term microbial balance within the hindgut
- a healthy intestinal environment
- digestive tone and everyday gut function
- natural ecological balance within the microbiome
- ongoing digestive resilience
The goal is to help maintain the balanced ecosystem you've already worked hard to create.
Functional categories – gut ecology support in action
- Aromatic ecological balance - Origanum vulgare, Thymus vulgaris, Salvia officinalis
- Providing the aromatic plant compounds that have traditionally helped maintain a balanced intestinal environment. - Microbial terrain support - Tabebuia impetiginosa
- Supporting the wider microbial ecosystem and helping maintain harmony within the hindgut. - Digestive tone & metabolic resilience - Salvia rosmarinus
- Supporting digestive function and the wider gut–liver connection that contributes to long-term gut health. - Comfort & ecological buffering - Matricaria recutita
Providing gentle digestive support while helping balance the more aromatic herbs within the blend.
Big picture
A healthy gut doesn't stay healthy by accident.
Just like a healthy pasture needs looking after long after it's been reseeded, the hindgut also needs ongoing care if you want the beneficial microbes to keep flourishing.
That's where BiomeTonic comes in.
Put simply, the healthiest ecosystems are the ones that are quietly looked after every day.
Clinical considerations / veterinary reference
Advisories
- Always ensure the forage foundations are in place - feed alongside quality fibre-rich meadow hay.
Contraindications
- Not suitable for pregnant or nursing mares due to the natural aromatic and cleansing activity of the herbs.
- Avoid concurrent use with anticoagulant medications.
- Not advised during acute infection, fever, or active ulcer episodes.
Veterinary reference / formulary extract
A concise, vet-friendly reference is available for sharing with your vet.
The story behind BiomeTonic
From Carol Moreton, Founder of EquiNatural
BiomeTonic was originally formulated for one unforgettable pony - Mac, affectionately (and accurately) known as MacAttack.
Mac had a gut so reactive that reaching under his belly to fasten his sweet-itch rug was a genuine hazard. One wrong move and he’d cow-kick with the accuracy of a guided missile.
I didn't know it at the time but back in 2021, when I studied the KPU disorder with Dr Christina Fritz, I learned that while this was a pure gut-driven pain reaction, there was a whole lot more going on inside. No question - MacAttack was a classic KPU candidate.
For 15-months we took him through what then became our KPU 'reset' programme. When we finally got him stable, I needed a way to keep him that way.
Meet BiomeTonic - the blend that meant I could finally reach under Mac again to do up his sweet itch rug without risking losing my arm.
It not only kept his gut comfortable long-term, but importantly turned a frankly terrifying semi-feral monster (some of the time) into a soppy dollop, who actually come up to me for cuddles! In time, we got Mac to where he only needed the BiomeTonic every couple of weeks as a short-term stabilising preventative.
If your horse is a little “MacAttack” at times, BiomeTonic was made for them.
FAQs about BiomeTonic & gut microbiome maintenance
What is BiomeTonic designed to support?
BiomeTonic is designed to support the long-term health of your horse's hindgut ecosystem.
Rather than resetting the gut or repairing the gut lining, it helps maintain the everyday conditions that beneficial microbes rely upon to stay balanced.
Think of it as ongoing housekeeping for the hindgut.
What's the difference between BiomeTonic and SiboCARE?
Although both support the gut, they are designed for different stages of the journey.
SiboCARE is used when the hindgut is actively out of balance - gas, bloating, digestive instability, or microbial disruption.
BiomeTonic comes afterwards, once the gut has settled, helping maintain the healthy microbial ecosystem you've worked hard to rebuild.
In simple terms:
- SiboCARE helps restore balance.
- BiomeTonic helps maintain it.
What's the difference between BiomeTonic and LeakyGutCOMBO?
LeakyGutCOMBO is designed for horses where microbial imbalance and gut-lining support need addressing together.
BiomeTonic is different.
Its role is long-term maintenance - helping support a healthy intestinal environment once the rebuilding phase has been completed.
Is BiomeTonic a probiotic?
No. BiomeTonic doesn't add bacteria to the hindgut.
Instead, it supports the environment that allows your horse's own beneficial microbes to thrive naturally.
We believe horses evolved to maintain their own complex microbial ecosystem through diverse forage and aromatic plants, rather than relying on added probiotic cultures.
Why don't you recommend probiotics for horses?
It's a fascinating area of research for sure.
Whilst probiotics are popular in human nutrition, the equine hindgut is home to an extraordinarily complex microbial ecosystem that science is still only beginning to understand.
Rather than trying to introduce a handful of bacteria, BiomeTonic focuses on supporting the environment those microbes naturally live in.
Our philosophy is simple: support the ecosystem, and the ecosystem is better able to support itself.
Can BiomeTonic be fed long term?
Yes. In fact, that's exactly what it was designed for.
Many owners feed BiomeTonic as an ongoing maintenance programme once their horse's gut has become more stable.
How long should I feed BiomeTonic?
BiomeTonic is intended as a long-term maintenance supplement rather than a short course.
Many owners continue feeding it throughout the year to help maintain digestive balance, particularly in horses with a history of hindgut instability.
My horse has completed SiboCARE. Is BiomeTonic the next step?
Very often, yes.
Once the hindgut has settled and microbial balance has been restored, BiomeTonic provides the long-term maintenance layer that helps preserve the healthier gut environment you've worked hard to create.
My horse's belly is starting to become sensitive again. Should I use BiomeTonic?
If the gut has generally remained stable and you're simply noticing the first hints that old patterns may be returning, BiomeTonic is the place to start.
However, if gas, bloating, marked digestive instability, or significant hindgut discomfort have already returned, we'd usually recommend starting with SiboCARE again before moving back onto BiomeTonic for maintenance.
Can BiomeTonic help support a healthy gut ecosystem?
Yes. BiomeTonic was specifically formulated to help maintain the everyday intestinal environment that beneficial microbes depend upon.
The aim isn't to dominate the microbiome, but to help create the conditions in which a balanced microbial community can continue to thrive.
Why are "aromatic" herbs used in BiomeTonic?
Wild horses naturally consume a wide variety of aromatic plants, shrubs, and herbs throughout the year.
These plants contain hundreds of naturally occurring phytonutrients that contribute to the health and diversity of the gut environment.
BiomeTonic draws on that ecological principle, using carefully selected aromatic herbs to help support a balanced intestinal ecosystem.
Can BiomeTonic be fed alongside other gut supplements?
Yes. BiomeTonic is commonly used after SiboCARE or LeakyGutCOMBO and can also sit alongside your horse's everyday nutritional programme.
If you're unsure where it fits into your horse's support plan, we're always happy to help.
Do I still need a mineral balancer if I'm feeding BiomeTonic?
Yes. A healthy microbiome relies on good nutritional foundations.
Providing quality forage alongside a forage-based mineral balancer such as VitaComplete or EquiVita helps create the nutritional environment that beneficial gut microbes naturally depend upon.
My horse seems much happier on BiomeTonic. Do I ever need to stop feeding it?
Not necessarily. Many owners choose to keep BiomeTonic as part of their horse's long-term feeding programme because maintaining a healthy gut ecosystem is an ongoing process, not something that's ever truly "finished."
Just like looking after healthy pasture, maintaining a healthy microbiome is often easier than having to rebuild it all over again.
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