DYSBIOSIS: WHY GUT HEALTH MATTERS
- Isaac Ares
Why This Topic Matters to Me For years, I’ve lived with intestinal dysbiosis. I have multiple food intolerances, and some days the bloating is so severe that my abdomen looks like that of a pregnant woman. It’s uncomfortable, frustrating, and exhausting. But beyond the physical discomfort, the most challenging part has been realizing how deeply this condition affects my emotions, my focus, and the way I relate to the world.
This invisible struggle has taught me something essential: digestive health is also emotional, mental, and relational health. I’ve learned this through personal experience.
And from that place, I can no longer look at horses creatures that are highly sensitive to their internal biology without asking myself: How many of their behaviors, resistances, or shutdowns are not rooted in temperament, but in an inflamed gut that no one sees?
What I share here comes from that place of deep empathy. From someone who knows what it feels like. And from someone who wonders: How can we speak of art and harmony if we ignore the most basic element the inner wellbeing of the organism we aim to educate?
Gut Brain Axis and Digestive Wellbeing in Classical Dressage The Intestine as a Key to the Horse’s Emotional, Cognitive and Motor Balance Art Begins in the Invisible In classical dressage, we seek more than obedience: we aim for voluntary, light, cooperative expression, free from tension. This ideal cannot be achieved through mechanical imposition, but only through a deep understanding of the horse as a complete, integrated organism. Tradition has focused on musculature, the skeleton, the heart… yet the digestive system and its microbiota remain overlooked by many trainers even today.
This “second brain” regulates mood, perception of the environment, concentration capacity, and readiness to learn. If the horse suffers from inflammation or dysbiosis, its mind will be closed to art.
What is the Gut Brain Axis?
It is a bidirectional communication system between the digestive system and the central nervous system, mediated by: The vagus nerve The immune system The intestinal microbiota The production of neurotransmitters (GABA, serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine)
Main Functions of the Equine Microbiota: Produces nutrients and shortc hain fatty acids Synthesizes neurotransmitters that modulate behavior Protects against inflammation and oxidative stress Regulates the stress response (HPA axis)
Consequences for Movement: When the gut is inflamed or in dysbiosis, the horse may exhibit: Generalized muscle tension, especially in the ventral line and psoas A defensive posture: hollow back, raised neck, resistance to contact Difficulty performing exercises that require fine proprioception: transitions, lateral movements, collected walk, or slow trot Loss of suppleness in the back due to visceral referred pain A horse in dysbiosis cannot correctly engage in collection, nor develop a functional topline.
Behavioral Signs of Dysbiosis or Intestinal Inflammation Warning Signs: Hyperreactivity to common stimuli Agitation when saddled or touched on the belly Teeth grinding (bruxism), restlessness, sudden aggression Sudden personality changes (from calm to unpredictable) Horses that “check out” or resist without obvious cause From an ethological standpoint, these behaviors are not bad temperament, but physical and emotional expressions of internal discomfort.
No dressage program can be considered truly classical unless it begins with a horse that is physiologically healthy, emotionally receptive, and digestively balanced. The gut brain axis is not a trend it is a pillar of integrative equine health that every conscious rider must respect.
Isaac Ares