Probiotic vs. Prebiotic: Understanding the Difference

The term “probiotic” is used and misused to identify a growing number of nutritional supplements for horses. In order to understand the varying claims and uses of probiotics, it is critical to define the term as succinctly as possible. To begin, we divide the word into its prefix and root word. The prefix “pro” is a descriptor meaning “supporting or being in favor of,” while “biotic” relates to a living organism. Even this root word, biotic, can have a variety of implications: it can mean relating to a living organism and it can mean something produced by or affected by a living organism. For this reason the term “probiotic” can be vague at best and misleading at worst.