Canadian
EquiBIOME
Project
Canada's first national research project into equine health, aging, performance, and resilience — powered by the horses and people behind them.
Cohort 4 opens in
125
days
05
hrs
26
min
32
sec
Discovering the keys to a healthy life.
The Canadian EquiBIOME Project is a structured, long-term research effort. Enrolled horses are followed over time — samples collected, health outcomes tracked, and a national reference database built one horse at a time.
Participation is organised into cohorts. Not every horse contributes the same samples — what gets collected depends on which research domain a horse is enrolled in and the questions being actively investigated.
Across cohorts, the project brings together microbiome sequencing, contaminant screening, micronutrient assessment, toxic metal profiling, and more. The goal is a complete, integrated picture of equine biology — something no single test category has ever been able to build alone.
What we're investigating.
Eight research domains — not separate programmes running in isolation, but interconnected biological questions being explored through the same national cohort.
Chronic illness & GI dysfunction
Horses with recurrent colic, persistent gut issues, or GI problems that standard investigations haven't resolved. We're looking for the biology behind what's been missed.
Aging & longevity
Why do some horses stay sharp and healthy well into their twenties while others decline early? We're mapping the biology of how horses age — and what influences it.
Microbiome architecture
The gut, reproductive, and oral microbiomes have a profound effect on whole-body health. We're building the first national picture of what equine microbial communities look like — and what shifts them.
Breeding success & reproductive biology
Reproductive failure is often chalked up to bad luck. We're investigating the microbial, hormonal, and systemic factors that may actually be driving poor breeding outcomes.
Whole-horse biological resilience
No single test tells the full story. This domain looks at the horse as a whole — bringing together data from multiple systems to understand resilience at a deeper level.
How our project is structured.
Horses enter the project in defined groups that contribute samples and data together. Each group further deepens what we can learn, especially as new technology becomes available.
Pilot Cohort
2021
Proof-of-concept enrolment. Sample collection methods, laboratory workflows, and data pipelines established and validated.
Second Cohort
2023
Expanded enrolment across chronic GI dysfunction, micronutrient status, and heavy metal exposure, linked to feed source for the first time.
Third Cohort
2025
Reach extended across Ontario and Eastern Canada. Heavy metal toxicity correlated with bloodwork, alongside early microbiome mapping, neurology, and breeding outcomes.
Fourth Cohort
Jan 2027
Full national enrolment across all eight research domains. Advanced multi-omics spanning aging, performance, reproduction, and gut microbiome architecture.
Register interestBecome a community scientist.
This project runs on the people who know horses best — owners, breeders, trainers, caretakers, riders, and professionals who work alongside them every day. We rely on our participants and their primary care veterinarians to provide the information that fuels our scientific research.
We'll ask you to tell us about your horse's health, behavior, environment, and physical activity on an annual basis. A study of this magnitude would be impossible without the help of horse lovers across Canada.
Together, we're building the reference database that Canadian horse health has needed for a very long time.
What we actually collect.
Different research arms work with different sample types. Not every horse contributes everything — what gets collected depends on the domain a horse is enrolled in and the questions being investigated at that time.
Fecal
- Gut microbiome sequencing
- Parasite screening
- Mycotoxin burden
- Nutritional utilisation
Vaginal / Reproductive
- Reproductive microbiome sequencing
- Pathogen profiling
- Microbiome diversity mapping
Oral
- Oral microbiome characterisation
- Pathogen detection
- Community composition
Blood
- Toxic metal quantification
- Micronutrient panel
- Biochemical biomarkers
- Inflammatory markers
Hair
- Chronic heavy metal exposure
- Long-term contaminant burden
- Mineral status
Urine
- Pesticide residues
- Glyphosate / herbicide metabolites
- Excretion biomarkers
Our Partners
This project is made possible through the support of our academic and research partners.
Register your interest.
Cohorts 1, 2, and 3 are now closed. Cohort 4 applications open in January 2027.
You can register your interest right now — no application needed at this stage. It simply means our team can reach you before January 2027 with details on which research arm your horse might fit, what participation would involve, and anything specific to your region.
Cohort 4 enrolment is selective. Not every horse that registers will be accepted. But registering now is how your horse gets into the pool to be considered when the cohort opens.