Preservation method

The samples taken from 12 horses in 2017 were aliquoted for all preservation procedures and the following preservation methods were applied: (i) 1.5 g of fresh feces were frozen at −20°C (frozen sample = FR), (ii) 1.5 g of fresh feces were placed in an airtight tube and kept for 7 days at room temperature without drying (wet sample room temperature = WR), (iii) 1.5 g of fresh feces were spread out in a glass petri dish and air dried for 7 days at room temperature (air dry = AD), or (iv) 1.5 g of fresh feces were placed in a paper tea bag and dried for 7 days in an air tight tube on 20 mL of colorless silica gel granules (silica gel drying = SD; Fig. 1).