Best Oil To Feed??

[js_ford]

My horse is in pretty good moderate work, and will only be showing lightly (if any) beginning this year and moving forward. I’ll be switching him back to Platinum Performance Equine from smartpaks but want to add a good oil to his feed as well for extra support for joints, hair, and gastric…

Ive looked into Equine Omega Complete & Basic, PP Healthy Weight, and also KER E-3…anyone have any experience with any of these oils or have an opinion on which might be the best addition to an already complete supplement? My horse has been on PP Equine before and I did feel as if he needed some extra support on top of it. TIA!!

[HereComesZach]

Well, to be honest, PP is a complete supplement, it already has quite a bit of omegas in it, which is usually what people feed oil for. If you are looking to add oil on top of PP, I quite like the Equine Omega, and feel the Basic would suffice, especially if you’re already supplementing PP. Alternatively, simple canola oil has a decent Omega 3 to Omega 6 ratio, and is much more cost effective.

[JB]

PP is complete in what way? 14mg copper - hardly anything, especially against 300mg iron. 1.4mg lysine - nothing in the context of about 30gm needed. Even the glucosamine isn’t anywhere near what is typically suggested for effect - 850mg vs 10,000.

IME, PP is an over-priced, under-fortified v/m supplement.

On the Omegas issue - yes, it has a higher 3:6 ratio, which is good. But it supplies barely half of the lower end range of ALA generally suggested for supplementation - 12gm vs 15-25gm. So, it’s also an expensive source of something you can easily and cheaply get from flax.

In general, it sounds like you’re looking for a good source of Omega 3s. the best, but also most $$ and volatile, is cold-pressed flax oil.

The KER O3 is great.

Equine Omega Complete is mostly soy oil, with some added fish oil and Vit E. It’s $$$ for what you get. Granted, it’s non-GMO soy oil, so if that matters to you…

IMHO, flax is just easier to deal with in general - whole flax doesn’t need special storage, it doesn’t get thick in Winter. Something like Triple Crown “ground” flax is stable (it’s not really ground, it’s finely sliced).

[walktrot]

JB lays out a lot of the details, Omega 3/6 balance being a starting point. There are so many choices out there that you can easily get a horse’s nutrition out of whack when combining products from different companies. I didn’t consider oils in part because they are messy and cheap ones, like corn oil, have way too much omega 6 vs. omega 3.

My horse is 25 and has more good years ahead of him. He is outside 24/7 with free choice round bales. He has never gained an excess ounce in the 19 years I’ve owned him. I added Blue Seal Sentinel Performance LS since he is still in easy to moderate work. LS is high fat for additional calories, low sugar/carbs, and balanced nutrients in a 3 lb. serving. He has been on natural vitamin E and biotin from HorseTech.com which uses food grade ground flax as the base. I emailed Rod, HorseTech’s owner, about adding a joint supplement. He suggested their HylaSport joint formula with extra soft tissue support. He’s doing great on that combination and it’s a bit easier on my wallet than other options I considered.

It’s easy to throw money in the poop pile. Excess water-soluble nutrients get peed out. Fat-soluble are stored in the body and a few reach toxic levels. It’s worth the time to do some research into what you’ll be feeding versus what your horse needs. Around here you have to be careful with selenium. Not much in the soil, but you can overdo it with supplements if you aren’t careful.

[Simkie]

It’s pretty easy to get caught up in the “omega 6 is evil” mindset. But there is zero evidence that addresses how much is actually a problem. Yes, if you’re chasing every single teeny incremental gain in reducing overall inflammatory load in your horse, it probably matters which oil you feed, and the significant $$$$$ and hassle of using cold pressed flax oil may be worth it.

For most of us who are feeding oil for a caloric boost, it’s probably not worth it. Canola has the best O3:O6 ratio of the “regular” oils. It’s not a gazillion dollars, and it doesn’t need to be kept dark and cold.

[fordtraktor]

I feed canola oil to horses needing more weight—cheap and effective. I am not sure from the OP what benefits she wants from oil. I myself don’t think there are many besides calories. If the rest of the diet is balanced, a cheap oil is as good as an expensive oil for weight gain. I wouldn’t seek to balance a diet with oil…it is just about the 100 cal/Tbl. on top of an already appropriate diet (Recommended amounts of a high quality, low starch feed).

[js_ford]

@fordtraktor

I feed canola oil to horses needing more weight—cheap and effective. I am not sure from the OP what benefits she wants from oil. I myself don’t think there are many besides calories. If the rest of the diet is balanced, a cheap oil is as good as an expensive oil for weight gain. I wouldn’t seek to balance a diet with oil…it is just about the 100 cal/Tbl. on top of an already appropriate diet (Recommended amounts of a high quality, low starch feed).

I’ve fed vegetable oil and corn oil before - neither of which did anything for my horse, barely helped his coat or skin. I don’t need the oil to help balance his diet per say, but I have seen a lot of articles mentioning omega 3 properties being better at aiding in digestion and joint lubrication versus omega 6. (I could be saying that incorrectly, but that is what I believe to be the gist of most of the recommend oils like flax, soy, and fish)

[Simkie]

@js_ford

(I could be saying that incorrectly, but that is what I believe to be the gist of most of the recommend oils like flax, soy, and fish)

Yeah, flax and fish have a lot of omega 3. Soy does not.

What are you looking for by adding oil? Potential improvements in digestion or joint health are…iffy.

[S1969]

@js_ford

I’ve fed vegetable oil and corn oil before - neither of which did anything for my horse, barely helped his coat or skin. I don’t need the oil to help balance his diet per say, but I have seen a lot of articles mentioning omega 3 properties being better at aiding in digestion and joint lubrication versus omega 6. (I could be saying that incorrectly, but that is what I believe to be the gist of most of the recommend oils like flax, soy, and fish)

What makes up the rest of the diet? Adding oil on top of a diet of mostly crappy hay, for example, isn’t going to have great results.

That said, lots of horses have fabulous coats on mediocre diets - you can’t always change genetics.

I’m not sure I’d make the leap from “poor coat” to “feed oil”. If you have good hay and a good commercial feed…are you sure you need to add anything?

[fordtraktor]

@js_ford

I’ve fed vegetable oil and corn oil before - neither of which did anything for my horse, barely helped his coat or skin. I don’t need the oil to help balance his diet per say, but I have seen a lot of articles mentioning omega 3 properties being better at aiding in digestion and joint lubrication versus omega 6. (I could be saying that incorrectly, but that is what I believe to be the gist of most of the recommend oils like flax, soy, and fish)

I don’t feed oil for the purpose of coats, I feed it for calories.

Maybe you should look at Omega Horseshine or another flax product. Much less messy than oil and it will have all the same benefits you are looking for.

Though I would be interested to know what the non-supplement part of your horse’s diet is. I think it is much better to feed a high quality concentrate that try to fill the gaps with tons of supplementation. I don’t need to add supplements for coats because the concentrate and hay I feed creates shiny coats and dapples. For joints, get a tub of MSM, it’ll do far more than Omegas can.

[JB]

@js_ford

I’ve fed vegetable oil and corn oil before - neither of which did anything for my horse, barely helped his coat or skin. I don’t need the oil to help balance his diet per say, but I have seen a lot of articles mentioning omega 3 properties being better at aiding in digestion and joint lubrication versus omega 6. (I could be saying that incorrectly, but that is what I believe to be the gist of most of the recommend oils like flax, soy, and fish)

If he’s not getting any, or much grass, then adding a source of Omega 3 is a good idea. For that I’d just add some flax - easier to manage than oil.

Horses get plenty of Omega 6, they don’t need more, which is not the same as saying more is inherently bad. But if you are looking at an optimal situation, especially if you want to stack the odds towards better soundness, then yes, go for something higher in Omega 4.

[mht]

Camelìna.

[Simkie]

@mht

Camelìna.

Why?

Flax has quite a bit more omega 3 than camelina and (while expensive) is still less $$ than camelina.

[DinkyDonk]

4 oz oil daily of Cocosoya mixed with canola (25% Cocosoya to 75% canola) divided, plus 1 cup of whole flax seed, divided between 2 meals. I mix the oils in a washed out “tip and pour” 32 oz. supplement bottle with the 1 oz chamber at the top. Keeps feeding oil nice and easy with very little mess. My senior gelding cannot resist the smell/taste of Cocosoya–he sighs with pleasure when I put his feed bag on his head…