Do any of you feed these to your horses and if so can you tell me all about it!? Also, where do you purchase them? Thank you!
Flax seeds (or flax meal) have similar nutrition at a far lower cost so I feed flax seed instead of chia for omegas
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thank you! From what I’ve read Chia seeds offer much more in the way of gut health and calming which is what i’m looking for! There’s just so much information out there it’s boggling!
I feed chia (along with flax, actually,) to both of my thoroughbreds who are prone to ulcers, and who could always use extra fats. I like them a lot. I also feed in conjunction with papaya enzymes (papain) and aloe, though. With that combo I feel my horses have had much less sensitive tummies. I buy mine in bulk on Amazon.
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I’ve had my 9yo OTTB on chia seeds for a little over a year now. The cheapest place I’ve found them is ifsbulk.com - I get 11lbs for under $30, and it lasts a few months. I feed 1/4c a day in the warmer months, and 1/2c a day when it’s colder. He held his weight really well through the winter, and shed out quickly. Haven’t noticed a difference in “calming”, but I love the sand-clearing and digestive benefits. He’s a shiny penny right now, highly recommend chia 
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There have been previous threads on this, where I believe we concluded that flax had a better Omega 3 level, similar “jelly when wet” properties, and was much much much cheaper.
It’s true chia seeds are a current fad. But I expect that most of the claims for their amazing properties are exaggerated, to say the least.
Adding a fat source seed can have an impact on weight and coat. Going from nothing to either flax, chia, or black oil sunflower, can make a horse fatter and shinier.
However, has anyone gone from flax to chia and seen a difference?
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I haven’t seen anything to support some of those extraordinary claims made by the chia seed growers and sellers, so I tend to be skeptical. At least there is no indication chia seeds are harmful, and they certainly are beneficial, just not enough to justify the added cost over flax for me.
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I’ve never heard of chia seeds having a calming effect? I guess people claim that because they are relatively high in magnesium for their weight? Yet a 50 g serving of chia doesn’t even provide close to a half a gram of magnesium… that’s pretty inconsequential… calming supplements usually have upwards of 5g of magnesium per serving…
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I just started feeding several of mine Ulcer Eraser. I feel like a (minor) expert on gut health issues after managing my very-prone-to-ulcers TB who shows at the FEI level for the last decade. I was very surprised when the addition of the Ulcer Eraser made a noticeable difference for one of my ulcery types at a recent show, despite having had her on the same (aggressive) ulcer management plan I always use.
Ulcer Eraser ingredients are (per the label), IIRC: Chia Seeds, Flax seed (side note that all of my horses already receive a substantial amount of flax in other supplements), Pumpkin seeds, BOSS, and shredded cabbage. I’m guessing there are other proprietary things in there, but don’t know for sure.
I have used Flax, BOSS, and shredded cabbage at various times as additives to the feed and haven’t noticed as big of a difference. So either it’s the combination of what the supplement has gathered together, or it’s the Chia seeds and/or pumpkin seeds that have made the difference.
So I guess I don’t have a definitive answer for you on the Chia seeds, but a Chia seed-ful supplement has sure helped a few of mine lately!
More info on the supplement: https://www.equineelixirs.com/products/equine-gastric-support-and-ulcer-prevention
I used chia for a couple years before switching back to Omega Horseshine. I find that I much prefer the Horseshine to chia. I bought my bulk chia from Equinechia.com in 55 pound sacks. The recommended amount to feed was 1/3 cup but even at double that amount, it didn’t really impress me and it was expensive.
I didn’t find chia helpful for my TB’s chronic digestive issues, my horses’ coats weren’t any shinier than they are w/ Horseshine, and it did not seem to impact mood in any noticeable way.
For what it’s worth, OP, what DID work for my TB’s chronic ulcers, frequent gas colics, and assorted other issues was a 90 day program of the Succeed VF paste. After the initial 90 days, I put her on the regular Succeed granules. Cheapest place that I’ve found to purchase that is Heartland.
I hope you find something that works well for you, OP.
I am sponsored by Pure Form Equine who produces Choc Full A Chia. They’ve been a game changer and relatively inexpensive to keep a horse on. The difference is that first, the chia comes in the form of a biscuit so there isn’t as much waste or getting stuck on the side of the buckets. Then, they have different varieties of the biscuit. For example my mare is on the Sea Biscuit which includes an algae called Spirulina that has drastically reduced her allergies and hive breakouts. I’ve spent quite a lot of time studying chia and the benefits of feeding it to horses, so I can answer the questions at shows.
So yes, chia is a great aid with a horse that has ulcers.
For those that don’t have much experience, basically bacteria in the gut can drill holes in the lining, then when a horse produces excess acid the out lining is burned. So essentially you want to increase the coating/lining so that when the horse is stressed or whatever is causing the excess acid production it flows through. So chia, produces a gel when moist, or digested that coats the lining and allows for easy digestion, and the ability for the ulcers to heal.
I feed it at a pretty high dosage to my competition horses, and give all of the horses extra biscuits before travel.
Chia does have magnesium as a property. And from my non-veterinary study, a horse with a magnesium deficiency may make a horse “hot,” so if the horse is hot because of this deficiency, yes, chia will balance this. However, if the horse does not have a magnesium deficiency, feeding excess magnesium isn’t going to calm them. Hence, my hot TB mare who events is still just as active on the higher chia % intake. I haven’t seen any attitude change since putting my horses on Chia a year ago, other than the mare who was chronically hivey/skin sensitive is now comfortable to groom, etc.
(If intrigued, feel free to use my coupon code: CCR4 for 20% off)
Fee free as well to contact the owners on Facebook who love to answer questions about the product.
And look them up at www.pureformequine.com
In which part of the digestive tract do you understand acid to be causing ulcers?
Stomach ulcers are fairly common in horses, and the stomach produces acid as a first step in digestion.
That acid is neutralized when the food moved to the small intestine.
When the food moved through the cecum and into the hindgut, bacteria break down the food material further. As current research into probiotics has shown, the bacterial population of the hind gut (aka colon) is complex and differs between individuals.
A high population of the right kind of bacteria causes excellent digestion, in people and in horses. Conversely an overgrowth of e coli or salmonella or listeria causes big problems. And there are intermediate situations of suboptimal bacteria and digestion.
There is a condition called hindgut ulcers in horses that is harder to diagnose than stomach ulcers, but the condition in the hind gut is not caused by stomach acid. Indeed long term use of antacids can upset hind gut digestion.
I say all this because your account seems to mix up the mechanism if stomach and hindgut ulcers.
I also don’t see how recommended amounts of chia would protect the hind gut after the chia seeds are mostly digested, or indeed how making food slip through faster would have anything beyond a laxative effect
I am not discounting that you have seen an improvement. I like Pure Form supplements. I just think the explanation for how it works can’t be right.
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I feed 1/4 cup of chia a day for sand clearing benefits. My horse won’t touch psyllium. I find bulk chia at either Costco or Walmart.
@Scribbler No, the acid itself does not cause the tears/holes in the lining but the bacteria which lives in the gut that drill holes. From what research I’ve done, which has been strictly through a lot of Google searches and reading articles, ulcers themselves become more irritated or flair when the horse produces more acid, or the acid is moving/horse moving? This may be to break down grain, when stressed, travelling, NSAIDs etc. Chia as an aid can, or at least is promoted to, provide a coating that aids in the passing of these things. Here’s a quote form Pure Form Equine’s page that I attempted to summarize in my non-veterinary terms:
"Chock Full’a Chia can help your horse maintain a healthy digestive system before ulcers develop, or during and after ulcer treatments.* Each Chock Full’a Chia biscuit is high in calcium, low in starch, and loaded with high quality protein and Omega 3 fatty acids that can help with inflammation to ease intestinal pain and buffer stomach acids. In addition, the sticky gel created when the chia breaks down in the horse’s stomach can help coat and soothe the digestive tract all the way from the esophagus to the hind gut to further support the healing process.
*Chock Full’a Chia is not a medical product. If you believe your horse has ulcers, consult a veterinary professional."
This aside, I have noticed a difference in my own horses travel and show “digestive” behavior. My mare who was prone to have a nervous stomach and leave her stall a wreck at competitions now travels well.
I think if the gut flora are attacking the walks of the colon you have a serious medical issue.
The thing you’re quoting seems to be about stomach ulcers. Yes, a lot of things can sooth stomach ulcers or reduce acid in the stomach because it is easy to deliver a product to the stomach. Bacteria may be implicated in some stomach ulcers, certainly in people. Yes, acid production in the stomach increases with stress or hunger.
Getting product through to the hind gut is much harder because by that point the food is fully digested. Only roughage is left. The roughage is fermented by bacteria in the colon.
Certainly the gut bacteria can be disturbed and the most useful ones can die off usually temporarily due to bad diet choices or a GI infection. Sometimes this is linked to a change in ph balance in the colon. But it isn’t stress related acid like in the stomach.
But I really doubt the chia seed jelly is making its way through the hind gut. It would be digested by then. If not you’d see it coating the poop like when you tube mineral oil for colic and it is noticeable on the poop.
