Cushings and Omega 3s spinoff

[RedHorses]

I don’t know if this will be helpful to anyone, but I have a PSSM horse diagnosed way back when there weren’t any commercial feeds suitable for PSSM horses and the recommended diet was molasses free beet pulp and oil. Lots of oil. Like 2+cups a day.

My horse wasn’t keen on the oil soaked salad effect that comes with adding oil to soaked beet pulp. I discovered that adding the oil to dry beet pulp and then adding hot water dispersed the oil more evenly, eliminating the oil soaked salad effect. My horse was much happier about eating the same amount of oil on the same amount of beet pulp when the oil went in before the water.

[tabula_rashah]

I’ve been using the one from Mad Barn and been really happy with it. My mare very happily eats it on her alfalfa chaff. She is doing fantastically on it and just competed in her first competitive ride this past weekend- 10 miles of trotting on hard ground and finished 100% sound.

[NaturallyHappy]

@Simkie, this is genius!!! I never would have thought of this in a million years!!! Thank you.

[Feathered_Feet]

@Scribbler

Flax has decent omega 3 and it’s super palatable. Probably still cheaper per serving. It may not be as concentrated or the right types of O3 but it’s something horses love and it’s a closer to their natural plant diet.

Agreed. Price has gone up recently but probably still cheaper than anything in a bottle or box. I feed straight, whole flax, bought from the feed store. I think it’s now ~ $50 for a 40 lb bag (maybe 50 lbs, can’t remember I go through it so slowly). So much easier than fussing with pre-ground, oils, etc.

[Simkie]

I also wonder if you could add an emulsifier to take down the “oily”-ness and add to feed. That’s how mayo (which mainly just oil + water) is made, the egg emulsifies and allows the oil & water to mix.

You can get soy lecithin from Amazon, might be worth a shot. Being able to just feed it would be easier!

[NaturallyHappy]

Thank you for that idea, too. It seems to be oilier than other oils…really slippery. He does get flax, but if this is even better, I’d like to try it again.

[Jarpur]

KER_EO3_Technical_Bulletin_RBC_2_17_21.pdf

The above link discusses a study that shows the difference in absorption between KER EO-3 and flax.

[pony_baloney]

Not for nothing but I feed my guy Wellpride fish oil and he slurps it up. Small dose and pleasant odor–not fishy at all.

I bought it mainly to help with his mild asthma and exercise induced cough. With the warmer weather and his super hairy winter coat, he would normally have an increase in respiration during and after our ride. He’s no longer huffing and puffing and just has one or two coughs at the start of our ride. His coat is super shiny and soft as well. He’s not Cushingoid but is an easy keeper pony who will most likely live long enough to develop Cushings.

[Training_Cupid]

I’m pretty sure I used to feed my horse cod liver oil gel caps in the 90s.
I’m currently giving my horse camelina oil, which looks and smells like the oil that separates off peanut butter.

[Whoosh]

I, too, was enamored by the research that’s been done into the benefits of omega-3s for the Cushings horse, especially when they have limited fresh grass options. Oil is pretty difficult for us in our current boarding situation, so I settled for Smartpak’s Omega-3 and E combo supplement. It covers your bases for vitamin E deficiency if you’re worried about grass access. It also has stabilized chia, flax and fish oil, so all the sources are represented. Seemed like a good compromise to me. It comes in a fine ground powder.

Also worth considering is Triple Crown Gold Balancer feed, which has added omega-3s and is pretty Cushings-friendly. Omega Horseshine is popular with some, but the feeding rate was outrageous (a pound a day, I think?).

ETA: Sorry, I misremembered, Omega Horseshine’s feed rate is more like 1-3 CUPS a day. Still quite a lot of extra calories and supplement to fool with, in my opinion.

[ladipus]

@Renn_aissance I’ve been feeding KER EO3 and it smells like minty apple -no fish scent what so ever …and no problems eating it

[ladipus]

@BroncoMo no palatability issues …it’s a minty apple scent …been feeding KER EO3 for 6 months

[Jarpur]

I’ve fed it for three months, and am impressed enough to start my other horse on it, as well. Just received another shipment today – arrives in a couple three days from KER.

[Pico_Banana]

What are you seeing? I currently feed flax, but my mare is super sensitive to bug bites that I’m thinking of trying it.

[Jarpur]

My horse that was on 2 grams of Bute daily, and also had gabapentin added as a trial, was able to wean completely off the pain relievers.

This horse has always been attractive to insects (just like his mom was), compared to my other, although he doesn’t get hives and such, and I wouldn’t call him allergic. It’ll be interesting to see if the E0-3 makes a difference with that this summer, too.

Reducing inflammation without using NSAIDs seems to have worked very well for him. My other horse doesn’t have any particular health issues, other than advanced age, but I want to see how he does on E0-3.

Here’s the link to KER recommendations for a horse with allergies:

ALLERGIES

[BroncoMo]

Bumping this back up so I can give a short review. I just got my KER EO3 in and gave it a try. It has just barely a touch of fish smell, and a little… bubble gum? But it doesn’t taste like anything. I’m going to give it to the old girl this evening and see how she likes it. I’m hopeful that those horses who turn their noses up at it are SUPER picky. Granted their taste buds are probably more sensitive than mine, but I don’t taste anything…

[NaturallyHappy]

Keep us posted, please. Good luck!

[Jarpur]

You probably already know this, but KER suggests ramping it up slowly, getting the horse accustomed to the taste. But my boys took to it quickly. Good luck, hope if works for you!

[barnesthenoble]

I tried the KER EO3 oil simply because I am insufferably curious. The smell is generally fine IMO, mostly smells vaguely fruity. When you get to the bottom of the jug the fish smell is a litrle stronger, but not offensively so.

One horse LOVES it, one horse that is generally a trash can ate it happily, and my third, incredibly picky beast, won’t even take a treat out of my hand if I’ve touched grain that has the oil mixed in. Full on offended, flehmen, this is poison response. But he is notoriously fussy so I wasn’t too surprised. Bought some w-3 oil for him, and he LOVES it!

All in all, I’m reasonably happy with how it all turned out. We’ll see if I notice any substantial benefits (it’s only been a month or so) but they’re all eating their buckets faster with their respective additions, so I consider that a win at this point!

[kaya842]

@greywithchrome

Mad Barn Oil
Ingredients: Blend of Soybean, flax and DHA Oil (sourced from algae)
Dose: 100ml a day
Price per day: $1.34 CAD
DHA: 1500mg

KER EO3 Oil
Ingredients: Fish Oil
Dose: 30ml a day
Price per day: $1.34 CAD
DHA: 3360 mg (I have emailed them in the past to confirm this)

Throwing my favorite fish oil / O3 supplement into the ring. Price is without any discounts - I typically buy from Heartland Vet Supply who always has a $5 off coupon and runs frequent sales (nearly every holiday), on average I usually pay about $60 per gallon bringing my 2OZ/ day cost to roughly $0.94 (compared to the $1.63/ day for KER EO3). No issues with getting them to eat it and I think it smells great. Love that it’s a marine source, has no soy, and is a small serving.

KPP Contribute
Dose: 1-2OZ per day (personally, I feed 2oz)
Price per day: $0.55 per OZ so $0.55 per day at 1OZ and $1.10 at 2OZ (prices in USD)
DHA: 2,320mg per OZ