Per my vet’s recommendation I started my older gelding on a DHA supplement to help his EMS and hypersensitivity to flies. I started him on Mad Barn’s W3-Oil 15 mil once a day. After a couple months he started acting lethargic, had runny eyes, and I would find him laying down more than usual. I thought maybe it was the soybean oil so we switched to KER’s EO-3 at the same 15 mil once a day. He has been on the EO-3 three months and started showing the same symptoms. Could he be allergic to DHA? I stopped feeding the EO-3 a week ago and he is doing much better. I searched online and haven’t found anything on a horse being allergic to DHA. Wanted to ask if anyone else has had their horse experience adverse reactions to DHA?
Horses convert ALA, the omega 3 form found in plants, to DHA (and to EPA), so he can’t be allergic to that itself
But he COULD be allergic to a particular source of DHA.
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Thanks JB. Maybe good ole ground flaxseed would be a safer choice?
I’d certainly try that! The conversion from ALA to DHA and EPA isn’t terribly efficient, but flax works well for a lot of horses.
JB - I’ve been looking into other forms of DHA. What do you think about using spirulina as an alternative DHA?
Spirulina does have some DHA, but it’s mostly EPA, not a lot of DHA, along with some ALA.
What’s the goal of going after DHA specifically?
My vet recommended it for my EMS horse that also suffers from hypersensitivity to flies.
Right, but why DHA specifically?
Generally, the deal is to supplement Omega 3 in general. It happens that sources of DHA and EPA are just more efficient because that’s what the body uses. Plant sources are ALA, which has to be converted to DHA and EPA, making it less efficient.
But lots of horses find some relief with flax (or chia, but flax has more O3 than chia does, and is usually cheaper).
Spirulina has provided significant allergy relief for a lot of horses when flax/chia doesn’t, so that’s definitely an option.
I wouldn’t get so hung up on DHA specifically, since it’s not quite that simple 
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Thank you. I appreciate your help.
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My horse doesn’t do great with oil. Any oil. I’ve tried camelina oil, EO3, and one other. Gives her gut problems. She is also the EMS type haha so I wanted to try DHA for that and her joint soreness but I’ve tried enough to know not to experiment with oil anymore.
Try straight flax or chia seeds to get those omegas (still so beneficial), or if your horse is like mine and its the oil format and not the DHA there is a powder option by Stride Animal Health called Fish Oil Factor.
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My mare broke out in full body hives after starting mad barns w3 oil. They cleared up when stopped the product. I thought it was a random fluke so I tried again…… still a big nope.
Camelina oil is fine. Flax is fine. I’m not sure if it was the DHA specifically or if it’s more that it is a marine source of it.
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