I have a lower level eventing mare that I give 3/4 C flax seed daily for the Omega 3s fatty acids, hair & shiny coat benefits. I add 2 oz of Cool Calories in winter or she’ll lose a little weight over the cold months. The CC label also claims to add a glossy coat. Would it be simpler to just increase the flax in winter or keep her on Cool Calories year around instead of my seasonal routine with the same benefit?
I have a TB who is a horrible keeper who gets flax and Cool Calories-and cocosoya oil on his Triple Crown Complete!
The main advantage that I can see with the Cool Calories is being able to add fat without the slimy factor.
If your horse is doing well on it, why not? You may be wasting a few pennies a day, maybe.
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Thanks for your reply! At this point I’m not looking to save $, but rather simplify my horse’s diet. The flax and CC aren’t available at the same outlets near me, so it would be easier to feed 1 of these fat sources instead of both. If you could only feed 1 of them, which would you choose? I would increase the amount fed to make up the difference. Thanks!
Put that way, probably the flax. The powdered fat is just added calories, the flax has more benefits. I do it because I can’t get my guy to eat a greater volume/weight of concentrate, and the Cool Calories add calories without volume. I have never used the stuff before I got this awful keeper-wish I didn’t have to use it now.
Do you have access to more hay for winter?
I think the flax is most beneficial. It’s cheap, you don’t need to grind it, and a fairly small amount can have huge effects. I keep my horses on it year round and I think it does an amazing job with their coat. I mostly don’t have weight issues, but it’s the go to recommendation for added weight by the vet.
I feed whole flaxseed and renew gold, but for different reasons. I have an OTTB chestnut who started to get hives the first spring I had him, this was 4 years ago. I started it for his allergies. Fast forward…he’s also had allergy testing done and has been on allergy shots ever since. He’s allergic almost everything in Virginia, including alfalfa, which he has to eat as a majority of his diet due to being severely ulcerprone. I keep my other OTTB on it for the same reasons because he’s chestnut and a 50# bag is cheap at 22.50 where I’m at. I use the renew gold for adding good fats to their diets and they both look phenomenal! I used to feed cool calories, but it’s basically dehydrated fats and I accomplish more with the above and corn oil.
Neither are great options for weight gain.
While both are high in fat and calories, both also have a low mass to volume ratio. Both have just over 100 calories per ounce, with Cool Calories being a touch higher in the calorie department. But neither are thing that you can feed in large quantities.
With that said, flax definitely offers more in terms of nutrition and health benefits. That’s why I feed it.
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You’re getting about 250 kcals in your cool calories. That’s SUCH an insignificant amount. Flax is about 900 kcal/cup. Just up the flax a little and ditch the cool calories 
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What concentrate is being fed(I’m guessing a good once since you event) and how much? Is she getting free choice hay/pasture? I’d first max out on roughage, then maybe bump up the concentrate depending on how much you are already feeding and how much she is working in the winter. A fat source will give her calories, but if she is working and struggling to hold weight, she might lose a bit of topline/muscle if you increase only the fat.
I try not to have a tb at my place over the winter, but when I must, I just increase the concentrate to get them to gain, since they are already on free choice hay/pasture. It’s balanced and they tend to put on good weight overall and the improvement in hoof quality is dramatic. If your mare tends to just lose some topline, maybe add a ration balancer? I sometimes add a ration balancer for the month before they go back to the track to build some topline before they go back into training.
Just as one anecdote…
my horse had terrible hives. I tried everything…including shots.
Platinum skin and allergy eliminated them and they have not returned. I only give half a tiny scoop now, and toward fall I go back to one scoop.
I dont work work for the company or have any vested interest, just thought I would share! He refuses to eat the majority of platinum products but this one does down despite the fishy smell :).
Thanks for all the feedback. I will ditch the cool calories when it runs out and increase the flax. My mare is an ISH (3/4TB). She’s a 3rd level dressage horse and we do several events at Novice each season, so nothing too stressful. I do not want to increase her concentrates as that can make her ulcery. She gets a lot of hay, but not free choice unfortunately, as she’s boarded and they won’t allow that. She looks awesome, no real issues, she just slims down a bit in winter keeping warm and nothing to graze on during turnout. When I first got her I needed to give her 3+ oz of CC daily all winter. This year I only added 1-2 oz and she did well. She’s on 3/4C flax all the time, so next winter I’ll increase that. I do prefer a more natural food like flax vs processed fat. Thanks!
I agree that the calories are insignificant for both of these. But like you said, there is more to something than simply calories. I do know a few horses who have gained weight with just the addition of flax. Clearly it’s not from calories, and it’s not like they went from a BCS 4 to 6. They went from something like barely a 5, to a solid 5.
The thought process is there was some underlying inflammatory situation so they were chronically a bit stressed, and the Omega 3 from their cup of flax relieved that. Anecdotes for sure, but once I heard of the 2nd horse, then a couple more, I took notice.
There is no such thing as “ulcery.” The horse either has ulcers or it doesn’t. What would contribute to developing ulcers is to be without anything to eat for periods of time. Your barn is doing you a disservice if they won’t allow free choice hay/pasture. Will they allow you to pay extra? Is she deprived of hay when she is in her stall or when she is turned out?
I went down the same routes you did. CC didn’t help my horse put on weight when he was a hard keeper.
What did, over time, was switching feed to Nutrena Pro Force Fuel or Fiber. Purina Ultium has a similar profile. They are high in fat. I used to supplement with beet pulp and oil, this feeding regime was on the advice of 2 vets, the Cargill and Purina nutritionists. I also added some alfalfa hay (not cubes) and still do, which is a buffer for ulcers, adds calories and is mighty tasty. Within a year, he got to a body score of 6 and my vet said “ummmm, cut back”. For the last couple of years he has maintained his weight very nicely on Pro-force fuel, and for the last year, PFF mixed with a diet balancer. Our barn feeds a prepacked tupperware to every horse, and I am in control of what he gets. I will add that my horse, and the barn dogs, L-O-V-E PPF. The barn dogs hang around my horse when he eats for dropped scraps, no other horse! My horse continually has no problem with dogs.
OP, it sounds like your horse might benefit from alfalfa or alfalfa mix hay that you purchase and put in a slow feeding hay net. I can’t imagine your barn will complain about you doing that. There’s a person at my barn who does this and will prepare maybe 3 nets at a time, one to be given every day if she can’t get there. No work on the barn’s part and they have no problem with changing out the hay nets. Maybe this is something to consider?
^^Good suggestion. They make really big slow feed nets so you don’t have to fill them every day.
dac Bloom has flax, amino acids and cool calories all in one. May need to give a few ounces of it but I’ve heard good things about it and it would be a way to cut back to one supplement.
