Ground flax doesn’t keep well. Whole flax is fine. I have a Walmart coffee grinder and I grind flax as I am preparing feed and then it gets fed. A whole lot cheaper (well not as cheap as it used to be but still cheaper) than stabilized ground flax. I pay $59 for 50 lbs and it used to be $29. I have read you can feed it whole but I haven’t tried that. A bag lasts me a long time for two horses and it doesn’t get stale as long as I keep the bag in a garbage can.
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The vet told me whole was fine so we’re going with that.
I buy whole flax and use a coffee grinder to grind the flax as I feed it. If you don’t grind it not all of it will be digested as the seed coat needs to be damaged in order for it to be digested. My horses’ chewing doesn’t do a good job and whole flax ends up in their poop which attracts rodents and birds. Love the birds hate the rodents.
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Whole flax lasts a long time if stored properly (in a container to keep it from getting damp). A lot cheaper to buy a big bag than little amounts from a health food store.
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Anecdotally, I’ve used whole flax to good effect. Shiny coats, good skin, nice weight, bright eyes, good feet, dapples. How much of that I can attribute to whole flax, I’m not sure, but I have not fed it in about a year and the herd lacks this extra bloom and the dapples are fewer. They’re all fine, but not ta-da!, if that makes sense.
In our case, the group clearly got the impact whole flax offers, without grinding it first. YMMV. As for attracting rodents - our chickens may have picked up any flax that the horses dropped or excreted. Again, YMMV.
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Thanks! This was an experiment. Maggie is eating, but not cleaning up. I’m going to ask about gastroguard.
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Yes, chickens would be good at picking up the flax. I’d love to have a few, but that is a definite no go with DH. Doesn’t like bird pooh droppings nor the smell. He loves the horses, so I can forego having chickens. My first pet was a hen.
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Nexium is the human version and is much cheaper. There is thread on COTH about it. I’ve used successfully to treat ulcers.
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Not quite, but close.
Prilosec is the human version of gastrogard. (omeprazole)
Nexium is also a proton pump inhibitor but it is esomeprazole.
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Thanks for the correction.
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Knee-jerk.
I taught clin pharm last semester.
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I took a leap of faith after wading thru the massive thread about it’s use, tried it and it worked. Saved me a lot of money.
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LOL I have a pen I really like that I got from the Evergreen Breast Cancer Center. I lent it to a guy at an archery tournament, he commented on liking the pen. I kinda told him the same.
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Oh boy, you have been through the wringer lately! I’m so glad Maggie is back home and managing. She sounds like a super special pony. I almost didn’t recognize Matilda. She’s improved so much. You’re doing such a fantastic job with them.
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Maggie found her appetite! She is much better now. 
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Matilda is doing well. She seems to be sound at the walk. We can see a little limp at the trot, but it isn’t as pronounced. She is running, chasing, bucking and playing at liberty. It’s so nice to see her so full of herself. More pictures tonight.
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Wow! She looks so good! She even has a butt now. 
Way to go!
I’m glad Maggie is feeling better. She looks good too.
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Happy that Maggie is doing well. Nothing like Pony Spunk!
And Matilda looks like a regular horse now. Amazing what love and care will do, eh?
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