Title says it all. It has been recommended to me by a feed nutricionist for my horse herd.
Why was it recommended, specifically?
It used to be a big thing to feed for calories and fatty acid to either help with some weight gain, put a shine on the coat, or both.
More research came out about not just its high Omega 6 content, but the real potential for it to aggravate arthritis, or contribute to performance degradation.
That said, many horses do get a couple pounds a day with apparently no ill effects. Likewise, some people say it does make their horse’s arthritis worse.
Given there are “better” things to feed, I won’t use them anymore. As a treat? Sure. But 1lb+? No.
Flax is high in Omega 3 (anti-inflammatory), and many horses benefit from more O3, and ALL horses who don’t get enough fresh grass would benefit from some. It’s not great for weight gain though. Some horses DO gain weight while on it despite its low calorie content, but I suspect they had some inflammation going on which was preventing healthy weight, and the addition of O3 helped mitigate that.
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One hundred percent anecdotal but I fed it years ago and all my horses were barefoot. My farrier asked if I was using Keratex or whatever that green stuff is, escaping me at the mo’, due to how rock-hard their feet were.
I just started it again last week with a horse with poor hoof quality to see if I see anything positive (yes long term test and going into summer, but he loses shoes year round).
While it has O6, one of the previous horses was retired with severe and advanced arthritis in her hocks and was no more or less lame. She was a tough old bird tho… They got, IIRC, a cup a day or cup per feeding.
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That is interesting ,please let us know how it works for the horse with poor hoof quality.
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I used to love it for an easy fat source at the track but stopped using it when it went from $9 for a 50 pound bag to $40 for a 40 pound bag.
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Long story short…We sold 65 acres of our land last year thinking we had a buyer for the rest and the deal on the house/barns/15 acres fell through. We have had quality hay baled on our farm for 12 years, but no longer have the acreage. We have never had less than 80 acres and as much as 200. The supplier we have been buying “high quality” hay from for the past year sold us many loads of great hay…then 15 tons of clean, weedless hay this past winter, but (as he admitted after we complained) the last 15 T was heavy in Ceressa (SP)…usually fed and loved by cows…horses when it is leafy. The horses ate it well, but the stems are like knitting needles and the horses either left them or ate them with no nutrional benefits. We increased their grain and quantities of hay, but their body conditions declined…along with our bank account as we fed more of everything trying to make up the difference. Recently I spoke to the Nutrition expert at the mill where we have our custom feed made up and was asking him what we could change in our feed and he suggested adding higher fat content and trying BOSS for a couple of weeks then going to “Energy Boost”…a granulated fat additive. We have a new hay supplier with lovely, clean, Bermuda or Native Grass hay and our grass is jumping so everyone is rebounding nicely, but I did buy 50 lbs. of BOSS and everyone is eating it. I was told to feed a “handful” a day. Sorry for the novel!!
Honestly, I’d just find some plain, fortified (added calcium) rice bran and feed 2lb of that. Cheaper than BOSS. Max-E-Glo is one. It doesn’t have to be fancy, or bagged for horses, just straight rice bran with added calcium to balance the high phosphorous.
A handful of BOSS won’t do much of anything for weight gain.
Get rice bran. I use about a lb per feeding for my hard keepers. Most of them have been calcium corrected already, although you might want to check the label for ground limestone or calcium carbonate just to make sure. My 18 hh hard keeping Tb doesn’t have ribs for the first time in ever. After we got his feed mostly sorted, he never looked terrible, but he just lacked oomph. He’s got it now.
at my feed store it’s $6.50 for a 40 lb sack. It’s a powder, so be forewarned. Horses still vacuum it up, although the oldie and the pssm horse have it wet.
I’m a big fan of plain old oil for this sort of thing. Pick up the big five gallon jugs at CostCo or Sams.
We have used BOSS for about 15 years now. Every horse gets it morning and evening. Never caused any problems and has been part of our nutrition program. Total half lb per day, split in two servings very happy using it as part of our feed. We also use. renew Gold, Ultium alfalfa and coastal hay
I can’t speak to weight gain, but I feed less than a handful - two 2-tablespoon-sized scoops daily (so 1/4 cup per horse) & all the horses have lovely soft & shiny haircoats.
So much so that my vet has commented on coat condition & a friend with Hackney ponies has added BOSS to his feed.
They stay soft & shiny through Winter & shed out in dappled glory.
Their only other grain is whole oats, sole supplement - aside from the BOSS - a probiotic. Friend feeds a pelleted feed along with BOSS.
I’ve fed like this for 3 pairs of geldings ranging in age from 10-27yo.
The oldest gelding - 27yo TB - never had any arthritic changes as proven by rads taken in his late teens. Vet pointed out how good the joints looked.
Oil works if horses will eat feed with oil in it. My horses won’t touch feed that has oil in it,they won’t touch feed with powdered fat supplements either.
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I already…and for a long time…feed rice bran. Specialist suggested BOSS over oil for “likeability” and the fact that oil will spoil. Thanks for the tips. The BOSS won’t hurt anybody, I guess. Paid $20 for 50 pounds. Horses are all picking up condition now that the grass is jumping and we switched hay sources. I just wondered about the BOSS affects.
We live HOURS from any wholesale outlets!!!
But, a handful isn’t going to make up for what sounds like a pretty significant energy deficit in the hay. It’s just not nearly enough calories. You’d need to feed 1-2lb/day to have it make an impact that way.
How about restaurant supply? Feed store? Or your grocery. Seriously, oil is one of those things that you can pretty much find anywhere.
Really for volume and $$, oil is as calorie dense and cheap as you can get. Since you’re not worried about omega 3/6 balance, you don’t need anything fancy. Canola or soy will do just fine. It’s not going to go off if you don’t store it at 100 degrees and feed it within a reasonable amount of time.
A half cup of sunflower seed weighs, what…a few ounces? Call it two, maybe? That’s about 300 calories. A quarter cup of oil is nearly 500. You can sneak a quarter cup of oil into a horse pretty easily. If you do that twice a day, you’ve added 1000 calories.
I don’t think you’re going to see much change or improvement by feeding an additional 300 calories of anything.
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Thanks for the “diagnostic breakdown” of calories!! I think I’ll put my older, 17 hand, TB on the oil along with the BOSS!! I’ve got 50 pounds of “bird seed” to get rid of anyway!!! We feed basically free choice hay…not round bales, but large, 1000 pound, barn kept, square bales that test out over 10% protein. With 20 horses…oil for each is not practical. The horses don’t look aweful…especailly by local standards…but we’d like them to look “better”!! Most look fine…just a few are not up to par. Thanks for all the info and suggestions. We live in VERY rural NE Oklahoma…just grateful we have a local Walmart and Farm store!!
Just be aware with oil that anything made for the restaurants may have anti-foaming agents added, and you definitely don’t want any of those.
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Thanks. When I feed oil, I use corn oil from the grocery store.
FWIW, I find oil easiest to deal with by using the TC Rice Bran oil containers. They have a built in 1/2 cup measure. Years ago, when I was feeding a LOT of oil, a kind COTHer sent me a whole box of empties. Now that I’m back to it, I just bought a single jug of the RB oil and refill it from the big one (which is soy, I’m not worried about O6.)
Pumps also work pretty well, but can be drippy.
This is what I’m talking about 
Maybe your feed store carries, or can order for you? It’s spendy for a gallon of oil, but the container is just so useful.
