Hey, Guys!
I am hearing rave things about Cool Cal 100. I am set that I like it and want to buy it, but, the palm oil that it uses is derived from Malaysia; perhaps destroying habit.
Anyways, does anyone have any recommendations of another weight gainer like Cool Cal 100?
Thanks!
Lots of feeds use soy bean oil. Most of the brands these days have a high fat feed option.
Are feeding a concentrate- some type of “grain” feed? Make sure you are feeding enough of it! Usually a lot easier to feed a pound more of a well designed feed and see if that works than add something else to get more calories. (And of course, enough hay!)
Are you needing to increase fat in the diet due to PSSM or EPSM? If so, Cool Calories is my favorite option. Being a powder makes it stable in all temperatures, while some oils can get rancid in the heat or freeze in the winter. Of course, if you have a temp controlled feed room, those are not issues… It is also way less messy being a powder vs. an oil.
I also like Cool Calories because it only takes a tiny amount (a little over an oz AM & PM) to achieve the correct amount of fat to supplement vs. cups of messy oil.
How did you track down where Cool Calories gets its ingredients?
I also have ancient seniors (over 40 yrs old) that I simply cannot feed any more “hard” feed to by weight. I am already at my weight limit per meal. Even then, I prefer Cool Calories, as it doesn’t get goopy or pasty when added to soaked feeds like the flax-based weight supplements do. None of my horses will eat flax-based products once they turn into paste.
Worms, teeth, ulcers, enough quality hay/pasture, feeding a quality feed product. Be sure you are feeding the quality feed product to it’s designed specifications. Many feeds are designed to be feed at a minimum of 6lbs and up to 10-12 lbs.
Be sure the horse is getting not only enough calories, but also enough protein, especially the limiting proteins (the ones they can only get from their diet).
A little over an ounce (weight, not volume) of cool calories is exactly the same as a little over an ounce (weight, not volume) of oil. But cool calories is about half the weight of oil, volume-wise, so will be twice the volume.
Cups and cups of oil is = to cups and cups of cool calories x 2. You’re not getting the equivalent of cups and cups of oil in a little over an ounce of prilled fat at all 
But yeah, if you find oil too messy, cool calories is certainly better on that front.
Why not feed a high fat feed like empower boost. Purina also has a high fat feed think it’s called amplify. Also can add alfalfa hay or pellets if horse will eat chaffhaye get that in alfalfa.
I’ve tryed the different high fat feeds my horse won’t eat them more the a week or two. So he just gets thin during riding season.
Cool calories doesn’t work for all horse’s. Powered supplements get sifted to bottom of feed pans…to be left uneaten. Oils are messy some horse’s are put off by it so won’t eat feed that’s got oil in it.
Some have there limit on how much feed they Will eat per feeding…that’s my horse 4 lbs is all he’ll eat per day.
I am trying to track down stats on the 'net as to how much fat is in a 30mL scoop (one oz) of Cool Calories vs. a cup (8 oz) of oil. I am not finding anything.
I based my original statement on the advice of the vet several years ago in regards to formulating a diet for our PSSM horses, who said to use Cool Calories because a 1 oz scoop of Cool Calories had the equivalent fat of an 8 oz cup of corn oil…
Cool Calories is 100% fat. Oil is 100% fat. Go weigh a cup of Cool Calories and a cup of oil–the oil will weigh about twice as much as the Cool Calories. They have the SAME amount of fat by weight, but Cool Calories is about half as dense. So when measuring by volume, you need twice the Cool Calories to get to the fat/calories as oil.
The vet is wrong 
Purina makes a weight gain grain that works well. However my favorite is soy oil (vegetable oil) because it’s really high in calories per cup. I have a pump that fits on the oil so it isn’t so messy. I feed 1 cup am and pm. That adds about 4,000 extra calories. You may be able to do 3-4 cups depending on the size of your horse. Also, if you aren’t feeding something like purina ultium you should be. That is one of the best weight gain grains out there.
The first question always has to be - what is the horse currently eating, and does he need actual weight, or just muscle from either more quality protein, or work?
How much hay does he get? What kind?
How much of what kind of concentrates does he get?
Are his teeth in good condition?
MOST weight gain supplements are a waste of money MOST of the time, because they are being used as bandaids on top of a diet that needs to be improved, either in terms of quality or quantity.
When I was researching this, I called Manna Pro (who makes Cool Calories) to get this info:
The scoop included with Cool Calories holds 2 oz of product. One 2oz scoop = 250 calories.
In comparison, corn oil is just under 2000 (1962) calories per cup. So, the actual equivalence is:
7.84 scoops (2oz each) of Cool Calories = 1 cup corn oil
I would confirm that’s 2 ounces by weight in the scoop, but yeah. Liquid oil is ~250 cals per ounce by weight.
As a general rule, feeding oil is always going to be more economical than a powdered fat supplement, because as Simkie noted, they’re both 100% fat, but an oil is more dense that a powder, so you’re going to need a greater volume of the powder to get the same calories as an oil.
Using Absolut’s math, and assuming that the scoop is 2oz by weight (everyone is selling the 8lb bag as a 64 day supply, which would be 2oz per day, so I will carry on with this assumption), 7.84 scoops (2oz each) of Cool Calories = 1 cup corn oil:
1 cup corn oil = 7.63 oz BY WEIGHT = 1950-2000 calories
7.84 scoops (2oz) CC100 = 15.68-16 oz by weight = 1950-2000 calories
So, to get the same number of calories, you need to use a little more than double the weight of CC100 to get the same calorie content as oil.
Which means that roughly 1 lb of CC100 is equivalent to a little more than a CUP of oil. So to get the same benefit as a cup of oil per day, you’d be feeding a pound of CC100. YIKES.
For me, adding oil will always be preferable where possible, because its SO much cheaper, even if you go for the more expensive/better oils (cocosoya!!) over plain old corn oil. Powders are good for picky eaters that won’t take oil, or people who live in extreme climates and don’t have a temp controlled area to store oil so it doesn’t freeze in the cold or go rancid in the heat.
Yup, a cup of oil is roughly a pound, so that all tracks.
There’s certainly no magic in the dry prilled fat products like Cool Calories. They can work great if you’re looking for a small amount of supplemental fat and think oil is messy. But a scoop of the product is just SO little. To visualize, take a look at that scoop and fill it up half way with oil. That’s how much fat you’re feeding with one full scoop of Cool Calories. Just doesn’t seem worth it to me.
So I’m with you, lifeis…oil is just so much cheaper and easier. I don’t even find it messy with the right set up.
Well according to cool calories directions only need to feed 2 to 4 oz. Does sound like OP is looking for a similar product to CC. But OP hasn’t replied again.From looks of it they have posted before to never come back with any more replies, 1 post and done.
We are increasing my guy’s hay (he needs top line and for his rear to fill out) and I also added dac Bloom which has Cool Calories in it. Cocosoya is a good option too. I am hoping once out on my pasture, horse will fill out.
Legends Omega Max packs the weight on like no other. Plus they scarf it down. No idea why it works but it does.
I have my mare on the Purina Amplify High Fat Supplement and she has been doing great on it for several months! She’s a bit of a hard keeper. She’s got dapples in her winter coat!
Well this is going to be an interesting and awkward discussion next time I see that particular vet… I didn’t question the advice, maybe the vet wrongly assumed the powder was more concentrated due to being “dehydrated”? Sort of like instant coffee??? I dunno. Just one of those instances where I blindly follow advice given by the person with the bigger degree than me.
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