Where do you get ground flaxseed in bulk?

[4LeafCloverFarm]

Is there any worry about feeding the whole flaxseeds to a senior with teeth issues? My 28 yr old has some tooth loss, and a few nubs and so forth. Seeds won’t get wedged in places they ought not to be? I have no idea how large or small the seeds are.

My understanding (after doing some reading last night) is that they need to chew the seeds a bit to sort of bust them open to get the nutrients out of the seeds - that hind gut digestion of full intact seeds release some fat and a few nutrients, but not the Omega 3 - for that you need to grind the flaxseed.

Just curious - what does a cup of whole flaxseed weigh? As in, how many cups do you get out of a 50# bag?

[Hawks_Nest]

Our barn feeds whole flaxseed but actually soaks it first, for something like 4hrs at least. It becomes a kinda slimy mess but pretty easy to feed with the right scoop. I think it ends up being 1/4-1/2 a cup of soaked flax seeds daily. No issue with the older mares who are low on teeth and no flax plants in our pastures.

[4LeafCloverFarm]

@Hawks Nest - interesting about the soaking. My senior horse does get all his feed soaked, but only about 20 min or so. So that would not be long enough I’m guessing to get the seeds really pliable.

The TN Farmers Co-Op doesn’t carry flaxseed (whole or otherwise), but did find a 50# bag of “Milled Flaxseed” that they can special order. She had no clue what that was - and neither do I. The product does not say it is stabilized - which I know for ground flaxseed (like rice bran) is important for it to stay fresh because of the fat content. “Milled” could mean ground or something else entirely. Anyway, she said she’d call next week and let me know what she found out. It was $30 a bag.

My local family owned feed store doesn’t carry flaxseed either - but they are going to see if they can order it from one of their suppliers and will get back to me.

[DinkyDonk]

@4LeafCloverFarm

Is there any worry about feeding the whole flaxseeds to a senior with teeth issues? My 28 yr old has some tooth loss, and a few nubs and so forth. Seeds won’t get wedged in places they ought not to be? I have no idea how large or small the seeds are.

My understanding (after doing some reading last night) is that they need to chew the seeds a bit to sort of bust them open to get the nutrients out of the seeds - that hind gut digestion of full intact seeds release some fat and a few nutrients, but not the Omega 3 - for that you need to grind the flaxseed.

Just curious - what does a cup of whole flaxseed weigh? As in, how many cups do you get out of a 50# bag?

I feed a little over 2 cups a day to my assorted sized critters, and a 50 lb bag lasts about about 9 weeks. The seeds are tiny and very lightweight. If you’re worried about your senior guy being able to digest them, toss them in soaked feed–will soften the seed covers for easier digesting, and you can check his manures for whole seeds that passed through intact. If you see too many, then grind them. The worst thing about grinding them is cleaning the grinder afterwards–takes time to do it right and get it really clean.

[Scribbler]

You could always put the flax seeds on to soak an hour early and then add the feed that you only soak minimally.

[Simkie]

@4LeafCloverFarm

The TN Farmers Co-Op doesn’t carry flaxseed (whole or otherwise), but did find a 50# bag of “Milled Flaxseed” that they can special order. She had no clue what that was - and neither do I. The product does not say it is stabilized - which I know for ground flaxseed (like rice bran) is important for it to stay fresh because of the fat content. “Milled” could mean ground or something else entirely. Anyway, she said she’d call next week and let me know what she found out. It was $30 a bag.

That’s ground and not stabilized.

I sometimes wind up with a bag and don’t notice any difference in the shine on my horses, which is why I feed it. If you care about the omega 3 aspect, it’s probably not what you want.

[Sfbayequine]

I started using the triple crown golden flax a month ago. Vet came for fall shots and asked what I was doing because they are super shiny. For $30 i love it. I feed a cup to each of my horses every day. I like that the seeds are sliced vs. ground which is supposed to be the stabilization trick. There is no nutritional difference I could really find between golden and brown flax.

[Palm_Beach]

@4LeafCloverFarm

So, I’m running low on my Omega Horseshine and a poster in another thread of mine suggested I just by ground flaxseed, as it would be cheaper - so I set off in search of ground flaxseed.

The Omega Horseshine is $50 for a 20 pound bag (and I pay no sales tax on horse feed, as I am exempt). The 8LB tub of “Simply Flax” they have at TSC is $30 - so that is not cheaper. I see that TripleCrown has a 25LB bag of Golden Flax for about $30, so that would be cheaper - only nowhere near here carries it. The grocery store has generic ground flax, but it is about $2.00 for 1 pound and when you add our lovely 9.75% sales tax… well that isn’t cheaper!

So where do you get your ground flax, in bulk? And what do you pay for it (including shipping, if you get it online)?

And what is the difference in brown flaxseed and golden flaxseed?

If they get TC products, they may be able to special order it for you. It is stabilized, so you can order a bunch of bags at once if you need to.

[Texarkana]

Wilson County Co-Op would order whole flax for me. It was the only Co-Op that would do it, but I suspect the Williamson Co-Op in Franklin might do it, too. I know nothing in the north near where I lived would order flax for me except one who had ground (it was probably the milled stuff).

Bonnie’s (in College Grove) will probably order it, too. I can’t imagine she wouldn’t. She carries Triple Crown, among other things, so I’m sure she can get their product if she doesn’t have it already. Bonnie is literally the best!

I also may ask Jennings at Saddleridge Farms in Shelbyville if they have any flax products or could order them.

It was SOP when I lived in TN to drive insane distances to buy feed. One of the many reasons I’m so grateful to be in MD these days!

[4LeafCloverFarm]

@Texarkana

Bonnie’s (in College Grove) will probably order it, too. I can’t imagine she wouldn’t. She carries Triple Crown, among other things, so I’m sure she can get their product if she doesn’t have it already. Bonnie is literally the best!

I called Bonnie’s yesterday and left a message (they were already closed). They are also listed online as having Standlee, as I am searching for the Standlee Chopped Alfalfa. So if she does have the TC Golden Flax and the Standlee Chopped Alfalfa (or can get them for me), if would be worth the road trip for the two products. Williamson County is a really long way for me, but just because I’m as far east in Rutherford county as you can get - so I have to go clear across the county to get to Williamson County. I honestly don’t mind the driving at all - its paying for the gas in my ancient Suburban! :winkgrin:

[DinkyDonk]

@4LeafCloverFarm

I called Bonnie’s yesterday and left a message (they were already closed). They are also listed online as having Standlee, as I am searching for the Standlee Chopped Alfalfa. So if she does have the TC Golden Flax and the Standlee Chopped Alfalfa (or can get them for me), if would be worth the road trip for the two products. Williamson County is a really long way for me, but just because I’m as far east in Rutherford county as you can get - so I have to go clear across the county to get to Williamson County. I honestly don’t mind the driving at all - its paying for the gas in my ancient Suburban! :winkgrin:

I drive an hour each way in my gas guzzler to get mine; storage of whole flax in my climate is not an issue–I buy enough to get me through until late spring/early summer when I can cut way back on the amount I’m feeding due to pasture greening up.

[Texarkana]

I would drive from NE Sumner county near the KY state line down to Bonnie’s… it took 90 minutes one way in my ancient pickup that died on the trip more than once. I know people from Huntsville, AL who used her for their primary feed store. That’s how good of a store it is!

[4LeafCloverFarm]

@Texarkana

I would drive from NE Sumner county near the KY state line down to Bonnie’s… it took 90 minutes one way in my ancient pickup that died on the trip more than once. I know people from Huntsville, AL who used her for their primary feed store. That’s how good of a store it is!

Good to know.

When we first moved here 17+ years ago, we had the Co-Op, TSC, Kelton’s, local feed/tack stores to choose from. The Co-Op doesn’t carry much of anything anymore except their feed, TSC changes managers and you have no idea what they will/won’t have anymore, Keltons stopped carrying any horse stuff and the local tack/feed store went out of business. The feed store I use now is a hike from where I live, but still in my county and on the way to my hay supplier - so that works out just fine. they’ve only been around 5 years or so.

[JB]

@Mouse&Bay

I think the debate of can they still digest it is getting resolved

Yes, they can digest it, there are lots of horses who have proved that. Maybe not as efficiently as if ground, but you can feed a little more, and since whole flax is really cheap when you by “animal” flax in the big plain brown bags, feeding a bit more is still cheap.

I am a minimalist, stabilized to me equals additives. I would much rather feed the real deal without the chemical experiment.

If you consider mixed tocopherols, the most common stabilizer/preservative in things like this, a “chemical experiment”, then ok Not everything is preserved/stabilized with BHA

Also, don’t forget that not all “ground” flax is actually ground. Triple Crown Naturals Golden Ground Flax is actually cold-sliced, no grinding, so is still really stable, up to about 2 years. I’m sure some other “ground” flax products are done the same way.

So no “chemical experimentation” is needed to keep things fresh

Plus the goopy consistency of flax when wet, along with the extra fiber, must be really good for guts.

Flax isn’t very good at pulling sand out of the gut, despite the mucilage trait (the goop/slime), and the fiber is totally insignificant in the context of a horse.

@4LeafCloverFarm

Is there any worry about feeding the whole flaxseeds to a senior with teeth issues? My 28 yr old has some tooth loss, and a few nubs and so forth. Seeds won’t get wedged in places they ought not to be? I have no idea how large or small the seeds are.

I would definitely grind, or buy ground, flax for this. It’s not that it would be a health problem to feed, it would just be nice for at least a reasonable amount of flax to have contact with good grinding surfaces

[quote]My understanding (after doing some reading last night) is that they need to chew the seeds a bit to sort of bust them open to get the nutrients out of the seeds - that hind gut digestion of full intact seeds release some fat and a few nutrients, but not the Omega 3 - for that you need to grind the flaxseed.[quote]
Don’t forget the stomach pH of as low as 2-ish is really good at breaking down much of the hulls

[BroncoMo]

So, not to hijack, but might be helpful for others. I get a ground flax at a local mill, they could not tell me whether or not it was stabilized but said they sell it often to horse people. I assumed (could be inaccurately) that if it’s being fed with no issue, it must be stabilized. Now after reading some responses in here, it seems that might not be the case. I keep an eye on it and smell often, and it has not seemed to go rancid. Would it smell or turn color if it goes rancid? I’ve been feeding it for several months with no issue. I feed to about 15 horses so cost effectiveness is of concern, which is why I don’t just go with the TC product. Any idea how quick flax goes rancid? I thought it was relatively quick. FYI, I’m in a cool dry climate.

[DinkyDonk]

@BroncoMo

So, not to hijack, but might be helpful for others. I get a ground flax at a local mill, they could not tell me whether or not it was stabilized but said they sell it often to horse people. I assumed (could be inaccurately) that if it’s being fed with no issue, it must be stabilized. Now after reading some responses in here, it seems that might not be the case. I keep an eye on it and smell often, and it has not seemed to go rancid. Would it smell or turn color if it goes rancid? I’ve been feeding it for several months with no issue. I feed to about 15 horses so cost effectiveness is of concern, which is why I don’t just go with the TC product. Any idea how quick flax goes rancid? I thought it was relatively quick. FYI, I’m in a cool dry climate.

I would think if it was rancid, it wouldn’t get eaten, or feed it was mixed into

[BroncoMo]

@DinkyDonk

I would think if it was rancid, it wouldn’t get eaten, or feed it was mixed into

That’s what I was thinking. Just, a comment above about how not all ground flax is stabilized, and since I never got an answer on whether or not mine was, made me question the decision to feed it. But it smells and looks fine, even after several weeks, and everyone eats it with zero protest.

[firefoot]

@BroncoMo

That’s what I was thinking. Just, a comment above about how not all ground flax is stabilized, and since I never got an answer on whether or not mine was, made me question the decision to feed it. But it smells and looks fine, even after several weeks, and everyone eats it with zero protest.

IME, flax that’s gone off smells fishy and weird. I had flax in the kitchen go bad once and it was a gross, very noticeable smell. I also buy the ground flax from my local mill for the horses and never notice it smelling bad or the horses choosing not to eat it. So I know it might not be “ideal” but it is the most cost effective and the horses look extremely well.

[Simkie]

@BroncoMo

So, not to hijack, but might be helpful for others. I get a ground flax at a local mill, they could not tell me whether or not it was stabilized but said they sell it often to horse people. I assumed (could be inaccurately) that if it’s being fed with no issue, it must be stabilized. Now after reading some responses in here, it seems that might not be the case. I keep an eye on it and smell often, and it has not seemed to go rancid. Would it smell or turn color if it goes rancid? I’ve been feeding it for several months with no issue. I feed to about 15 horses so cost effectiveness is of concern, which is why I don’t just go with the TC product. Any idea how quick flax goes rancid? I thought it was relatively quick. FYI, I’m in a cool dry climate.

I’ve definitely picked up a rancid bag of ground flax from the feed store. If you have it in the car with you, you’ll smell it. It’s not FOUL but it’s noticable.

But I think there’s probably a difference in the omega 3 oxidizing–which we know happens quickly, omega 3 is just not stable–and all of the fatty stuff going rancid. If you’re feeding flax for the omega 3 bump, and getting as much as possible out of it is important to you, the whole stuff or the stabilized stuff is probably the way you want to go.

Most of the time I’ve wound up with a bag of ground flax, it smells clean and nutty through to the end. And it makes the horses soft and shiny. But I’ve no doubt that a large amount of the omega 3 is not present by the end of the bag, just based on what we know about how fragile it is.

[BroncoMo]

@Simkie

I’ve definitely picked up a rancid bag of ground flax from the feed store. If you have it in the car with you, you’ll smell it. It’s not FOUL but it’s noticable.

But I think there’s probably a difference in the omega 3 oxidizing–which we know happens quickly, omega 3 is just not stable–and all of the fatty stuff going rancid. If you’re feeding flax for the omega 3 bump, and getting as much as possible out of it is important to you, the whole stuff or the stabilized stuff is probably the way you want to go.

Most of the time I’ve wound up with a bag of ground flax, it smells clean and nutty through to the end. And it makes the horses soft and shiny. But I’ve no doubt that a large amount of the omega 3 is not present by the end of the bag, just based on what we know about how fragile it is.

Thats good to know. I feed it for the amino acid profile and higher fat percentage. I know it’s higher in omega 3s but admittedly I have not delved in to that area of research (regarding stability, oxidation, bioavailability and such). I have some relatively harder keepers and this type of ground flax has worked nicely for me in regards to weight and also coat quality. If I had a specific target then I would for sure look at different products but this seems to be working for what I need.