Whole Flax or Ground or Stabilized..... aside from cost, does it matter?

[TheJenners]

[QUOTE=JB;8715020]
Hardly TMI - THIS might be TMI :winkgrin: When I had doubts about the whole flax being digested, and saw seeds in the manure, I picked a few out and discovered they were only the hulls - the meat was gone ;)[/QUOTE]

You beat me to it. I’m not saying ppl with flax plants in the pasture are wrong, but the only place I’ve seen them yet is where my horses drop feed out their windows.O

OP, I tried the both and cost v everything else, I went back to whole unground. Both my horses get a cup a day in one feeding (they are fed once a day), and I do soak their food but it’s just prior to feeding when I wet their food so the powders stick. They basically get gruel ;). Shiny coats, and when I started the old fart on it this spring he went from desultorily giving up his winter coat to gangbusters two weeks later. Related or not, it was interesting timing. The other got clipped so I can’t say, but he’s also been on it way longer for the omega 3.

[cloudyandcallie]

I prefer chia seeds from getchia.com. I buy them in bulk. And buy human grade although they say they have horse grade. My horses eat what I eat.

Chia seeds have less omega 6 than flax does. Plus flax seeds made Cloudy and Callie too fat.

Flax seeds that are not ground up by the horses’ teeth do go through the body and grow into flax plants. Just like tomato seeds in humans. Which I learned about, tomato seeds, when a subdivision south of Atlanta got treated human waste as fertilizer…the news reported that everyone who bought a house there got a lot of tomato plants growing in their lawns that summer.

I found many flax plants in the manure pile where I put Cloudy and Callie’s manure. Of course I find some chia plants out where they manure, but not as many as the flax plants. Scatology 101: examine your horse’s manure to find out what is not being digested.

[Dune]

[QUOTE=JB;8715020]
Hardly TMI - THIS might be TMI :winkgrin: When I had doubts about the whole flax being digested, and saw seeds in the manure, I picked a few out and discovered they were only the hulls - the meat was gone ;)[/QUOTE]

Never TMI from you JB!!! lol I do have to wonder, though, perhaps there is some benefit even from the hulls that we don’t fully appreciate (yet)…just a thought. I’ve fed it both ways, really have no dog in this fight, obviously I think it’s great…just pondering…

[Ghazzu]

The hulls are still present in the ground flax.

[Rnichols]

[QUOTE=JB;8715020]
Hardly TMI - THIS might be TMI :winkgrin: When I had doubts about the whole flax being digested, and saw seeds in the manure, I picked a few out and discovered they were only the hulls - the meat was gone ;)[/QUOTE]

Lol!!! I never thought to check the flax seeds in my old guys manure!

He had chronic skin issues anyways (at certain points he had NO hair on his belly or chest from scratching it all off…), so just because flax didn’t work for him doesn’t mean it won’t work for your ponies

[Mukluk]

I used to by them omega horse shine but it’s so expensive. So I switched to whole flax. Both are very shiny and I do not have any flax plants growing anywhere. It’s simple, easy, and cheap to feed it whole.

[JB]

Oh I have no doubt there are whole flax seeds that make it all the way through. BOSS too. I just think for most horses it’s so few, but if there ARE a lot, then it’s the best reason to grind for that horse - he’s not chewing his food well enough.

I’m sure the values vary a little, but according to this, Chia has 4% more O3, but 33% more O6 than flax
http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/health-fitness/healthy-eating/chia-vs-hemp-vs-flax
So with the added cost of chia, it would never be worth it to me.

[rockymouse]

We feed one quarter cup twice a day to son’s gelding. Whole flax, no grinding or nuthin. Horse looks like a million bucks - glows from the inside out.

[Obsidian_Fire]

[QUOTE=JB;8718500]
Oh I have no doubt there are whole flax seeds that make it all the way through. BOSS too. I just think for most horses it’s so few, but if there ARE a lot, then it’s the best reason to grind for that horse - he’s not chewing his food well enough.

I’m sure the values vary a little, but according to this, Chia has 4% more O3, but 33% more O6 than flax
http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/health-fitness/healthy-eating/chia-vs-hemp-vs-flax
So with the added cost of chia, it would never be worth it to me.[/QUOTE]

Thank you for that JB. I had forgotten about those comparisons, altho at one point I had looked up that information!

[Scribbler]

Flagged as advertising.

[ParadiseHorses]

I enjoyed this thread since I am just beginning to feed my horses flax. Simply Flax is what was easiest to find. But my horse expenses have risen greatly lately, what with cushings/Ir testing, Prascend and more TC Sr volume (to get his weight back up). Anyway, I can see feeding whole seed would save a lot on flax. I also have a very small mini food processor that would be perfect for grinding. Also an extra coffee grinder but the mini processor sounds easier to clean to keep device from smelling rancid.
But, IF I wanted to feed whole, I’m questioning this for the old Cushings horse, his teeth are so bad he quids most of the hay I give him, just to keep him occupied. I am assuming you guys would never feed a horse like that whole flax seed? Just haven’t seen that mentioned on any flax thread.

[Texarkana]

@ParadiseHorses

But, IF I wanted to feed whole, I’m questioning this for the old Cushings horse, his teeth are so bad he quids most of the hay I give him, just to keep him occupied. I am assuming you guys would never feed a horse like that whole flax seed? Just haven’t seen that mentioned on any flax thread.

For the particular horse in question, no, I would not feed him whole flax. I would not feed a horse with compromised dentition anything in “whole” form!

[ParadiseHorses]

@Texarkana

For the particular horse in question, no, I would not feed him whole flax. I would not feed a horse with compromised dentition anything in “whole” form!

Thank you, that is exactly what I thought but I had not seen oldsters/whole flax seed discussed in the plethora of flax seed posts on the internet.

[Palm_Beach]

@Mukluk

I used to by them omega horse shine but it’s so expensive. So I switched to whole flax. Both are very shiny and I do not have any flax plants growing anywhere. It’s simple, easy, and cheap to feed it whole.

I had a OHS rep give me a bag, and swore I’d see a difference even though my horses were already on ground flax and had great coats. I fed the OHS to one horse and left the rest on ground flax. 30 days later they all looked the same.

[Hopeless]

Does “quid” mean the same thing as “gum”?

[Scribbler]

@Hopeless

Does “quid” mean the same thing as “gum”?

It means the horse can’t chew well.enough to swallow and is ending up making little lumpy mouthfuls and spitting them out.

[digihorse]

Check if you have a store that sells bulk food. Those who do often have ground flax and much cheaper than any horse supplement. I pay $1.50 or so a pound… so less than $10 for 5 pounds… instead of the $35 for 8 pounds or so on the horse products.

[JB]

@ParadiseHorses

Thank you, that is exactly what I thought but I had not seen oldsters/whole flax seed discussed in the plethora of flax seed posts on the internet.

It really just comes down to - how well can they chew.

Whether they are 2, or 12, or 20 or 40, if their chewing is compromised for whatever reason, whether it’s not enough grinding surface, or not enough teeth, or they bolt their food, etc - then grind.

[Ghazzu]

@digihorse

Check if you have a store that sells bulk food. Those who do often have ground flax and much cheaper than any horse supplement. I pay $1.50 or so a pound… so less than $10 for 5 pounds… instead of the $35 for 8 pounds or so on the horse products.

Check your local feed store and look for something without a horse on the label, and you can get 50# for $35.

[Palm_Beach]

@ParadiseHorses

I enjoyed this thread since I am just beginning to feed my horses flax. Simply Flax is what was easiest to find. But my horse expenses have risen greatly lately, what with cushings/Ir testing, Prascend and more TC Sr volume (to get his weight back up). Anyway, I can see feeding whole seed would save a lot on flax. I also have a very small mini food processor that would be perfect for grinding. Also an extra coffee grinder but the mini processor sounds easier to clean to keep device from smelling rancid.
But, IF I wanted to feed whole, I’m questioning this for the old Cushings horse, his teeth are so bad he quids most of the hay I give him, just to keep him occupied. I am assuming you guys would never feed a horse like that whole flax seed? Just haven’t seen that mentioned on any flax thread.

TC Senior has flax in it, and is already 10% fat. If you are increasing the TC Sr, you are increasing the fat, do you need to add flax?