I add whole flax to my TC Senior and the difference is striking. I don’t feed it for calories/fat-- the calories and fat are negligible. I feed it for the positive benefits I see when I increase the omega 3 fatty acids in my horses’ diets.
When my animals are on flax, their already nice coats have an extra degree of bloom. Risks of skin funk and thrush vanish, regardless of their living conditions. My farrier was just out the other day and asked what I was doing to keep my horses’ hooves so healthy despite the pasture being ankle deep in mud. She didn’t believe me when I said nothing.
Many feeds have flax as an ingredient, but that doesn’t mean your horses can’t benefit from more. The fatty acid profile of flax is volatile; processing at the mill, then sitting on the shelf decreases viable ALAs. Also, feed products are composed chiefly of ingredients that skew the fatty acid ratio in favor of omega 6s-- soy, grains, brans, vegetable oils. The small amount of flax added to the formula is rarely enough to overcome that inverted ratio.
I don’t disagree with you. The poster I quoted stated that expense was a concern and I simply asked if she needed to add flax along with the increase in TC Sr. She did not say why she was adding flax or if there was a specific issue the horse has. I only add flax to TC Sr if the horse has skin or hoof issues. I have one right now that I’m trying to keep from “exploding” with good health and he is on 5-6 lbs of TC Sr and OG hay. Came to me with horrible feet and very underweight and he improved so rapidly I’ve had to hold off on increasing the TC Sr or adding anything else.
People are very fixated right now on the omegas, and really fixated on the ratios. What they are ignoring is the total amount consumed - you possibly only get the negative side effects of o6 if you consume too much - AND it’s only in humans that conclusive research has been done.
Horses are eating 20 lbs of grass and hay a day, which have the right ratio of o3-o6. You’d have to feed a large amount of o6 heavy feed to wreck the ratio, and there is no evidence that it’s a problem for horses.
Inflammation is good and necessary in some situations. It is part of the body’s healing process.
You have to look at both amounts and ratios, and put that product in context with the whole diet, which is why I defer to the professional equine nutritionists. Absolutely flax is “good” for horses, but they don’t all NEED it. And when a poster is concerned about adding something to the diet and also concerned about overall expenses, then NEED becomes important. Flax is not expensive, but cutting a few dollars here and a few more there may help the poster better afford the medication her horse DOES need.
That was me that asked about adding flax to TC SR. And yes, cost is a concern. He has Cushings/Ir and takes Prascend. Testing and meds cost is very high for my income. The horse is old, very thin. Will eat the TC SR but quids any hay and doesn’t care for his soaked cubes. I don’t kmow if flax will help him or not and regardless of cost can certainly increase his TC SR if I need to.
You don’t say where you are located so I can’t comment on what is available in your area, but, for horses like yours who won’t eat the cubes and can’t really eat hay, use pellets. It is much less expensive to buy pellets and “mix your own” (add to them whatever supp’s are needed) than to buy a premade product such as TC. Yes, TC is fabulous, I use it, so do a lot of others. Just saying, when cost is an issue…
You can soak pellets, add whatever extra ingredients you need to, and see if your oldster eats that better. Plus with the cost of the Prascend, maybe this would help you out financially. Nothing more aggravating than throwing out uneaten feed.
I am located in north central Tx. Even tho I have to watch my budget carefully, I am sticking with the TC SR since I just don’t have the experience to mix my own. He is slowly gaining a little weight with the TC Sr, I just didn’t know if adding flax to it was a good idea or not, I think I wont. He is eating the TC SR, it’s the cubes I am throwing out. Maybe he will like pellets better or he will start eating the cubes or pellets better as time goes on taking the Prascend.
So I would replace cubes with pellets. Start there. As for ‘mixing your own’ - if you find you need to, reach out because there are several of us here on COTH with experience to that, and we can help you.
