advice needed re; feeding micronised linseed.

kickandshout

kickandshout

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ok so as the title says i need some advice and experiences others have had feeding linseed.
my reasons for feeding it are to help/ improve my horses skin as he has sweetitch.
i have read that linseed contains an ingrediant that would help with the inflammation after a bite (can anyone confirm it it worked for you? is this right ?)

if i am to feed it for skin condition not for gaining fat how much would you feed ?

hes a 16.3h weigh taped at 580-ish 16 year old belgian sporthorse who is exercised 6 days a week does showjumping funrides dressage etc
fed on Honeychop oats and grass nuts and alfalfa.

thanks in advance for any advice
 
Hi! It's the omega 3 fatty acids in the linseed that could potentially be helpful. They have an anti-inflammatory effect, so might help a bit with the sweet itch. I wouldn't expect a cure from feeding linseed though. It's not a medication, you are merely supporting the horse's own defenses as best possible with good nutrition.
A rule of thumb amount to feed is around 100g/day for a 500kg horse. This would provide roughly a similar amount of omega 3 fatty acids as a horse would get from grazing fresh green grass. (There is no established requirement for omega 3 fatty acids for horses.) If you're not worried about the extra calories, there's no reason you couldn't feed more though. Even at 200-300g/ day, the fat supplied by the linseed would still be a fairly small portion of the overall diet, and you may (or may not) see some extra benefit. If weight is an issue, I'd make sure to reduce other feed accordingly.
 
I've had skin problems with Alfa, as have many other people. So I'd swap that out for a grass chaff. My horse gets a mug full and her coat is glossy.
 
Alfa gives mine really itchy scurfy and sensitive skin. Drop that for readigrass then feed a mug of linseed a day and see how you get on.
 
I'm another that wouldn't feed Alfa to a horse with poor skin condition. Try adding brewers yeast; it's a very good skin and hoof conditioner, has B12 in it among others and is the base for Pink Powder at quarter the price.
 
I'd also swap out the alfalfa. A mug of linseed is what I feed. Make sure you increase the amount slowly (start with 1/4 of a mug) as it can make them quite loose at first.
 
I give about 80g linseed as a maintenance through the summer with some brewers yeast to my oder big lad. Winter is upped to about 150g/200g. Stopped him itching and his joints clicking.
 
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