Corn/Soya/Linseed (Flax) Oil - Which do you Feed and Why?

Aces_High

Aces_High

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Hi Guys,

Just wondering who feeds which oil to their horses to bulk up calories without bulking up the bucket. I know there are a lot of different views on which oil is best. Which do you find the most productive as a food source.

Thanks A_H
 
I was feeding corn oil but now can't find it anywhere so will be watching this thread with interest as I was going to now get Soya but will see others views........
 
Are you in the UK MB? I have been feeding Soya Oil from Dodson and Horrell for a long time but also feed Baileys Outshine (was Equine Energy). I was wanting to see people's views as thinking of changing to corn or linseed oil.
 
Linseed has a better balance of Omega oils than others so you get addtional benefits as well as condition. But feed the Micronised whole linseed rather than the oil. Not only do you get the whole thing but it works out cheaper too if you get the big bags from Charnwood.
 
Criso - I have fed whole linseed in the past but it's such a pain having to boil it etc and with now having a 'normal' job it just doesn't fit in with my day to day (minute by minute!) diary. Would you rate Linseed oil better than Equine Energy?
 
Aces_High said:
Criso - I have fed whole linseed in the past but it's such a pain having to boil it etc and with now having a 'normal' job it just doesn't fit in with my day to day (minute by minute!) diary. Would you rate Linseed oil better than Equine Energy?
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That's the point about the Micronised linseed - you don't have to boil it, just feed it straight out of the sack.

Outshine is a mix of soya oil and micronised linseed plus other things. The minerals and vitamins are not a bad thing but may overlap with something else you are feeding. It's also got wheat in it which you may not want to feed.
 
I do not add any vits/mins or balancers as in my mind the scientists have done the work and I am feeding it according to body condition and work load. Have you got a link for the micronised linseed - sorry my eyes seemed to have skipped the micronised word :) Long day staring at a screen..... Which brand do you use?
Racing Demon - do you have any links for where your feed is from? Ideally I want an oil/supplement so I am not increasing the amount of feed going into their stomachs but I am increasing the calories.
 
criso said:
Linseed has a better balance of Omega oils than others so you get addtional benefits as well as condition. But feed the Micronised whole linseed rather than the oil. Not only do you get the whole thing but it works out cheaper too if you get the big bags from Charnwood.
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Same - I was feeding Soya Oil but read some articles about it increasing Oestrogen levels and seeing as I was dealing with a moody mare at the time I switched to Linseed meal. That was about 5 months ago and I am really pleased with the results. It is also a very economical way of getting those calories into them.

http://www.charnwoodmilling.co.uk/mail-order/Horse_Food.html#a55
 
Rice bran. :) I like linseed, too. I have fed oil in the past but can't be asked now there are good stabilised products. Also, oil iin sufficient quantities to make a real difference to an animal as large as a horse can be messy and offputting to a picky horse.

The only qualifier I would say re prepared feeds is that many people only feed enough to meet the horse's energy needs, not necessarily all its nutritional ones. I'm not a big supplement feeder but if a horse is struggling with condition I'm happy to try a quality vitamin.
 
That's interesting TarrSteps. Please can you tell me abit more about rice bran? In the second half of your post do you mean that people wouldn't use oil as a 'top up' but more as part of their diet? As I think I said above I do not feed supplements unless a blood test comes back to say they are lacking in x,y or z.
 
I feed rapeseed oil, currently £1 a litre from Tesco. I feed it because the horse I hunt needs a lot of calories and I don't want to have to feed him three hard feeds a day and it bumps the calories right up with no volume. He gets 400ml a day, which is the calorie equivalent of over a kilo of cubes.
 
I've got a sack of micronised linseed from Charnwood in my feed room. If you want some to make sure princess splodge will eat it I can chuck some in an icecream tub for you or something. :)
 
Sorry AH, I wasn't clear. It didn't really apply to the point of the post, only to the idea of complete feeds supplying all nutritional needs. They do, if fed to recommended levels which, in my experience, is less than many people feed. If I was feeding a complete feed below recommended levels, say for an easy keeper, I might very well top up with a general supplement.

Anyway, back to fat. :) I'm not much of a feed geek but have used rice bran for years and been happy with the results. It's not the cheapest but I've never had to feed lots. As with all fats, it's apparently more easily utilised with Vit E, which is added to some of the commercial preps like Equijewel.

But don't listen to me, I'd likely feed everything soaked oats or Re-leve, Codlivine and rice bran if it needed to be fatter. And I come from a land without chaff! ;)
 
Grrrr. My brain is soggy. . .I meant many people do not feed the amount of complete feed manufacturers recommend so therefore they may be meeting their horses' caloric needs but not nutritional ones.
 
Linseed for the motley crew, they look absolutely amazing on it. Reg is a big-framed TB and so understandably needs a huge amount of food to keep him looking good. He's picky, and can take or leave food, so it's not easy to shovel enough down him! On linseed oil, he looks great and it really helps keep the condition on him.
 
Vinnie is on micronised linssed and hifi and he is absolutely gleaming- he is so shiny you can practically see your reflection, even in his winter coat.

He usually needs a lot of high calorie feed to keep condition as he is a very big framed horse and can also be picky too.

He gets 2 x double handfuls of hifi and 1 x mug of the linseed, twice a day and he looks better than he ever has.
 
TarrSteps said:
Grrrr. My brain is soggy. . .I meant many people do not feed the amount of complete feed manufacturers recommend so therefore they may be meeting their horses' caloric needs but not nutritional ones.
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I am with you! I suppose where I go wrong is that I always assume everyone has TB's and horses in hard work and that they all feed like me according to their nutrionist and the horses work and body condition!! Doesn't help when having a discussion!!

I wish I knew how to multi quote!

Jesstickle - that would be awesome and can we have a jar or two so we can discuss the Gaza Strip - I am fascinated and you're really well versed on the subject :) Also we can chat about science stuff!! The micronised linseed would be more for my TB as he's such a bad doer it's ridiculous and is pumped with Top Line, Oil etc. I am another who doesn't feed chaff - they get ad lib hay so why do they need chaff! I must admit to feeding Princess Splodge chaff though as she eats like a Labrador who's been starved for 3 weeks. Pretty disgusting!

Britestar - is your full fat soya a meal rather than an oil?

Lolo - another vote for Linseed :)

Millitiger - that's interesting with your horse - is he just on Hi Fi and Linseed?

Racingdemon - thank you - I will have a look at the link in a minute :)
 
Aces_High said:
Jesstickle - that would be awesome and can we have a jar or two so we can discuss the Gaza Strip - I am fascinated and you're really well versed on the subject :)
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Ha, I know very little. I think I've put forward my entire knowledge already but tell me where to be and I'll be there :)

Lovely Max is definitely allowed some of my micronised stuff! It smells like proper linseed, I always want to stick my head in the sack and eat it myself :o
 
Jesstickle you can andyou can't - not charnwood as it is animal grade but you can buy it from Holland and Barrett and make bread/porridge etc. with it (Recipes on Atkins diet site).
 
Right, first point re feeding for calories then I would use corn oil as you can feed much higher quantities than linseed to provide the adequate energy but I've never had a horse that didn't hold weight on forage, fibre feed, Alfa a nd a comprehensive balancer (topspec in my case)
Regarding nutrition I feed mine linseed oil for the omega oils. I want an oil that will provide my horse with omega 3 and 6 as these are both essential fatty acids that the horse needs to ingest as they can't synthesize their own. Omega 3 has anti inflammatory properties whilst omega 6 has pro inflammatory properties.
Linseed oil has omega 3 to omega 6 in a ratio of 4:1 which makes it much more suitable for use as a supplement as i am looking at maintaining good joint health.
That's how I understood it when I looked into it
 
Awesome - thanks everyone, some really good information and feedback.

Jesstickle - I am partying this weekend in London and I think back in London next weekend but shooting as well on Saturday :/ Not sure how I will do it. We can speak and organise a catch up. Oh and you'll have to come and look at F&L - we have lots of lovely things in :)
 
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