Feed companies grrrr - arthritis and omega 3/6 imbalance

[sonjafoers]

One of my horses has been diagnosed with arthritis and has had her joints medicated with no success, so is now on daily bute.

I feed either Baileys Outshine or Saracen EquiJewel depending on what my merchant gets so have contacted them about the omega 3/6 balance as I obviously don't want to feed anything too high in omega 6 because of the pro inflammatory issues. Baileys have now advised me that due to company policy that can't give me this information but what they can tell me is that Outshine is formulated to be as close as possible to grass.

I can't quite believe it to be honest - why would this be the case?? It seems that certain companies withold a variety of information but still expect you to buy their products. TopSpec are another example of this.

Interestingly Saracen have been really helpful (as usual) and suggested I feed micronized linseed alongside EquiJewel to boost the omega 3 content and increase the anti inflammatory properties of my horse's ration.

Can anyone out there help me with the ratio in Baileys Outshine or is it truly a close guarded secret!

 

[FairyLights]

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/monday-musings-new-grass-fed-study/#axzz2lsC77xqP
its about cattle but woth a read. Hope this helps

 

[FairyLights]

linseed has more omega 3 than 6. 8:2 ratio. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linseed_oil

 

[Buddy'sMum]

Have you tried emailing/calling the TopSpec helpline? They're great and they'll send you any information you need about their products.

The optimum omega 3:6 ratio in horses hasn't been determined yet but linseed has a similar omega 3:6 ratio as grass (about 4:1, as Horsesforever1 has mentioned). If you're concerned about feeding too much omega 6 then neither Outshine (linseed + soya) or Equijewel (rice bran) are ideal as both soya and rice bran are much higher in omega 6 than omega 3.

Best to stick with linseed or, even better from an anti-inflammatory perspective, fish oil.