Feeding cooking (vegetable) oil to horses

G

Gemma_L

New User
Joined
19 April 2016
Messages
3
Visit site
I have a cob who has a grass belly but is otherwise not fat. Will feeding vegetable oil off the shelves of the grocery store maintain his weight and and add shine to his coat (that is the primary objective here). He isn't loosing weight but I'd like him to maintain his optimum weight. His coat looks dismal despite everyday currying and brushing. He is already on hard feed and hay and the occasional turnout to pasture.
 
I once heard that the Queen has her horses fed soya oil to give their coats a bit of shine. I feed vegetable oil to keep calories up and fizziness down and my mare has a shiny coat, but she seems to maintain shinyness naturally (sorry).

Does your cob have good feet? Hoof and coat condition can be linked.

Using rugs with man-made shiny linings seems to bring up a better shine on a horse's coat, but wrong time of year for that.

Random input, probably not much help....
 
Micronised linseed will have more effect than veg oil, and they digest it better, skin coat hooves all improves...grass belly should disappear when you working and you should be able to see the muscle working underneath belly...as the grass is through now, he should maintain his weight if not gain so micronised linseed is a better choice...
 
Gemma_L said:
I have a cob who has a grass belly but is otherwise not fat. Will feeding vegetable oil off the shelves of the grocery store maintain his weight and and add shine to his coat (that is the primary objective here). He isn't loosing weight but I'd like him to maintain his optimum weight. His coat looks dismal despite everyday currying and brushing. He is already on hard feed and hay and the occasional turnout to pasture.
Click to expand...

I fail to see how a cob who is only turned out occasionally can have a grass belly, or why at this time of year he is only getting turned out occasionally, it is not good for them to have an inconsistent diet, the best thing for a good coat is being outside, having the sun on their back and plenty of decent work to build up their muscles, no amount of grooming will put a shine on a horse that is unhealthy.
I would cut back the feed, get him turned out properly and increase the exercise to get rid of the belly, a little oil will help improve the coat but it will not make any difference if the diet and lifestyle is not suitable.
 
be positive said:
I fail to see how a cob who is only turned out occasionally can have a grass belly, or why at this time of year he is only getting turned out occasionally, it is not good for them to have an inconsistent diet, the best thing for a good coat is being outside, having the sun on their back and plenty of decent work to build up their muscles, no amount of grooming will put a shine on a horse that is unhealthy.
I would cut back the feed, get him turned out properly and increase the exercise to get rid of the belly, a little oil will help improve the coat but it will not make any difference if the diet and lifestyle is not suitable.
Click to expand...

Be positive - Maybe there is a reason why her horse can't get turned out more, it might be a management issue at her yard or her horse may have a medical reason for this.

Horses that are turned out occasionally can still get a grass belly! My horse will go out one day looking ribby and 'not fat' and will come in looking like he is carrying triplets, his stomach will stick out at the side as well as underneath. If I lunge or ride him we get an eplosion of F**TS and his stomach deflates! When the vet came out last Sunday for colic to my 'heavily pregnant gelding' :) he asked if he always looked like that. When he came the next day after the horse had been starved overnight he expressed surprise about how different he looked! And he did!

All horses are different and some react to grass more than others producing massive amounts of gas. This is what I understand 'grass belly' to mean.

Its a common assumption to look at a horse - say its fat without taking time to assess and condition score the rest of its body.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
applecart14 said:
Be positive - Maybe there is a reason why her horse can't get turned out more, it might be a management issue at her yard or her horse may have a medical reason for this.

Horses that are turned out occasionally can still get a grass belly! My horse will go out one day looking ribby and 'not fat' and will come in looking like he is carrying triplets, his stomach will stick out at the side as well as underneath. If I lunge or ride him we get an eplosion of F**TS and his stomach deflates! When the vet came out last Sunday for colic to my 'heavily pregnant gelding' :) he asked if he always looked like that. When he came the next day after the horse had been starved overnight he expressed surprise about how different he looked! And he did!

All horses are different and some react to grass more than others producing massive amounts of gas. This is what I understand 'grass belly' to mean.

Its a common assumption to look at a horse - say its fat without taking time to assess and condition score the rest of its body.
Click to expand...

There may be a reason for the OP's cob only getting the occasional day turned out, if it was under veterinary advice I would have expected them to mention it, if it is due to the yard rules then my post still applies, it is not in the best interests of any horse to get just the odd day out, it is not good management, if they bloat on grass and get gassy then maybe the grass is too rich, still poor management in some way, the introduction needs to be gradual and regular.

Horses are designed to trickle feed and that includes grass, they should not gorge then starve so the tummy goes down, that is never ideal and is going to put them at risk of colic far better that they have a regular routine, whether that is all day, all night, 24/7 or just 1 hour per day, their systems benefit from having pretty much the same going through every day, it is why any changes should be made gradually, a horse regularly getting colic probably needs more care in it's management, that should not mean it spends even more time shut in a stable it should have access to less rich grass that does not allow them to gorge.
 
Thanks for the input everyone. He gets turned out on alternate days for half a day except weekends, pretty much the same as winter except he gets longer hours out. If I had my way, he would be out everyday but that is not a viable option at my yard. The grass belly started about a month ago, despite being in the same field with the same horses and the same workload since December. I really don't know how to remedy this.

He came to me skin and bones but he's now a good healthy weight and works 1-3 hours a day 6 days a week. The hard feed helped a lot with his weight gain and he doesn't go bonkers with it and allows him to keep up with his work.

Would linseed oil be a good idea then? Or should I be rethinking a lot more of his diet/lifestyle? Thank you!!
 
Micky said:
Micronised linseed will have more effect than veg oil, and they digest it better, skin coat hooves all improves...grass belly should disappear when you working and you should be able to see the muscle working underneath belly...as the grass is through now, he should maintain his weight if not gain so micronised linseed is a better choice...
Click to expand...
^
cheaper, less processed and all round "super-food-for-horses"
When you say he works this much, I would say I am surprised .... this is a fittening regime for a hunter, and I would expect to see a well tuned athlete, light and lean and trim.
If he is hacking gently for three hours, then he could still develop a belly, try increasing the rate of the walk, and do a few miles at the canter over a week, steady, on the bridle, up hills. He should be doing enough to need a good wash once or twice a week.
 
Last edited:
Gemma_L said:
Thanks for the input everyone. He gets turned out on alternate days for half a day except weekends, pretty much the same as winter except he gets longer hours out. If I had my way, he would be out everyday but that is not a viable option at my yard. The grass belly started about a month ago, despite being in the same field with the same horses and the same workload since December. I really don't know how to remedy this.

He came to me skin and bones but he's now a good healthy weight and works 1-3 hours a day 6 days a week. The hard feed helped a lot with his weight gain and he doesn't go bonkers with it and allows him to keep up with his work.

Would linseed oil be a good idea then? Or should I be rethinking a lot more of his diet/lifestyle? Thank you!!
Click to expand...

You are working him well, it is a shame the yard has such limitations on turn out which is not good management in my view and I would look elsewhere as it could impact on his health although not as much as you suggested in your OP where he only got occasional days out.

The poor coat in a horse working every day is surprising and I would definitely put him on some oil but my choice would be micronised linseed rather than the oil which may be less palatable and has less benefit, I would give a good wash to get rid of any excess grease and regularly wash off any sweaty areas with plain water, if he still looks rough in his coat consider doing worm counts, if you haven't already, and or run bloods to check there is not a problem relating to his previous poor condition that may be having a detrimental effect on him still, it can take them a long time to fully recover even when they appear well there may be something lacking that is not in his diet currently.
 
Micronized linseed is easier to manage. It keeps for much longer (linseed oil should be kept in a dark, cool, place, and goes rancid very quickly after opening) and is often more easily tolerated in a feed than the oil, which may be slightly bitter.

To be honest only 1/2 a day turnout every other day, especially in summer, would be making me look for another yard. It isn't ideal to be standing in for so long so routinely.

The grass belly will be coinciding with the flush of new grass. The digestion of new grass produces a lot of gas due to the fermentation process which can lead to a more rounded belly than normal. However, this can be ameliorated in some ways by making sure that your horse has the strongest abdominal muscles possible - so think of doing lots of belly lifts in hand/on the ground.
 
susanrich said:
Where did you get the linseed from?
Click to expand...

Try your local feed store, I have 2 near me (mid Surrey) that stock it. Failing that, order direct from Charnwood Mills, the linseed isn't that expensive at about £25-28 per bag but CM charge £10 delivery if you are only having the one.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top