Linseed, is there any actual proof

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FairyLights

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that it helps with scurfy horses and sweetitch? I've been advised by my vet to feed linseed oil to my fatty welsh cob x as it will help with his scirf and SI. Has anyone tried this and has it worked for them. TBH i'm fed up of trying this n that often expensive just beause some say it might work. for example apparently theres no proof that brewers yeast, marmite or garlic actually work. Is the linseed effect just another unproven rumour?
 
It definitely improves the quality of the skin snd coat, wether anyone has done scientific studies is another matter. You would be best to feed around 3/4 cup daily of either micronised or freshly ground linseed.

Freshly ground also helps joints too.
 
I've not heard that it works for sweet itch. I feed it to my girl and she does still get scurvy at certain points in the year. I just wanted to say that I'd be careful feeding it to a fatty because it's so good for weight gain. Sorry I can't be more helpful, hopefully someone else can help you out more.
 
I don't know about sweetitch as Im lucky not have any suffering from it but in terms of overall coat condition I wouldn't not feed mine linseed. Over a period of time the results are clear to see, healthy glossy coats even on the grey's and a marked improvement on the two old ladies regarding stiffness etc.
I buy the micronised linseed and one 20kg bag @ £21.00 lasts a month - thats for 3 horses & 2 ponies so not expensive.
They also have a lo-cal balancer and lo-cal chaff and thats it. I rarely need to bath them just alot of grooming!
 
I feed 1/3 of Brewers yeast and 2/3 linseed and about 15g Burdock Root- probably around half a mugful in total but yes I think it does seem to be working on my sweet itch pony

As with many conditions it seems to be a combination of things that work rather than any one thing, I also rug and keep the pony very clean which also seems to help

Its always hard to drop any one thing if everything seems to be in balance! though when I ran out of brewers yeast and dropped it for a couple of weeks things definitely got worse
 
Thanks everyone. It is the weight gain thing which concerns me. WelshD, he's very fussy, if theres even a pinch of brewers yeast in his feed he wont eat it i've even tried disguising it with molasses but no, he wont touch the feed bucket.
I think I'd better get some micronised linseed ordered.
 
I did notice quite a difference when I stopped feeding micronized linseed, but don't know about scientific proof. It does have a long tradition of being fed to horses though.
 
does anyone know where the cheapest place to buy linseed is? 20kg micronised linseed. I know charnwood sell it but there carriage charge is expensive, theres another supplier who only charges £2.99 carage but I cant remember the name of the supplier!
 
OP, there has been a study - I'll try and find it for you. I was looking for it myself because my new pony has been itching. Anyway, I had some whole linseed and while I was trawling the net to find if I could feed it whole I came across the study. I've been feeding her whole linseed and she's not scratching as much and the hair is growing back on her shoulders where she had itched it off. This is only after introducing it into her feed for 3 days.
 
Quick question - is micronised linseed tasty for the horses? Just ask because on another thread somone suggested I feed it to one of mine, but I tried adding the oil to his feed once and he wouldn't go near it.
 
My boy suffered from scurfy skin and sweet itch and feeding linseed has helped both. What helped most though was finding out what was causing the scurfy skin. With my boy it was feeding Alfa-a. Stopped that and his skin improved, added linseed and the change was amazing.
 
3OldPonies said:
Quick question - is micronised linseed tasty for the horses? Just ask because on another thread somone suggested I feed it to one of mine, but I tried adding the oil to his feed once and he wouldn't go near it.
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It is very palatable to most horses but any fussy ones could be started on a small amount and gradually increase. Some of the oils aren't as palatable and of course definitely avoid linseed oil meant for furniture.

If pure oil is produced using heat the omegas are destroyed. So for full benefit micronised is preferable but if you can't get it, cold pressed oil is next best but must be kept refrigerated.

ps. Whole (micronised) linseed is the only feed source of omegas 3 and 6 in the same ratio as grass as far as I'm aware.
 
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I get mine at my local feed merchants. They order it for me with the bulk orders they do and it comes to £21. It's from Charnwood Milling but much cheaper than if they posted it direct!
 
I've fed both brewers yeast and linseed to mine and not noticed any difference to the sweetitch. However the micronised linseed does help in giving them a nice coat and I still feed 1/2 a mug a day. I've not met one that doesn't like it, unlike brewer's yeast which some think is poison.
 
Am a huge fan of linseed. And it needn't be expensive if you buy it in bulk and cook it yourself. I firmly believe in it, and our family has used it on our horses for the 60+ years I've been riding. It really can improve coats, manes and tails, and we believe also helps with general suppleness. It's also a great tempter to fussy/convalescent feeders, is a good masker of anything like Danilon, and, served as a hot feed on a cold winter's day, aids digestion and is a comfort food.

One of my liveries is a great rangy ex-steeplechaser, and it helps him to look slightly less of a toast-rack throughout the winter - and his rather manky coat now changes properly with the seasons, and shines like mahogany.
 
I have found it work well for scurfy itchy ponies, neither of which had proper sweet itch though. I also found brewers yeast good for when I didn't want to feed the extra calories.
 
It helps my poor doer keep weight on & he's also really,really fussy but I've never had any trouble getting him to eat it. I've done a lot of looking into the cheapest place to get it & farm & pet place is the cheapest I've found.
 
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