Oil in feed - which one?

T

tigers_eye

Well-Known Member
Joined
7 February 2006
Messages
6,150
Location
Hoeilaart, Belgium
Visit site
This has probably been asked several other times, so apologies. Which oil is best to add to horses' feeds, vegetable/sunflower/other? I'm after a bit more bloom, the cheap way!
 
Linseed Oil makes my horses coats really shiny- in comparison to vegetable oils etc is is more expensive though although they only have 2 tablespoons each per day. I use the Highbarn oils one.


Soya oil is fairly cheap and a gd way of conditioning too.

In the past I've fed Sunflower oil and that was good, vegetable oil is good too but I have fed more of it to get a good result and they went a bit loopy on it!
 
My equine nutrition lecturer used to say any of them were fine to use ... vet said to give Taz (baby) soya oil and in just a few days he's looking better
smile.gif


ETS: horse was on regular veg or sunflower oil
smile.gif
 
I've found that corn oil works really well. A couple of tablespoons in a feed will give the coat a nice sheen, whereas 100ml a day or so will aid weight gain etc.
My fussy newfie usually won't eat feed with oil in but he will eat his teawith the corn oil in it
smile.gif
 
Oooh, might go for the sunflower oil then, could do with a bit of rocket fuel from both of them! A good glug per feed or thereabouts? Just so I know where would I find soya oil? Can you get it in supermarkets?
 
Don't use bog standard 'vegetable oil' since most oil labelled this way is rapeseed which isn't very good for horses.

Soya or linseed are supposed to be the best (and most expensive) followed by sunflower and corn oils. However, have fed all of these by the gallon to no effect over the years.

Personally am a fan of Baileys Outshine and whilst it seems expensive at £35+ per 20KG bag, lasts a very long time and does what it says on the tin. It's also a vitamin/mineral supplement and pre biotic so VGVFM I reckon. Mine have a mugful a day at the moment just for shine and condition. If you use oil you need to be giving about this make any difference so a litre won't go very far by comparison.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Oooh, might go for the sunflower oil then, could do with a bit of rocket fuel from both of them! A good glug per feed or thereabouts? Just so I know where would I find soya oil? Can you get it in supermarkets?

[/ QUOTE ]

They sell it at the feed suppliers 5litres is roughly £8-£10 a bottle I think. I should imagine that you can get it in Supermarkets although I've not looked! I would think its sold in smaller quantities at supermarkets, say a litre or something so it would probably be more expensive?

I've always feed oil in relatively small quantities esp with the Linseed and you can definitely see the results!- maybe start small and work up to a larger amount?
 
Suppose it depends why you are wanting to feed an oil, for weight, energy, improve inner health and joints or for a shine.

CLOP is a powered form of cod liver oil which I was recommended to use, I was told by a feed specialist that its better than a liquid oil form because horses stomachs were not designed to digest oil....not saying this correct or incorrect, just passing on what she said.

Anyways...I used it, and it improved my youngsters condition, I've always fed cod liver oil (oil form) to all my horses and always find that they benefit from this from an early age right through to being a veteran.
smile.gif
 
as previously asked it depends what you want to add the oil for. my horse had quite a scurfy skin and his coat was looking a bit the worse for wear....vet suggested oil of evening primrose but I couldn't find that except for humans so I have bben giving him flax oil for the last 3 weeks. His coat is now extremely glossy and very little scurf ....not sure if it is due to him stopping molting or the oil though
 
i'm a fan of instant linseed -simple system 25kg bag is £40, + p&p, but last at least 4months for two horses. And i reckon it's way cheaper than normal supermarket oils plus it's made for horses........ and my ggs glow with it......
 
I read a scientific report that Jane Van Lemp had which went through the types of oil and their suitability for horses. Linseed was the best. Sunflower was next then vegetable - Soya oil was stated to be totally unsuitable for horses. I can't remember now exactly why it was but I know I would never give my horse Soya oil because of it.
If you go onto the Simple System web site you can email Jane directly and ask her for information on oils and she will give you an impartial scientific view.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top