Vegetable Oil

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Claireward2000

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Over the weekend, a friend told me she feeds her horse Vegetable oil instead of Cod Liver oil as it does exactly the same thing for their joints etc., to me this sounds barmey and i think she could be harming her horse with the extra collestrol, has anyone ever heard of this and what are your views?
 
Not barmy, perfectly sensible in fact. Horses are vegetarians, and I for one would not feed cod liver oil to a horse; quite aside from the fact that cod liver oil destined for horses is unlikely to be tested for the high levels of mercury and lovely chemicals such as PCBs that are found in increasingly high levels in fish stocks, the digestive system of a horse is not designed to cope with fish.

Oh, and vegetable oil smells better too
 
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But would it have the same benefits as Codlavine?

[/ QUOTE ] Depends what type of vegetable oil she is feeding, as it is a 'catch-all' name and just means a plant-based oil. The ratio of Omega 3s to Omega 6s is important in relation to joints and inflammation - the vegetable oil with the best ratio is linseed oil. Rapeseed oil (often marketed as 'vegetable oil') also has a good ratio of Omega 3s to Omega 6s.
 
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But would it have the same benefits as Codlavine?

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Well I don't think that Codlivine has all that many benefits
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If the c.l.o is being fed for coat/skin quality then veg oil is comparable, and linseed is better still. If being fed as an energy source then I believe veg oil provides more KJ/kg but could well be wrong. If feeding for e.f.a. content then veg oil isn't as good. If feeding for joint problems, they're both a waste of space IMO.
 
The whole cod liver oil and horses thing is questionable. Cod liver oil helps joints in omnivores like humans and carnivores like dogs... but herbivores have an entirely different digestive system. The benifits of cod liver oil, as opposed to veg oil as far as horses go... are anacdotal at best.

It as if the promotors have thought, humm, all this hype with CLO for humans, and dogs... lets market it for horses too. ... people will buy it! The human/dog evidence makes for a very sexy advert.



There is evidence to suggest that improvements in a horses way of going when fed oil are not due to the 'joints being oiled' but because the horse has a metabolic problem causing the lack of mobility. The horse can not use starches, and metabolises the oil more sucessfuly... thus improving movement as the horse has energy and the muscle cramping lessens.


As far as feeding oil to horses goes... it is a good thing. There hae been long term trials in the US and they have found that feeding a high oil, low starch, high fiber diet is benificial for all horses, not just those with metabolic problems.

You can feed an average size horse 1/4 a pint of oil per day without having to suplement selenium. You can feed up to 25% of the daily calory requirement as oil or fat.

If you would like to know more about the benifits of a high oil diet, have a look at this...

http://www.ruralheritage.com/vet_clinic/epsmdiet.htm

If you want to try feeding oil, any pure, ie, non hydrogenated veg oil will do. Corn oil is the most palitable. If you are feeding high volume, avoid linseed oil as if fed in high amounts it can irritate the gut and cause colic. Start with very little, like a teaspoon full, and build up slowly till you are feeding the required amount.
 
Yes I would agree vegetable oil is much better than cod liver. Horses haven't evolved to digest any kind of animal matter at all. I fed my tb mare 250 mls a day in winter to help keep her weight up, it also gave her a lovely shiny coat and MAY have helped with her advancing arthritis, though I have no way of proving that.
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