Which Oil to use?!

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The_Blonde

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I want to add an oil to my lad's feeds for his coat and digestion but not sure which is best - Linseed, Omega, Cod liver or just sunflower oil from the supermarket?!!

He's a good doer so I don't want to give him loads of extra calories but he could do with the slow release energy for stamina when we're xc schooling and the like.

Any advice much appreciated! thanks :)
 
As a very general rule of thumb:
Linseed for coat condition
Soya for stamina
cod liver oil for joints (however, you will find many people on here don't like this as strictly speaking its an animal product and horses are of course veggie's...up to you to decide if you approve or not)

I usually use supermarket veggie or sunflower oil and find it does wonders for the coat but not an awful lot for stamina IMO...
 
Linseed does much more than give a great coat. It has the right balance of Omega 3 and 6 to give joint protection as a result of dealing with free radicals in the metabolism. I would not feed cod liver oil as I am not sure the equine digestive system has the right range of enzymes to digest animal derived products.

Corn oil is more palatable than mixed veggy oil or soya but more expensive.

Oil is worth 2.5 times as much in energy terms than carbohydrates.

I have to feed enormous amounts of oil to a horse with a muscle disorder. Usually the maximum is approx 8% of total energy value of feed but mine requires 22% and he is not excitable or badly behaved.
 
your welcome the_blonde :D
As I said, only a quick general guide...but dh has given you much more info!
 
Its not just that cod liver oil is an animal product, it is dangerously rich in vitamin D. It should only be given under veterinary advice.
 
I used sunflower oil all winter and my lad has got the most amazing coat, just changed to linseed as he was feeling a bit flat and this has given him a little boost. I do rate sunflower oil though!
 
I'm feeding Mazola corn oil at the moment for weight gain. Not sure how much I should be feeding.....a beaker a day at the moment.

Where do you buy linseed oil from?
 
My 31 year old has been on cod liver oil for his joints for years (3tbsp per day). I often wondered about the conflict of feeding something fish based to a horse, but then so many other people feed it. Given he's made it to 31 I suppose it can't have done too much harm!! Hmmm... has got me thinking now!
 
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