Horses and Feeding Oil
Thursday 1 January 2004Horses, like us, need oil but why and what sort of oil should we use?
Cell membranes of living creatures are made from oils and fats and these are known as essential fatty acids. The two major types are Omega 6 and Omega 3. For good health these fats need to be in balance. The horses natural diet provides almost equal levels of Omega 6 and Omega 3.
The Omega 6 is the raw material that horses (as well as us) metabolise into the pro-inflammatory prostaglandins; in a correctly balanced diet Omega 3 is used to make the anti-inflammatory prostaglandins.
A lot of horse feeds and supplements (especially those for adding condition or weight) use vegetable oils that have high levels of Omega 6, which is in almost every vegetable oil, including sunflower, rape, and corn oils. The inflammatory effect of imbalance of fatty acids can affect all parts and processes of the body; it tends to make the bodys own reaction worse.
So wear and tear can result in painful arthritis or back problems, swollen joints, laminitis etc, allergic conditions such as sweet itch come from the body overreacting to midge bites and temperament too can show the effects of imbalance in excitability or nervousness. Omega 3 and its anti-inflammatory-forming prostaglandins can have a calming effect on the whole system mental and physical.
The horses body also uses Omega 3 for building new cells so an adequate supply is essential for rapid recovery from the stress of training or injuries, and is valuable for maintaining a healthy skin with an extra shiny coat. Linseed oil contains high levels of the right sort of Omega 3 for horses called ALA (alphalinolenic acid) it is different to the Omega 3 found in fish and cod liver oils (which are not a natural part of a horses diet they are meant to eat grass not fish!).
Make the change to linseed oil now, ask your merchant to stock High Barn Oils linseed oil its natural, locally grown and cold pressed.
And Linseed oil is just as good for people for all the same reasons.
