Site Menu:
This is an archived Horseadvice.com Discussion. The parent article and menus are available on the navigation menu below: |
HorseAdvice.com » Horse Care » Equine Nutrition, Horse Feeds, Feeding » Nutrition topics not covered by the above » |
Discussion on Flaxseed | |
Author | Message |
Member: Ladera |
Posted on Monday, Mar 29, 2004 - 11:43 pm: I have been administering a cup of flaxseed daily to my horse for about a year. Her coat looks great. I usually cook the seed in water for about 4 minutes, until the liquid turns thick ,golden brown and gooey. I have been feeding the supplements at our barn and need to feed two horses flaxseed. I leave the flaxseed in water for a day and up to two days. The water becomes a nice syrupy mess. My problem is since our temperatures hit the nineties the falxseed is sproutng. Is this a problem? It actually has taken on a beer smell. Thanks for your help |
Moderator: DrO |
Posted on Tuesday, Mar 30, 2004 - 7:13 am: Not only is it sprouting, it is fementing which means it is growing microorganisms. For fear of a growth of a toxin producing organism I would recommend you use the product quickly after cooking or keep it refrigerated until used.DrO |
Member: Suzeb |
Posted on Tuesday, Mar 30, 2004 - 9:20 am: Hello Jean,I too feed my horse flaxseed, but instead of soaking prior to feeding, I grind up in a coffee grinder just before going to the barn. The flaxseed is stored in a sealed container and kept in a cool dark place for freshness. I think I would be throwing out the stuff that you have and getting a new fresh bag. It would be cheaper than a vet bill for colic or laminitis. Susan B. |
Member: Kthorse |
Posted on Tuesday, Mar 30, 2004 - 11:13 am: Hi I dont know about the sprouting thing , but if it smells sweet or like beer or different than it should I would not feed it .Katrina |
Member: Tangoh |
Posted on Tuesday, Mar 30, 2004 - 11:51 am: Hi Jean,Like Susan, we also feed flaxseed to our horses after it has been ground up in a mini coffee grinder. The horses love it this way (mixed with oats and pellets), they come running when they hear the 'whir' of the grinder. Our seed is kept cool and dry in our tack shed by simply keeping it in a covered pail all year round, and we've never had a problem with it sprouting. |
Member: Ladera |
Posted on Tuesday, Mar 30, 2004 - 2:01 pm: Thank You for the quick responses. I feed my horse the cooked flaxseed. I also feed the supplements at the barn for no cost. THere are two horses on the flaxseed and was told that you can administer flaxseed by either boiling the seed to get the oil or let it soak for at least 8 hours.I have been giving the two horses the soaked seed for two months. {I don't boil it because I am doing this gratuit and don't feel like carrying another pot from home.}I do clean and wash the buckets after each use along with any residue in their feeder. I will buy the coffee grinder. I think it is the best solution. I also think I need to toss the flaxseed and move the feed room. Since our temperatures are in the nineties, I have smelled beer from empty stalls where the old feed was never tossed. Thank You for the help. |
Member: Djane |
Posted on Wednesday, Mar 31, 2004 - 9:45 am: Just in case you didn't know the ground flaxseed is great for you too! I have been on it for two months and it has made my hair shiny, my skin softer and from what I have read has all kinds of other health benifits. I use a coffe grinder and put it over my cereral. It is may be a higher quality since I get it from a health suppy outfit, but I bet the stuff you get at the feed store would work just as good. Diana |
Member: Cnichola |
Posted on Tuesday, Apr 13, 2004 - 10:05 pm: Diana, I too feed my horses flaxseed and I have friends with autoimmune diseases like lupus that have incorporated flaxseed into their diets. I also have friends who have incorporated flaxseed into their diets in an effort to deal with bothersome hot flashes. But a note for those of us that are on tamoxifen following breast cancer or for breast cancer prevention, talk to your doctor first. Prevention magazine and other sources recommend against taking flaxseed if you're on tamoxifen. If I recall correctly, one of the reasons women take flaxseed is for the phytoestrogens in it, and tamoxifen (and letrozole) are designed to suppress estrogen, so I guess they'd work at cross purposes. Fortunately, my gleding doesn't have those issues! |
Member: Brock |
Posted on Wednesday, Apr 14, 2004 - 6:14 pm: I, too, give my two guys 1/2 cup of flaxseed daily that has been ground up in the coffee grinder that makes for a nice shiny coat. I grind up an ice cream pail full every so often and think this would be a lot easier than soaking it on a daily basis. Your mention, Christine, about flaxseed assisting with hotflashes caught my eye. I think I'll experiment for a few days/weeks and see what it does for me! Fortunately my two geldings don't have this problem either! |
Member: Cowgrl |
Posted on Thursday, Apr 15, 2004 - 12:11 pm: I always thought flaxseed had to be cooked before feeding. Evidentially not. Is it just for a good haircoat or does it have other benefits?Thanks. Holly |
Member: Tangoh |
Posted on Thursday, Apr 15, 2004 - 12:39 pm: Some reported benefits I have heard of are:Improved coat and hair appearance Improved hoof condition Decreased nervousness Omega 3 Fatty Acids from Flaxseed show Promise in Treating: Thrombotic diseases, dyslipidemia, and cardia arrhythmia Allergic dermatitis Chronic arthritis Chronic inflammation and small airway disease in young racehorses Enteritis or colitis induced by bacteria, parasites, or drugs Clinical endotoxemia Neural development of foals |
Member: Cowgrl |
Posted on Thursday, Apr 15, 2004 - 1:33 pm: Thanks Sherri. I appreciate your quick response.Holly |
Member: Nathalie |
Posted on Thursday, Apr 15, 2004 - 4:19 pm: I used to give my horse flaxseed which I grind in a coffee grinder as well. It worked miracles on his coat etc. But then I found out when not cooked the prussic acid stays in there which is bad for the horses. Recently I found out there is another kind named yellow flaxseed (over here in Holland at least) which I am looking into. THey say this does not contain the prussic acid at all. I will post more when I know more! |
Moderator: DrO |
Posted on Friday, Apr 16, 2004 - 6:53 am: We have more on the concern over prussic acid in flax at Care for Horses » Nutrition » Fats and Oils in the Diet of Horses. See the insert on flaxseed.DrO |
New Member: Lmiller |
Posted on Tuesday, Nov 22, 2005 - 2:38 am: In looking for information on supplements, I found this study for horses with sweet itch (Culicoides) sensitivity. The beneficial effects to the horses' coats, itching and hair loss were significant by feeding milled flaxseed. Link to the study report is:https://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=227015 As for personal experience with flaxseed products, I started my 7YO APHA mare a month ago on a product that contains flaxseed, probiotics, and joint support, etc. I have noticed a big difference in her attitude (less distractable), coat (shiny!) and movement (smoother). I had used "grand" joint products with similar dosages on her for the last two years, so I don't credit that so much as the flaxseed. |
Moderator: DrO |
Posted on Tuesday, Nov 22, 2005 - 7:38 am: The study did not find that feeding flaxseed helped horses with sweet itch LA. The study looked at reaction response to the "positive skin test for allergy to extract from Culicoides sp." Though the study states that the results were not conclusive it suggested feeding whole flaxseed might ameliorate the symptoms of Sweet Itch. This is in conflict with other studies with flax but it should be noted that the experiment used whole flaxseed and not extracted flaxseed, which is normally what is used in most equine supplements.Also the tests did not find a benefit to the coat. There was a reduction in the amount of some fatty acids but "the clinical significance of the decrease in these 2 fatty acids is not clear". Lastly there is no clear benefit of feeding whole flax seed for the treatment of chronic lameness problems. I am glad to hear your horse is doing better but as uncertain what the reason is. DrO |
New Member: Remmi |
Posted on Sunday, Jan 1, 2006 - 4:24 pm: If you are going to feed flaxseed to your horse, is it important to grind it first? I eat whole flaxseed on my oatmeal and it never occurred to me to grind it. Is that wrong? |
Moderator: DrO |
Posted on Monday, Jan 2, 2006 - 7:19 am: No, I believe horses with healthy teeth can masticate it adequately.DrI |
Member: Boomer |
Posted on Thursday, Jan 18, 2007 - 4:48 pm: So just so I get this right, cooking isn't necessary? |
New Member: shadecrk |
Posted on Friday, Nov 2, 2007 - 8:04 am: I was told by a local feed store (and verified this info. with vet) that flaxseed must be ground daily as it does not hold nutritional value for more than 24hrs otherwise??? Also...amounts given seem to vary so much....what is the suggested daily amount for an average horse for general purposes??? |
New Member: shadecrk |
Posted on Friday, Nov 2, 2007 - 10:35 am: ...sorry...to clarify the above question...(what I meant to say)was that I was told that once the flaxseed was ground... it must be used within a 24 hour period. Obviously, it may be kept in the seed form (keeping it's nutritional value)for much longer. |
Member: scooter |
Posted on Saturday, Nov 3, 2007 - 10:14 am: Alice I think I have read that fresh ground flaxseed should be kept cool and will keep for awhile.Being a lazy owner I get my ground flax from horsetech I use the ultra bioflax for my horses hooves. The boy does shine and his hooves improving. They say flax shouldn't exceed 10% of total diet and most people feed 2-4 oz. Here is a link that has the info. https://www.horsetech.com/nutra-flax.htm |
Moderator: DrO |
Posted on Sunday, Nov 4, 2007 - 10:36 am: Welcome Alice H-E,Rather than placing your post at the bottom of another's post, you should "Start a New Discussion" to post your problem. You will receive quicker and more responses that way. There is a better topic to learn and post about your topic and you will find it at "Horse Care » Equine Nutrition, Horse Feeds, Feeding » Fats and Oils in the Diet of Horses. Be sure to study the article if you have not yet. If after reviewing the article you still have questions you might see if some of the other discussions that are listed below the article answer your question. If not, you will find at the bottom of list of already present discussions a "Start New Discussion" button. For more on this see Help & Information » Posting Guidelines or where did my post go?. DrO |
Member: majoda92 |
Posted on Monday, Nov 5, 2007 - 10:33 am: I read that it is ok to feed the flax seed whole. It sure saves a lot of time grinding it up in the little coffee grinder everyday! I feed all 18 of the horses a scoop of flax every day, and their coats are so shiny and their hooves are in great shape, too. |