How much canola oil?

[welovemini's]

I looked around the sight but could find an answer, sorry if this a repeated question!

I would like to start adding canola oil to my mini's feed but can't figure out how much...I dont want to over do it, but I want to add enough to be worth it. Any suggestions?

Thanks!

 

[welovemini's]

btw - 1 mini is around 240lbs and the other is 265lbs

 

[chandab]

Personally, I'd say none. Canola oil would not be on my list of horse feed additives.

Why are you wanting to add canola oil? What do you hope it'll do for your horse?

 

[2minis4us]

I would not give Canola Oil either. I think you mean Corn Oil ? I don't use that either but some people do.

 

[disneyhorse]

Soybean (sometimes labled "vegetable")oil. Not corn or canola.

Coco soya is also recommended.

One or two tablespoons depending on size of your mini per day to add calories (fat along ribs if you can see ribs).

If you can see the spine or hip bones, you will need to add a protein source instead of fat.

 

[2minis4us]

I stand corrected. Thanks for the info. disneyhorse

 

[disneyhorse]

Lots of people feed corn oil... It's an old timey thing... But recent studies have found the omega fatty acids are inverse and may cause inflammation, so corn oil may not be the best choice.

 

[Genie]

If there is no liver dysfunction, the addition of vegetable oil may help keep its body condition. Up to 2 cups a day, introduced slowly over a 3 week-period. Virgin coconut oil is a rich source of lauric acid, the source of disease fighting fatty acid derivative monolaurin. Cold pressed Canola oil is also an excellent oil for horses. It contains around 10% omega 3 fatty acids, 20% omega 6 fatty acids and omega 9 fatty acids. Omega-3 and 6 are essential to the normal functioning of all tissues and for vision, heart, rheumatoid arthritis and other inflammatory diseases. These two fatty acids need to be balanced and the ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 should be about 2:1, which is provided by cold-pressed Canola oil. Coconut oil can be given in smaller quantity than Canola such as 25-100ml. Canola can complement to reach 2 cups of oil a day. When providing fat and high protein diets to a horse, one must monitor the horse's dropping to see if their consistency stays normal. If the droppings become too lose like "cow pat", reduce the oil and/or the protein content. Too much protein can be seen in urine as it becomes thick, smelly and difficult to pass.

The above was taken from the web and is in reference to a full sized horse.

 

[chandab]

Omega-3 and 6 are essential to the normal functioning of all tissues and for vision, heart, rheumatoid arthritis and other inflammatory diseases. These two fatty acids need to be balanced and the ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 should be about 2:1,

I realize this info is from the web, but it states the exact opposite of what I've learned about Omega-6 and Omega-3 fatty acids, which is that their should be more Omega-3s than Omega-6s. A good source of Omega-3 fatty acid is flax seed, ground or as oil. Omega-3 fatty acids have anti-inflammatory properties, whereas Omega-6s are pro-inflammatory. Since adding a little extra flax see to my arthritic mare's feed, she is much more comfortable; she was already on a joint supplement; the addition of the flax seed helped her even more. All my minis are on a small amount of flax seed to help their coats.

 

[Genie]

I am afraid of flax, and I know a lot of people swear by it.

Maybe a coincidence but a few years ago I thought I would try flax for conditioning and a shiny coat,

I had three mares abort at around 3 to 4 months gestation. All within a few weeks after starting the flax. It was the only change we had made so I stopped the flax.

I asked on this forum about that issue and all responses felt it had nothing to do with the flax, however, I have never tried it again.

I do use a small amount of canola oil in the hot mash we feed twice daily.

(1 feed scoop beet pulp,1 feed scoop sweetfeed,2 feed scoops oat pellet filler and about a cup of oil, then hot water to make the mixture increase 2 times it's size) I feed all the horses with a 2 cup container, some getting a bit more and some a bit less depending on their accomodations, i.e. if outside more, if older, if younger, etc.)

I watch their manure and also find that on colder days I worry less about them not drinking enough as the mash is pretty sloppy and they lick it right up.

 

[chandab]

I don't want to mess with oil, too messy; but have also used BOSS, and it seems to help with shiny coat also. [bOSS is high in Omega-6s, so I'd rather not use it on my couple of arthritic horses, due to the pro-inflammatory properties.]