When feeding BOSS, are they fed still in the shell? Does the shell pose any dangers to the horses stomach, intestine, etc?
Yes, shell and all. The shells are pretty fragile and if a horse has all his teeth, chews his food adequately, etc., he should have no problems digesting the shell. A lot of the benefit is actually in the shell. THere have been isolated reports of horses dying from colic and coincidentally finding undigested shell in stomachs and intestines, but this is certainly not a widespread reportage, and doesn't mean that the horse's colic was caused by sunflower seed hulls. Sunflower seeds have been fed to horses for years and years both in this country and abroad. Nothing new about them!
Why do some say they grind their flaxseed? How does that enhance its effects?
THere are pros and cons to grinding the flaxseed. On the pro side, it may mean that more of the digestible material actually gets utilized by the horse. Invariably, when seeds are fed whole, there may be a percentage of those seeds that pass through the system undigested. If that % was very high, then I'd have the first Florida flax field (at least during the cool months) because I feed 1/2 to 1 ounce of whole flax per day to 30 head of horses! I do see some seed germination in the manure, but not enough to alarm me. Whole flax has been said to provide some "mucilage effect", that is, it might provide similar benefit as the SandClear products. Understandable since metamucil-type products are 95-100% psyllium which is a fancy word for plant fiber.
When I'm ambitious, I grind it. This has to be done on a daily basis, however, grinding just enough whole seed to use up at one time. Once you grind the seed, oxidation begins immediately as it is exposed to air and light. In other words it starts to lose its benefits. Also, by grinding, you expose the flax seed oil in the same way. It's a fragile oil and will turn rancid quickly. You can postpone these effects by keeping extra ground seed in the refrigerator or freezer in a non-see-thru container, taking out only what you need on a daily basis. Also, steer clear of ziploc baggies full of ground flax that might appear on your feedstore shelves for the same reasons. There is no way to tell when it was ground, unless a store clerk can assure you they did it THAT day! Purchase the whole seed and a thrift store coffee grinder. It only takes a few minutes to grind the seed you will use on a daily basis.
If you'd prefer not to grind it yourself OR feed it whole, you can purchase heat-stabilized flax seed which is pre-ground and then processed in such a manner that it does not lose its nutritive value. Obviously, this is more expensive than purchasing un-processed whole flax, but for many people, it is worth it.
Whole flax will last a good long time if stored in a vermin-proof container (beware - moths love this stuff) in your feed room. If you have a question about whether flax is fresh or not, give it the "sniff" test. If it smells "nutty", it's still good. Bad flax will smell "fishy" -- very distinctive....once you smell bad flax, you won't forget it :new_shocked:
Robin C
