Best oil supplement for weight gain in horses?

Question

I'm looking to add an oil supplement to my horses feed to help her gain weight. I've seen a few suggestions, such as vege, corn and bran rice oil.
I was also wondering if sunflower oil or something around that kind would help at all.
Just looking for some opinions on these oils, or your suggestions.
Thank you!

Answer 1

All plant oils are pure fats and will provide the dense, safe calories you want. There have been no valid equine studies establishing what the ideal omega fatty acid ratios are for horses or verifying how the expression of inflammatory mediators is affected. Unless you are feeding a high cereal grain diet it shouldn't be a concern regardless, since most forages are high in the desired omega threes.



So, until that all gets sorted out, I recommend corn oil as the most palatable to horses. If you are still worried about the omega ratios, then labeled vegetable oil is made from soy and is higher in omega 3s.

An average 1000 lb horse can digest and metabolize up to two cups of corn oil daily, and each cup provides about 2000 calories, so two cups daily adds 4000 safe calories to your horse's dietary intake.

The body has to gradually adapt to absorbing and metabolizing more fats, so the amount should be increased gradually. You can start by feeding a quarter cup daily split into two feedings of one ounce each. Add another ounce every couple days and watch the manure for changes. If at any time the horse develops loose stools or diarrhea, cut back on the amount you are feeding.



If you don't want to deal with the mess of oils, then stabilized and calcium fortified rice bran is another good source of safe calories from fat. it is a high fat, low starch digestible fiber feed source. You have to be sure it is stabilized to prolong shelf life or it rapidly becomes rancid, and it is way too high in phosphorus unless it is fortified with calcium to balance the ratio for horses. It comes as a powder or in pelleted form, and an average 1000 lb horse can handle being fed up to two lbs daily. Each lb provides about 1200 calories, so you can add 2400 safe calories to the daily diet by feeding two lbs a day. Again, always start with a small amount and gradually increase it to see how your horse is adapting.

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Add per Smaug................. There are numerous loosely controlled studies that point to this or that conclusion, but these types of studies do not provide scientifically valid conclusive evidence of anything that cannot be disputed in other equally flawed studies. To date there is nothing that has explored the equine species-specific antiinflammatory versus proinflammatory expression of mediators influenced by the omega fatty acids in order to take the existing evidence beyond speculation and into the realm of actual scientific proof. If the choice of oils is being made based on omega fatty acid ratios, and vegetable oil or another high omega-3 oil is chosen, but the horse won't touch it, I personally wouldn't let the current state of knowledge (or lack of it) on this issue prevent me from feeding corn oil which is known to be highly palatable to horses (I've actually fed it to various horses over the span many years).

Answer 2

According to my research, the best option is canola oil. It has the most appropriate levels of Omega 3 VS Omega 6. While there may not be extensive research, there is enough information available to influence my opinions. Begin slowly with 1/4 cup and you can gradually increase to giving two cups per day max with one cup given at each of two feedings. You could add some soaked beet bulp as well and give free choice good grass mix hay, I prefer orchard/alfalfa. Beet pulp is considered a forage type food, like hay and is a good source of calories. The free choice hay is a key factor. I would also make sure the feed was graded at 14% protein. Buckeye Cadence Ultra is a great feed for a hard keeper. You did not mention her feed or the frequency of her meals. Sometimes it is good to give less each feeding but add a third feeding to the day. I have the ultimate in a hard keeper so I know how it is to struggle with weight on your horse.

Answer 3

The only study I am aware of showed that there was NO difference at all in weight gain between the oils. However, corn oil appeared to be the most palatable (best tasting) for the horse.



As others said there is no substitute for good forage, but oil can add needed calories to a horse that is hard to get to gain weight on.



@Smaug....I want to make a point here.....vegetable oil may or may not be soybean oil. It is by definition...from vegetable or in other words plant. It is typically soybean, but does not in any way HAVE to be. Soybean oil also has far more saturated fats...in fact it is one of the few vegetable oils that do have a lot (coconut being the other frequently used vegetable oil with lots of saturated fats) Corn has a great deal more unsaturated fats than soybean oils.

Answer 4

the Alpha Oil chaff thats on the market is a great replacement for an ordinary one and really helps keep wight on. as does sugar beat

Answer 5

There's no substitute for forage, so feed as much as you possibly can. If there is no forage available to you, then you need to get a pelleted forage supplement -- whatever is available in your area. Without some manner of fiber passing through the horse's digestive system the body can't function properly enough to digest and extract the nutrients from whatever else you're feeding. Some type of high fiber forage product needs to compromise 50% or more of the diet to ensure gastric health.



The best type of oil, in my opinion, is soybean -- marketed as vegetable oil. Corn and sunflower oil are higher in omega 6 and 9s, which are pro-inflammatory fatty acids, while some brands of vegetable oil have added omega 3s, or anti-inflammatory fatty acids. Most horse's diets are fairly high in omega 6 and 9s to start, especially horses who get a lot of grain and other concentrated feeds. Sunflower and rice bran oil also tends to be very expensive in comparison to vegetable oil.



Vegetable oil is 100% fat. It's completely empty "cool" calories that the horse's body can digest far easier than concentrated calories/carbs in grain form. One ounce of vegetable oil has 240 calories; one pound of timothy hay has just over 800 calories (the average horse of 1,000lbs requires 15,0000 calories for maintenance -- or over 1.5% of their body weight in forage).



Oil can be safely added to the diet at a rate of a few ounces per day, over the course of seven to ten days, starting with one or two ounces for the first day. At the end of the week, or week and a half, the horse should be worked up to eight ounces of oil fed at two intervals -- half a cup in the morning and half a cup at night. It is not uncommon to experience bouts of intestinal upset when introducing fat into the diet, so if your horse begins to have loose stool then back up on the amount you're feeding by a couple of ounces and introduce it at a much slower rate. Nine ounces of vegetable oil a day will provide your horse with an additional 2,000 calories.



ETA: Regarding omega-3/omega-6/omega-9 ratios:



http://www.thehorse.com/free-reports/30006/omega-3-fatty-acids

http://www.thehorse.com/articles/26200/omega-3-fatty-acids-benefit-sport-horse-health



" During his presentation, Newman focused specifically on how the fatty acid fish oil might benefit sport horses. He cited a study conducted by C.I. O'Connor et al. in 2004 that involved 10 mature geldings on an eight-week exercise program. Four horses were supplemented with corn oil and six were supplemented with fish oil at 180 g/day (which delivered approximately 30g /day of omega-3 fatty acids). Researchers then measured and compared the heart rates, packed cell volume (the amount of red blood cells in the bloodstream), insulin concentrations, plasma glucose, and serum cholesterol concentrations of the two groups of horses.



Significant results included:



The heart rates of horses exercising on a treadmill were lower with fish oil than with corn oil. "This is important to consider with endurance horses," said Newman.

Insulin, plasma glucose, and serum cholesterol levels all were lower in horses fed fish oil."



http://www.thehorse.com/articles/29682/omega-basics-easy-as-1-2-3

Answer 6

I perfer soybean oil for my horses (package will likely say vegetable but its actually 100% soybean)

Answer 7

horses gain weight in a healthy way through eating more quality grass hay, not oil.