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  Discussion on Flax
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Posted on Friday, Sep 3, 1999 - 12:58 pm:

Dr. O, I'm not sure if this is the right place to put this message, can you move it to the right place if I'm wrong? I work for an oilseeds company in central Montana. We have an oil crushing plant and most of the flax business is for industrial and textile use. When flax is crushed and the oil is extracted the by product is a protein meal (about 35%) that we sell to dairies. About a year ago I started feeding whole flax to my horses and then our plant manager put some through a small roller mill for me and I have been feeding it in that form for the last six months. There are lots of articles and information about the benefits of flax oil for humans. High levels of a-linolenic acid and high content of both soluble and insoluble fiber. From articles I have read, the main health benefits are anti-carcinogenic effects of the fiber, diabetes, skin and hair condition, immune status and arthritis. There is lots of information about omega 3 fatty acids, etc, etc. My question is, does anyone else out there feed flax to their horses? I have an old timer at home who seems to be more comfortable on his legs (ringbone/arthritis) since he's been eating flax on a regular basis. Certainly all my horses have beautiful coats, very slick & shiny and I do think I'm starting to see a difference in their feet.
I think there is only one other linseed oil extraction plant in the U.S. so maybe it is just not readily available?
Any thought or comments would be appreciated!
Ann

Posted on Sunday, Sep 5, 1999 - 10:25 am:

Hello Ann,
For those who do not know flax is linseed. It is grown for the oil which is extracted from its seed leaving a meal behind. I have no personal experience with flax. It is said to be palatable. There are two ways it is processed: mechanical and solvent extracted. The mechanical extraction leaves behind higher levels of oil which may benefit horses of low fat diets but solvent extraction leaves behind about 2% oil and has no advantage over other seed meals.

Like cottonseed and peanut meals the protein is deficient in lysine. This deficiency is probably not clinically significant in adults but has been shown to slow growth in foals if not lysine supplemented. When supplemeted for lysine linseed meal arppears to be a good protein source and when added to the diet at a rate of 15% of the total diet growing foals did very well in one experiment.

Linseed is high in mucilage, a soluble fiber, and may have a mildly laxative effect.

Flaxseeds and plants contain cyanogenic compounds. In there regular form they are not toxic but the plant contains enzymes that release the cyanide making the feed toxic. Processing can bring these compounds together. The cyanide is readily absorbed from the GI tract. The releasing enyzmes are destroyed by heat and the normal chemicals in the stomach. Also of importance is that cyanide is volatile so much is lost as the processed meal ages. As a result of this combination of factors a cyanide poisoning from flax has never been reported in horses. If the right combination of factors came together it would be possible however: Processing with no prior heat inactivation of the enzymes and then rapidly fed in large quanities.
DrO

Posted on Thursday, Aug 9, 2001 - 2:05 pm:

I just bought some flax oil at the store and it says it was cold processed without chemicals. Is that OKAY????
Thanks,
Tonja

Posted on Monday, Aug 13, 2001 - 10:05 am:

Hello Tonja,
I cannot be sure from here. Was it being sold as a nutritional supplement for horses or for some other purpose?
DrO

Posted on Thursday, Aug 23, 2001 - 11:37 pm:

Dr. O sorry it took so long to get back to you...my computer was on the blitz. I purchased the flax oil in the pharmacy section of Walmart. It says that it was climatically processed???? I have been feeding just a tablespoon 2X a day. Is there a good place to get the good stuff for horses. We are REAL limited to good feed stores up here in northern Minnesota.

Thanks,
Tonja

Posted on Friday, Aug 24, 2001 - 8:01 am:

Tanja, surely the word is chemically (which is the same as solvent described above) and not climatically? You might approach the best feed store and ask them to order feed grade linseed (flax) oil.
DrO

Posted on Friday, Aug 24, 2001 - 9:19 pm:

Given the potential risks, would rice bran oil be a better/safer alternative? There are lots of websites selling this for good prices, and it's supposed to have a lot of the benefits you cite for flax.

Posted on Thursday, Aug 30, 2001 - 3:20 am:

Dr. O

I would like to know what is a safe amount of Flax Seed to feed? I have read that you should grind the seed and feed it in two hours, it starts losing it's omega after that. I was told to feed two cups grind to my horse with allergies, it sounds alittle much?

Posted on Thursday, Aug 30, 2001 - 8:13 am:

As long as it is lysine supplemented, 15% of the total diet by weight is considered a safe amount for all type horses. If two cups is added to the preexisting diet, this should be fine.
DrO

Posted on Sunday, Sep 16, 2001 - 9:33 pm:

Should flax seed (ground up in a coffee grinder) be fed to a healthy weanling? If so, how much?
Should lysine be added to the diet? If so how much? What are the benefits of feeding ground flax seed? I read that flax seed is a thyroid inhibitor. Therefore inhibits the absorption of calcium in the body. If this true?

Posted on Monday, Sep 17, 2001 - 8:13 am:

Norma the answer to most of your questions are above except how much lysine to supplement. To reemphasize one point however: properly processed flax could be fed safely to a weanling at the rate given above. It has been experimented with at this level and no adverse effects were seen in weanlings.

Assuming your flax as average protein and lysine profiles, I would supplement lysine at the rate of 3% by weight of the of flax fed. If you feed 16 ozs of flax you would supplement
(.02 X 16 =) 0.32 ozs. of lysine.
DrO

Posted on Tuesday, Sep 18, 2001 - 12:44 am:

I read all of the above, but I don't see an answer to my question concerning the thyroid and calcium absorption. Why does lysine need to be added?

Posted on Tuesday, Sep 18, 2001 - 6:31 am:

Lysine is fed because flax is deficient in this important amino acid. I do not know anything about flax and it effects on the thyroid nor can I find anything in the scientific, medical, or veterinary literature when I research this question.
DrO

Posted on Wednesday, Oct 31, 2001 - 11:07 pm:

Since her previous owner had always done it, I've been feeding my horse about a half cup of whole flax seed a day with Equine Sr. to keep her shiny. It works! However, a friend of mine decided to try it, and found that it made her horse hot. I decided to stop feeding it for at least three weeks to see if it makes a difference- but I'm curious. Has anyone else had any experience with this?
Thanks,
Sarah

Posted on Wednesday, Jan 2, 2002 - 10:18 pm:

Dr. O
I'm a little confused about what would make flax(in any form) toxic. After reading your posts above, am I interpreting correctly that processing the flax seed and plant together could form a toxic reaction?
A long time ago, I fed whole flax seed to my mare and would like to start again for the Omega-3 value. Do you see any problem with that or do you believe it is more effective to use linseed oil or even to grind the flax.
Thanks
Jackie

Posted on Thursday, Jan 3, 2002 - 8:58 am:

Hello Jackie, we cover the toxic problem with flax in the article in this (Nutrition) section on Fat in the Horses Diet.
DrO
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