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  Discussion on Giving fish oil
Author Message
Member:
justy

Posted on Friday, Dec 17, 2010 - 1:44 am:

Does anyone give fish oil to their horses?

A vet at UC Davis, CA recommended that I switch my horse from corn oil to fish oil to increase the omega 3 to 6 ratio.

What constitutes fish oil? I give my dog salmon oil supplement for his coat/skin, but when I research fish oil for horses I do not see what kind of fish is listed on the ingredient list.

Our local racetrack carries cod liver oil. Is that considered a acceptable fish oil?

Thanks for your thoughts,
Debra
Member:
gramsey1

Posted on Saturday, Dec 18, 2010 - 9:02 am:

I am sure that the Omega 3 or 6 in fish oil is scientifically like Omegas from vegetable sources. But, it doesn't set well with me. There are other ways to balance Omega 3 and 6 in a supplement. Grand Coat, Buckeye Ultimate Finish 25 or 40. Or if you prefer oil, https://www.southernstates.com/products/horsefeed/triplecrown/tc_ricebranoilplus. aspx
Just my opinion . . . horses don't eat fish.
Member:
ajudson1

Posted on Saturday, Dec 18, 2010 - 9:27 am:

I have to agree with Guy; I've never seen a horse eating fish either.

Are you giving the corn oil to put on weight, give your horse a shiny coat, or for what reason?

Unless your horse has some special needs, remember they survived for thousands of years on grass, minerals taken from the soil, and water. IMO, most supplements for horses are over priced and presented to play upon our desire to feed our horses a perfect diet which is patterned more after what is known about human requirements than equine requirements.

I am sure DrO will comment soon and direct you to the basics of nutrition.
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Saturday, Dec 18, 2010 - 10:24 am:

Hello Debra,
I believe Cod Liver Oil is high in omega-3's but is your horse suffering from some sort of chronic inflammatory condition? If not I am not sure the switch is worth the extra costs. I believe the source of the fats (animal vs plant) is not a critical issue with respect to energy and we discuss the relative merits of the different essential fatty acids in the horses diet in detail in the article. I think reviewing that should help you Debra.
DrO
Member:
ekaufman

Posted on Saturday, Dec 18, 2010 - 12:26 pm:

Hi Debra,

I fed a fish oil supplement to a breeding stallion in order (on the recommendation of the repro folks at CSU) to increase the post-thaw motility of his sperm. At the time, they had early test results showing that about 30% of the study stallions showed improvement from fish oil (probably the DHA) that they didn't get from the tested plant-based supplements.

For my purposes, the fish oil was a huge success (my guy was one of the 30% I guess) BUT the supplement was unpalatable to the horse and to me (I had to try it). CSU syringed it, and I ended up doing the same after trying every single thing I could think of to persuade my boy that it was a delicious, or at least not toxic, treat. It's potent and nasty smelling/tasting. Also temperature sensitive.

If my vet recommended it for general feeding, I'd probably invite her to come get it into the horse.... Not a fond memory, though it was worth it for my program at the time.

Good luck.

- elk
Member:
vickiann

Posted on Saturday, Dec 18, 2010 - 12:47 pm:

Interesting about the fish oil.

I wonder if it would work as well to use a rice bran oil as that is likely more palatable?

Triple Crown makes a good one for horses:
https://www.triplecrownfeed.com/supplements/rice-bran-oil-plus
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