Question about feeding oil

[3 is the limit]

I used to feed all three of my horses a cup of corn oil daily. They kept their weight nicely and their coats were lush and shiny.

About a month ago, one of the boarders at my barn (who is a holisitc practicioner) mentioned that any kind of oil (on a daily basis) is really bad for the horse's intenstine. She said it stops it from working correctly and can do a number on the lining of intestine.

Just to be safe, I stopped with the oil. But has anyone heard of this?

3

[arabhorse2]

No.

How could oil clog their intestines when by its very nature it's a lubricant?

Besides, why do vets still use it when dealing with an impaction if it's so dangerous?

Do your research, instead of listening to people who use crystals and herbs to 'heal' their horses. ;)

[jn4jenny]

Do your research, instead of listening to people who use crystals and herbs to 'heal' their horses. ;)

Even the people I know who DO use crystals and herbs agree that oil is mostly harmless. I'd be more concerned that the OP is such a gullible barn owner than that oil would hurt the horses.

[JB]

No.

How could oil clog their intestines when by its very nature it's a lubricant?

Besides, why do vets still use it when dealing with an impaction if it's so dangerous?



Biiiiiig difference between the digestible food oils and the indigestible "tubing/lubing" mineral oil used for impactions ;)

[Dirty Little Secret]

never had any problems...

[maunder]

That's interesting, because I feed corn oil (about 1/4 cup each feeding) to my Thoroughbred. I've never heard of oil being a caustic thing to the intestines.

I was going to ask whether there is any preference between corn and/or vegetable oil. Corn oil has been the old favorite but does anyone feed veg oil instead and why?

[Rev]

These types of statements (note the plurality) receive from me some variation of this pleasant and honest response:
"Really? I hadn't heard that. It contradicts the research I've done on the subject--and, frankly, my anecdotal experience and results. Would you be kind enough to provide me with those sources?"
Then keep doing what has been working well for you. It's the rare person who bothers to provide anything (beyond perhaps vague mention of 'they, them and everyone knows') tangible.
When they do, I am able to independently assess the source and data and how it may relate to my circumstances. If I did change something as a result, I tell them. If I didn't, I note that it was "an interesting perspective" and leave it at that.
FWIW, I've not experienced ill-effect from feeding oil, and often found it to be just the thing for a harder keeper and generally nice skin/coats. :)

[goeslikestink]

I used to feed all three of my horses a cup of corn oil daily. They kept their weight nicely and their coats were lush and shiny.

About a month ago, one of the boarders at my barn (who is a holisitc practicioner) mentioned that any kind of oil (on a daily basis) is really bad for the horse's intenstine. She said it stops it from working correctly and can do a number on the lining of intestine.

Just to be safe, I stopped with the oil. But has anyone heard of this?

3

go back and tell her no its not
1-- its good for coat
2- its good for joints and is the best supplement you can give a horse
3-- it helps keep the gut moving ie loo
4- we use veggie oil -- and i have been for over 34 years and i will tell you now
that i have had more horses than the average joe public have had hot dinners as i trian and re hab horses and none have been ill via oil or anything else once they here they get the same treatment feed wise as every one else

also one of my horses has copd so oil is an essential part of his diet as hes llost over 24inches of his gut ie intestines due to worms as he was riddle with them when i got him
which left him very badly worm damaged he was 4mths old at the time and only given 20% chance of living now at 18 hes still here

also you can use it on there feet as oil hasnt any additives in it and you can oil your tack with it
its a natural product -
if you have good quality hay then that has all the supplements a horse needs but adding a little oil to his diet wont hurt him in anyway like i said its good for joints gut and coat


look here this explains it better
http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/resources/livestock/horses/ag558-7.html

[dwblover]

I'd show this to your friend and ask her what study she got her info from. I bet she doesn't have one.;) Don't change what you are doing with your horses just because someone "knows everything".

The effect of corn oil (approximately 60% [wt/vol] linoleic acid) dietary supplementation on various components of equine gastric secretion was studied by use of a repeated-measures experimental design. Four healthy adult ponies were surgically fitted with gastric cannulas. The ponies were then fed a free-choice hay diet for 5 weeks, which was followed by 5 weeks of the same diet supplemented with 45 mL of corn oil daily. Gastric contents were analyzed under basal and pentagastrin-stimulated conditions once weekly during the latter 2 weeks on each diet. Gastric contents were collected at 30-minute intervals, and volume, hydrogen ion concentration, sodium content, and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) content were measured. Data were analyzed by a linear fixed-effect modeling procedure. During the diet supplemented with corn oil, the ponies had, under basal and pentagastrin-stimulated conditions, significantly decreased acid output and significantly increased PGE2 and sodium outputs compared to those measured before corn oil supplementation. We conclude that corn oil supplementation may be an effective and inexpensive way to increase the protective properties of equine glandular gastric mucosa. This could be particularly helpful in reducing the chances of ulceration associated with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) administration.

-This is from a study entitled Effect of Dietary Corn Oil Supplementation on Equine Gastric Fluid Acid, Sodium, and Prostaglandin E2 Content before and during Pentagastrin Infusion

[draftgirl01]

Oil is a huge part of my mares diet for EPSM. I feed her cocosoya oil as she won't eat the store brand kind.

[3 is the limit]

Do your research, instead of listening to people who use crystals and herbs to 'heal' their horses

This is what I am trying to by asking questions here.

I'd be more concerned that the OP is such a gullible barn owner than that oil would hurt the horses.

I am not the barn owner...just a boarder and I do not consider myself gullible. That is just a mean and dumb comment. :mad:

The woman who mentioned this keeps a herd at her house and buys/sells horses as her profession. She is very into the herbs and other natural stuff. I figured if she felt that daily oil was an issue, I should at least check it out.

[Bogie]

I feed my TB 2 cups of oil daily.

When I started this regime I emailed Dr. Valentine, who has written about/researched the use of oil for ESPM diets. I had been concerned that feeding corn oil would have some inflammatory effects.

She told me she'd been feeding her TB oil (similar amounts) for 14 years with no problems and she had not seen any inflammatory effects from oil. She suggested feeding the least expensive (corn oil generally costs more). I now feed "Vegetable oil" from Costco which is 1/2 the price of corn oil.

[FatPalomino]

I was going to ask whether there is any preference between corn and/or vegetable oil. Corn oil has been the old favorite but does anyone feed veg oil instead and why?

I switched to veg. oil after being taught it's more digestible by the horse.
Makes sense.
So far, so good.

[ljc]

Wow. The OP posted a perfectly legitimate question and the first two responses were quite rude to her. On behalf of the nonrude members of this board, I'd like to apologize for such snarky behavior.

[sunico]

I agree with the others, in that I haven't seen any research or evidence to back up such a claim (and I stand with those who feel that the excessive snarkiness in a couple of those posts was a little uncalled for).

I feed my EPSM mare 2 cups of oil a day with her alfalfa, and she is the picture of health, so I have to say that, in my own experience, oil is safe to feed.

[monstrpony]

She said it stops it (the gut) from working correctly and can do a number on the lining of intestine.


Did NOT say it stops up the intestine, but that it keeps it from working "correctly". There has been some concern that oil prevents or limits absorption of some vitamins, though this has been largely disproven, once a horse has *adapted* to fat supplementation.

So, the person's concerns are legitimate, but they are also old news and no longer considered an issue in feeding oils.

Dr. Valentine says that, as a fat source, the commonly available oils (corn, soy = vegetable, canola) are essentially equivalent. It has been shown in humans (not in horses) that the omega-3 and omega-6 balance can influence inflammation, so some prefer soy or canola over corn for this reason--again, nothing shown in horses relative to this, only in humans.

I feed 1/4 to 1/2 cup per day because it keeps weight on easily and their coats are positively teflon. When I had an EPSM horse, I fed quite a bit more with excellent results. I prefer canola because it does not gel in the winter, and has a better omega profile, for what that's worth in horses.

[jn4jenny]

Do your research, instead of listening to people who use crystals and herbs to 'heal' their horses

This is what I am trying to by asking questions here.

"Posting on an open Internet forum" is not equal to "research". If you really wanted to know, you'd call your vet. Or at the very least, look for some scientific studies on the topic.

I admit that I've learned some useful things here on COTH. I've read other things that proved to be utter nonsense. What separates the "useful" from the "nonsense" is what holds up to further research beyond this board. In other words, I wouldn't treat something here on COTH as any more true/untrue than something some barn owner said to me.

I am not the barn owner...just a boarder and I do not consider myself gullible. That is just a mean and dumb comment. :mad:

I stand by my comment. I find it bizarre, and scary, when horse owners start or stop doing something JUST BECAUSE some other horseperson told them so. It's one thing to ask for information; it's another thing to act on impulse before gathering legitimate information.

The fact that you went to the extreme of changing your horse's feed without consulting a trusted professional (like your vet or an equine nutritionist) or scientific/professional literature sources is troubling.

Wow. The OP posted a perfectly legitimate question and the first two responses were quite rude to her. On behalf of the nonrude members of this board, I'd like to apologize for such snarky behavior.

Apologize for yourself if you like, but apologizing for others means putting words into other people's mouths, and THAT is rude. I stand by my opinion and what I said. I didn't feel it was a rude comment--I felt it was true and honest.

A rude comment would have been "Wow ur an idiot, what the hell were you thinking." Did I say that? No.

[3 is the limit]

This was a question I was asking in passing, not some dire thing I needed to call my vet about. Also, on COTH, you tend to get a lot of different experiences and answers rather quickly. And finally, I didn't have a lot of time to search on the web as I had my appendix removed via emergency surgery.

The fact that you went to the extreme of changing your horse's feed without consulting a trusted professional (like your vet or an equine nutritionist) or scientific/professional literature sources is troubling. I took out only the oil (I had been considering dropping it before she made her comment anyway) so I don't know how I am making some big CHANGE in his diet. I was the one who one day decided that my horse needed some weight and a nicer coat so maybe oil would do the trick.

I am going to invite you jn4jenny NOT to write back to tell me what a guillible, loser, lame, and horrible horse owner I am for "rashly" changing his diet when I don't see either adding oil or subtracting it out a big deal. I just wanted ideas. I have no interest in going back and forth with you anymore. If you have nothing else to contribute to this thread that is helpful, please remove your hands from the keyboard at once.

[tBHj]

Vets told me to feed corn oil to coat my horses stomach lining to protect it from gastric acids. She had a pretty bad ulcer at one time.

[tikihorse2]

Did NOT say it stops up the intestine, but that it keeps it from working "correctly". There has been some concern that oil prevents or limits absorption of some vitamins, though this has been largely disproven, once a horse has *adapted* to fat supplementation.


This is so interesting to learn--I know in humans we absorb some vitamins and minerals better when combined with fat, hence you're better off taking your supplements/multivitamin/whatever with a meal as a rule; I had no clue it was different for horses! Thank you for posting that!

Kim