Feeding Advice

[MooreAcres]

Hey guys,

I know this has been discussed in the past, but I am curious in your personal opinions and advice.

Who out there feed cinnamon to their horses? For what reasons do you feed it? What are the benefits? How much do you feed?

I am also curious about flax seed, as Ive heard it helps bring out shinner coats and brighten colors. How much do you feed? I know you have to grind it up before feeding, but thought I remembered hearing that it lost its "worth" after about 48 hours if it wasnt fed.

Show season is approaching quickly and I want the show string to look top notch

Thanks, Erin

 

[chandab]

On the flax seed, you can get stabilized ground flax seed that has a pretty long shelf life; but if you choose to grind it yourself, it keeps longer in the fridge or freezer. I feed about 1 oz of flaxseed to my minis when I feed it (I use a scoop that came with another supplement that holds about 1 oz), a couple tablespoons is pretty close. It does seem to help with their coats.

 

[Reignmaker Miniatures]

On the flax I am probably the odd one here but I feed it whole, unground. I do not see it coming thro undigested (and I have looked lol) so I am satisfied they are getting the benefits from it. Not only does the flax help them have a nice glossy coat with rich color but fed whole it also helps to form a mucilaginous(sp) substance that can help carry sand etc from the gut so I feed it more to help with that than coat anyway.

 

[dannigirl]

Where do you get whole flax seed and how much do you feed of the whole seed? Thanks.

 

[HGFarm]

Yes, on the cinnamon! I purchased a mare at one time that came with a 'free' thyroid condition- and was so obese, I was just waiting to come home every day in the summer heat and find her dead.

I got her on the thyroid meds, per my vet, but the weight takes quite a while to come off, so I was told about the benefits of cinnamon. I started her on just a tiny bit (since it smells and she just knew I was trying to kill her with some exotic poison) in some wet beet pulp to disguise it, and it took about 9 days to get her up to a teaspoon a day. However, even before she was up to the full teaspoon, I noticed the change in weight almost right away. Over the next couple of months she shed the fat with no further changes to her diet and looked pretty good, so I discontinued the cinnamon.

I have heard it is very beneficial to horses with insulin resistance too as it helps with blood sugars, etc... (also in people!) I bought my cinnamon in bulk at a 'farmers market' store here and it was quite a bit cheaper than buying it in the store. Also had a bit milder smell.

 

[Reignmaker Miniatures]

I buy flax seed from my feed store now, when I first started I didn't want to buy a huge bag in case I didn't continue to feed it for some reason so I just picked it up in the bulk food aisle of the grocery store. It isn't exactly cheap, runs in the neighborhood of $40 for a 50 lb sack, but that will last me a very long time (fortunately whole flax is very stable and doesn't go stale easily). I feed (I'm embarrassed to admit I don't weigh it or even measure properly any more) 2 handfuls to each horse. That works out to less than 1/4 cup each, about 2 tbsps I'd say. I just throw it on top of their pellets and they love it, lick the bottom of their feeders to get every crumb lol. T

 

[dannigirl]

I buy flax seed from my feed store now, when I first started I didn't want to buy a huge bag in case I didn't continue to feed it for some reason so I just picked it up in the bulk food aisle of the grocery store. It isn't exactly cheap, runs in the neighborhood of $40 for a 50 lb sack, but that will last me a very long time (fortunately whole flax is very stable and doesn't go stale easily). I feed (I'm embarrassed to admit I don't weigh it or even measure properly any more) 2 handfuls to each horse. That works out to less than 1/4 cup each, about 2 tbsps I'd say. I just throw it on top of their pellets and they love it, lick the bottom of their feeders to get every crumb lol. T

Thanks

 

[Helicopter]

Hey HGFarm that's really interesting about the cinnamon. I might try it on my hippo. I'm off to Google ''Cinnamon and horses'' or words to that effect.

 

[JMS Miniatures]

Cinnamon is great for horses and people that are looking to loose weight. Its also excellent for people with diabetes.

 

[Forever Farm]

Cinnamon is awesome for IR horses- it helps get the weird fatty deposits under control and helps with the cresty neck. I can't swear to this, but it did seem to have a vast improvement with my IR stallion's nasty attitude as well. He was quite vicious when we got him, and has done a complete 360 in behaviour since getting his diet under control.

 

[Windhaven]

I also feed whole flax seed and see great results. My horses even shine when they are caked with red clay. But I also feed it as a sand clear product and I am very satisfied with both results.

 

[Marty]

I am here to testify that cinnamon works! I have high blood pressure like you cannot believe and I take two meds for it and also type II diabetes. I went on a "diet" if you can call it that a couple of years ago. First I eliminated pepsi and dropped 20 pounds the first month just from that alone. Then I began cinnamon pills and lost ten the next month. Why I stopped taking them I will never know but seems to me I need to go buy some again at Walmart in the health food section.

I also gave baby Chrissy just a sprinkle a day on her food from the cinnamon shaker in my spice rack. Probably a teaspoon. I noticed how good she was looking in about 2 months time. She needs it again too. I highly recommend it!

 

[Mareish Mom]

See now THIS is why I love this forum. I had never heard of feeding cinnamon to horses. I'm going to try it on my Jenny Craig horse. I've got her weight down to where it should be now but she's still got a bit of a cresty neck. And maybe for me I should put more than just a sprinkle in my morning coffee!