Hello Dr. Getty,
I buy whole flax seed and grind it myself daily, My 3 horses each get 1/2 cup a day.
My question is: Can i just feed it whole, Can horses digest the whole seed?

Thanks, Becky

Where are you from? Central NY

Hi Becky,

Thank you for your patience. With the holidays, I got a little behind in my forum responses.

You asked an excellent question. Flaxseeds are very tiny and cannot be adequately chewed. Therefore, they will end up in the manure, undigested, which defeats the purpose of feeding them. So, they should not be fed whole. Some folks soak them to soften the the outer hull, but this is not effective and the water can actually destroy the omega 3 fatty acids and other nutrients, so just in case you do this, it is not recommended.

You can grind them to solve the problem, but there are two cautions that I should mention. First, once ground, they immediately start to go rancid because the omega 3 fatty acids are exposed to oxygen. So, you need to grind a fresh batch every day. Next, flaxseed meal is very high in phosphorus and low in calcium. The total diet needs to have at least twice the amount of calcium than phosphorus, so you would need to feed a high calcium feed to overcome the inverted calcium to phosphorus ratio found in flax.

I find the best option is a commercial preparation called Nutra Flax. This is fresh flaxseed meal, ground in a specialized manner to prevent rancidity. It has a 6 month shelf life when stored in a cool, dry place, in a sealed container. It also has a small amount of calcium added to correct for its naturally occuring high phosphorus level.

Thank you for writing.

All the best,

Dr. Getty

Where are you from? Bayfield, CO