So our horses have needs that we can help them with by supplementing their diet naturally.  One of the components of a horse healthy diet is Essential Fatty Acids (EFA's) so what are they, where do they come from and how do they help?  (Photo above is flax)

Horses cannot synthesize their  essential fatty acids which are a vital component of their diet/nutrition.  EFA's are best known as Omega's  - Omega-3 & Omega-6.  While horses can produce saturated fats from excess carbohydrates, fat and protein, they cannot synthesize the polyunsaturated and unsaturated fats (EFA's).

EFA's are involved in the production of hormones called prostaglandins.  Prostaglandins enable essential life functions including tissue repair, central nervous system actions, inflammation control and pain signal functions.

Omega-6 is found in cereal type grains such as oats and barley - in seeds such as sunflower  seeds and safflower, both can be found in their oil form as well.   I happen to really like the sunflower oil found on Amazon by the gallon. 

While fresh pasture and hay has a greater concentration of Omega-3's so does Chia and Flax.  My herd is on dry lots almost all year, and they are fed barn stored hay,  so they do receive a small amount of Modesto Milling Senior Feed that has the organic cereal type grains but also has sun dried alfalfa,  peas for the amino acids, and a few other natural ingredients like zeolite.     Again the Modesto Milling Senior is fed in a small amount, for example my horse gets one cup, my mini's get 1/4 cup each.  My Arabian tends to IR and my 29 year old mini mare has Cushings/PPID and both do fine on the Modesto Plus! 

I also feed my herd a ground full fat flax which is Nutra Flax and add some Nutra Chia  for variety to give them what might be missing because they are not on fresh pasture, and only in the late winter might they have a tiny nibble on some winter rye that does come up on the property.

So what is the balance you are looking for when you supplement your feeding program with  Omega 6 & Omega 3 - it is a 4:1 ratio for each cup of say organic oats or barley, for example you would feed a 1/4 cup of cup of say Chia seeds or ground flax.  When feeding Sunflower oil I usually give my 800 lb Arabian 1/4 to 1/2 cup mixed in his wet feed. 

I do not advocate for feeding flax seed whole as it is not easy for a horse to digest even when soaked and will just pass thru as oppose to giving them the supplementation of Omega-3 you are looking for.

Balancing these essential fatty acids helps support various aspects of equine health, including immune function, inflammation control, and overall well-being.  Less is more so you do not need to feed a lot, but enough to balance out what they might not be getting anyplace else.