Ask The Equine Nutritionist

I've been feeding sunflower seeds to my horses for more than a year, now, and I love the shine and the healthy glow they get from it. However, I just saw in the Horse Journal that it said that it's best to feed the large striped sunflower seeds, not the small, blackoil ones that I've always fed. The only reason they give is that a horse might not chew the small ones properly, but I've never seen a problem with that with my horses, nor any unchewed seeds in the manure. I thought the blackoil ones had a higher calorie/fat content? Is there any nutritional reason to prefer one type of seed over the other? Or are they both fairly similar, except for size?

The black seeds are definitely easier to digest and have a higher fat content, so I would stick with those. But you could try whole flax seed instead. You feed 4 oz (1 cupful) of flax per day, will give him the shine and excellent hoof growth.



Dr. Melyni Worth Ph.D. - 2004 (c)

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