Hi

Firstly I want to say that i know there is a big debate on whether canola oil is good or bad to feed to a horse.

I have read in many articles about how to feed the endurance horse about a high fat dieet. from what i read it seems like fat in a oil form like canola oil is the best.

I have also read about bergafat and that it is also good as a additional fat source for horses. But I have not read that it is good for endurance horses.

I am wondering if there is some readers that can tell me what will be the best to feed a endurance horse for additional energy. Bergafat or Canola oil?

We have always used Bergafat over the years for putting weight on a skinny horse, it is a powder looks a bit like cremora and is made up of Palm Oil Fatty acids, they actually recommend it for high performance dairy cows but horses can also eat it safely. I think the canola oil will probably give more shine to the coat and possibly more energy than the Bergafat which adds weight but not really sure, a horse nutrionist will be able to answer this if you write under the Ask Section.

We have been using Bergafat for many years and my husband just completed Fauresmith successfully with his 16 year old mare, she looks stunning, I am going to do a 30km with her this Saturday at Onderstepoort. I just found the Bergafat easier to use and my horses are actually quite fussy about the "oiliness" of something like canola oil in their feed. I am a qualified food scientist and have some good literature on fat metabolism in horses, there is actually not a big difference in the source of fat that you give because it is converted immediately into energy. It is the best solution for a horse suffering from chronic colic to move away from carbohydrate feeds to a diet with lots of roughage and a good source of fat as an energy source. Unfortunately the comparison in performance between different fat sources has not really been tested scientifically to the extent that anybody can make a good conclusion, primarily because such tests are so extremely difficult to do as horses vary tremendously in their own individual metabolism. Thus in the end you will have to experiment a bit with your own horse until you find what is best for him or her. Horses produce their own unsaturated essential fatty acids in the gut from their normal hay or grass as a result of bacteria (they are colon fermentors and has a huge apendix to assist with that). All my horses have bright shiny coats on Bergafat. I can obtain Bergafat in bulk (minimum 250 kg or 10 bags of 25kg) at excellent prices directly from the importers, if the yard wants to order they are welcome to contact me at 082 782 8588, allow one week for delivery. Otherwise if there is a large enough group of people teaming together I can buy a bulk batch like this and you can come and pick it up from my yard. Prices usually vary between R18 and R20 per kg depending on fuel costs etc. I am based in Centurion, you are most welcome to come and see my endurance horses.

Corinda

Corinda Thanks for your detailed answer. My yard did buy bulk at Primix and there is still plenty left. Now I know we are not feeding something 'wrong'. I would love to come and see your horses as i adore Arabs - maybe one day when i am big i will own one. But I am in Cape Town.

You can post me a pic.

I have huge respect of all horses and riders that competed and completed Fauriesburg in good condition. My horse and I are both beginners but hopefully we will be fit enough and ready to participate in a ride like that one day.

TP, sorry about your question in the Q&A section that was not answered. I will follow up on that. Do mind posting the question again, please?

So what does that prove?

Animal nutrition, as was pointed out , is about weight gain and least cost. In the guise of effectiveness and efficiency. We have the misguided idea that our equine athletes should look like paunchy fat teenagers. This is what animal feeding aims for because the client is always right and the client is a human not a horse.

We should aim for horses that are the equivalent of David Beckham, lean and mean and fit. Not looking like John Smit. See where that got us.

You'll not find the truth about canola in animal nutrition research. The point of animal nutrition is fat shiny lazy slobs. Maybe you should read more widely about the effects of things like soya, canola etc.

I'm right . I didn't get to ride thousands of barefoot kilometers by listening to popular opinion. Popular opinion holds that what I'm doing is impossible. And yet we're doing it.

And while I'm venting spleen might I add that the habit HJ has of interfering with legitimate punctuation eg paragraphs is particularly annoying

On Snopes.com, the 'toxic canola oil' story is said to be false. Have a look.