Flax & My Own Horse

Usually people aren’t looking for flax just for fun - they’re looking for something to fix an issue, or a fill a gap. Perhaps they took in a horse who was neglected and underweight. Maybe they have an older horse who is starting to have joint issues and stiffness. Or, they just want a great way to balance out their horse’s diet.

I’m no exception! My gelding developed Cushing’s several years ago. A hallmark for this condition is a long coat and delayed shedding, as well as a predisposition to laminitis. Some Cushing’s horses become easily overweight, while others have a hard time keeping weight on. My Alex is in the latter category. He receives medication (pergolide), but just wasn’t himself and didn’t have his usual zest for mealtime, in addition to seeming to walk quite gingerly. He was shedding much later than my other gelding, and looked very scruffy. The blog photo you see below is the day we started the flax. The month was May, and he still had a lot of his winter coat.

Alex, age 25 at the time of starting flax

Here comes the flax - in doing research, flax came up as a viable option for him, especially since he could no longer be on pasture. With the high Omega-3 content it was said to help their coat condition, as well as help maintain a healthy weight with the added protein. He needed more calories to stay at that healthy weight, without adding a lot of sugars and non-structural carbohydrates. Flax has those important fatty acids, which are very energy-dense, while also providing the anti-inflammatory effects to reduce inflammation which was causing his feet to be tender. As we all know, horses feet are SO important.

In just a month’s time, we saw his coat beginning to shine, and he was trotting up to the buckets at mealtime. I could look out the window to see him kicking up his heels and running around the pasture. He clearly felt like a brand new horse. Shortly after, we added it to my other gelding’s diet. Not because he also had Cushing’s, but because we knew he could reap some of the benefits too. He is younger, but his main issue in the spring and fall is heaves. Any small amount of dust in that hay and he is wheezing like a kid with asthma. And guess what? He improved immensely as well! Does he still have an issue occasionally? Sure. Does he still get allergy medication on really dusty days? Yes. Especially if we don’t water the hay well enough. But has it improved? You betcha! Now they both get it twice a day, every. single. day. Alex does get almost double the amount, especially in the winter, as he drops weight easily.

And…here we are, a thriving small business with only 2 products! My goal was to provide this to other horse owners who may be in the same boat - looking for something to fix the problem or fill the gap. I’m blessed to live in this great state that produces so many things, including these beautiful flax plants, that can be of so much help to so many animals (and their people).

Alex passed in November 2022 at age 28, but he will always continue to be our ambassador and appear in photos on our pages. He’s the reason we started, and the reason we continue.