Corn oil is pretty expensive.  I use a fair amount of oil in the diet of my horses. I prefer to use a vegtable oil and buy it at Sam's Club.  Corn oil usually makes a horse a little "hotter" than normal and most of us with horses don't prefer them to be "hotter" as a rule.

I feed a combination of beet pulp, corn oil and 12% feed about six months out of the year. When the grass is good, I let the grass maintain them until they aren't getting enough from the grass alone. I try to feed twice a day and mix wet beet pulp, sweet feed and some veg. oil together to make sort of a mash. I started doing this mixture a couple of winters ago when my neighbor got me turned on to the idea of beet pulp and it's advantages. I use the oil to help with their coat, digestion, keeps the manure soft and make sure that my 3 yr. old mare doesn't collic, which she is prone to do since she likes to "bolt" her food. Once I started feeding the "mash" she quit bolting her food and ate at the same pace everyone else does.  We had tried everything to get this yound mare not to bolt her food and making a mash was the only thing that worked for her. Other wise, she would attack her food, sling grain all over the place, make a mess, waste half her rations on the floor/bedding and frustrate the crap out of my wife and me. 

Hope this helps and happy trails.

If you are looking for extra calories in their diet. It might be easier to use a stablized Rice Bran or commeriical feeds that add stabilized fats to the feed. i.e. Nutrena's Empower or Purina's Athlete. Be careful storing oils in the heat of the summer they can go rancid.

If you choose to add oils,  Add them gradually over a week or so. Don't give them the full 2 cups to start with.  1/4 cup today, 1/2 cup tomorrow etc.

I'm also a big fan of soaked beet pulp in the winter.

Hey, deranger,,,,,,,sounds like your mare is keeping both you and your wife "regular". Shoot, you don't need any added fiber in your diet's....................how sweet of her! 

I feed beet pulp year round.I mix it with the grain.It helps slow digestion so they use more of their feed.I do not think it helps add weight though.I have never had a good result in using it for that purpose.I have had hard keepers "TB's" all my life.I have tried everything.They make super high fat feeds these days "like 10% fat" that work wonders! Also you will feed less.I have not had good results in using oil for weight purposes,but find it is good for the coat!

Horsecrazi

Stop, your making me blush

There's a very interesting article in the latest Western Horseman magazine that explains the benefits of added "fat" in the equine diet.

farmbabe, how did you find out about the coco soya?

Where do you find it?

What is it?

Where does it come from?

Is it cheaper than corn oil?

Please share as much as you can. Even at my age, I want to learn all I can. Thanks and Happy trails.

My trainers used it for their show horses so I started using it. In fact, at big arabian shows, you'll find it in nearly every feed room. Go to the web site http://www.uckele.com/  A blend of highly digestible Coconut and Soybean Oils selected for Natural Fatty Acid balance. It is a natural source of Omega 3 Omega 6 & Omega 9 fatty acids. Cocosoya retains Natural Tocopherol (Vitamin E) and Sterols present in Crude Unrefined Oil (No chemical solvents). Cocosoya is an unrefined source of soybean & coconut oils. The thick substance (gums) that sometimes settles to the bottom of the container is the Natural Lecithins (phospholipids) and Tocopherols (Vitamin E) of the soy bean oil. It is a highly nutritious portion of the product. Keep your oil well shaken allowing the lecithin & tocopherols to stay in suspension. Cocosoya is 20% more digestible than ordinary corn and vegetable oil and it costs less than vegetable oil at your local store. (pasted from the web site)

However- shipping costs will drive the price up so I find it tack stores or horse expos. I buy the 5 gal container and it lasts all summer.

Wow!!!! I've got to start using that stuff myself!!! Couldn't hurt a thing for me to take a stiff shot of that first thing everymorning!!!

Just kidding.  I really appreciate you taking the time to answer my questions and fill in the blanks on the benefits of using cocosoya oil.  I'm going to start looking for it right away so that I have some in stock down at the barn and I can start using when the grass goes away in the pasture.

Thanks again and happy trails.

Another vote for cocosoya!  It is more expensive than corn oil, but horses do quite well on it.

I should tell my beautician about that stuff..........no hot oil treatments!  Cool.

My friend feeds Soybean Mulch what is that good for? I heard from some people it is used for dieting your horse and then I heard that it used for fattening.. which is it?

Sorry I don't anything about beet pulp.........about hay,,,well I feel blessed every year when my dealer comes rolling up the driveway with 1,500 bales of straight timothy and still only charges me $3.00 per bale even when the gas prices go sky high.  Here in Maryland hay is pretty abundant.  There has to be a severe drought to really impact us.  We had a bad drought about 2 years ago. We got hay, but the quality wasn't all that good.  But at least we did have hay for that winter. (no complaining here)

Every spring, I start with watching the weather channel likes it my new found religon or something......praying that we get rain, then pray for not too much rain, then pray it rains at the right time, then pray it's not too cold of a spring, then pray again that when they cut it that it "doesn't rain"...............Lord have mercy!

You won't mess it up. No matter how much beet pulp you put in to any container, just add water until and inch or 2 excess is over the top of the beet pulp. 20 to 30 min later you can feed. We do about 20 pounds at a time, so we let it soak over night. With 20 pounds, we put about 4 inches water over the top.

Cowby

Here's another little twist on beet pulp and oil for horses.  I don't supplemental feed all year long. When the grass starts going away, I start supplementing with feed.

My schedule allows me to vary my routine from not so cold weather to really cold weather feeding.  When it's not so cold, I mix the beet pulp similar to horsecrazi by mixing a new batch for the next feeding.  When it's really cold out, I mix the beet pulp with hot water right out of the tap and add the veggie oil right then. I let it sit for about 30 minutes and it's ready to feed. By the time I walk to the barn, mix up 4 tubs of sweet feed, beet pulp/oil/water and bring the horses in, the "mash" is ready for them to eat at about the right temp so it's not too hot for them, but still steaming a little.  They seem to really like the "hot mash" on really cold mornings. Mixing the beet pulp with hot water and adding the oil makes for a better soak and better mix with everything being hot. Saves a lot of labor for me rather than mixing everything cold down at the barn. I have a slop sink in the garage at the house and mix everything there, then take it to the barn.

One other thing about beet pulp, I use pelletized beet pulp from Blue Seal and like it a lot better than the shredded beet pulp.  I've tried both and the pelletized works a lot better for me, but it's still your choice.  

Happy trails.