You won’t have to look far to find a new type of oil or brand floating around social media!
So what IS the best one for you horse? The answer is it depends on your dosha/bio-characteristics. Yes the term dosha is new to most of you, but its actually just a term for a group of qualities that represent every bodily process and function; one of them being our metabolic process (pitta).
All food including oils have a post digestive effect (Vipaka in Ayurveda). This means what does the body do with it once its broken down - is it cooling or heating? Sweet, sour, dry,light etc. Remember if your horse is a pitta dosha adding an oil, food or herb that is heating to the body is a dangerous way to exacerbate any pre existing health issues, or start to brew some new ones!
With that being said, oils are an extremely beneficial food additive to an animals diet. Horses have a small stomach and really cant support the abundance of commercial grains that we feed. The more energy that can be obtained through an oil is best as its absorbed in the first meter of the small intestine.
So owners of those beautiful VATA’s here are your best choices for oil!
Firstly you are always looking to add more weight. Vata’s are high metabolizer’s and lets face it a little help slowing down that active brain wouldn’t hurt either.
√ TAKE: Hemp, sesame, sunflower, flax and olive, ghee, camelina
🚫 AVOID: rice bran, canola oil, corn oils
PITTA’s , my fiery friends. We need cooling oils that maximize digestion and minimize skin irritations and heat.
√ TAKE: coconut oil, olive, ghee
🚫 AVOID: corn, safflower, peanut, camelina oil (limit not avoid)
Our KAPHA friends need help avoiding too much heaviness, aiding in weight metabolism, mucus production and circulation. Think light, but warming and nutritive oils.
√ TAKE: camelina, MCT, flax
🚫 AVOID: coconut, corn, safflower, sesame, hemp
The key thing to remember is everything that goes into your body or your animals body is either medicine or poison. If you are feeding oils too high in omega 6 to a horse with an inflammatory issue like heaves or arthritis, it doesn’t matter what supplement you give to help the issue it will never be resolved.
Nutrition is what you absorb, not what you consume!
Need help balancing your horses dosha? We offer nutritional advice and plans utilizing your barns own feed program.