High fat diets are becoming more recognized as a means of achieving better performance and health from our horses. Fat supplementation is safer than adding carbohydrates and proteins as it does not produce the high internal heats. Soybean oil has 2.25 times more energy than that of carbohydrates and proteins making for a much more concentrated, but safe energy source. This type of supplementation will allow for safer weight gains while reducing the risk of colic and or founder.

High fat diets enable high performance animals to safely meet their energy requirements. This is due to the fact that horses have a fairly small digestive tract that limits the total amount feed that they can consume. With the addition of soybean oil, a safe concentrated energy source, energy requirements are more easily met. University research indicates a sparing effect on muscle glycogen stores, which can be mobilized to produce short bursts of maximal power output. This makes soybean oil a popular choice for performance horses.

Soy oil naturally contributes the benefits of Linolenic acid that is the parent substance of Omega-3 fatty acids, which are beneficial to regulating blood pressure and heart rate.

One must remember that an animal must still consume no less than 50% of its daily intake from forage. If this is reversed we run the risk of negatively affecting the ph balance and activity with in the horse’s cecum and large intestine. Ultimately this will increase the chances of colic and founder. Because forage is bulky, the addition of soybean oil can easily add the needed energy to the diet without compromising digestive health by decreasing the percentage of forage (increasing carbohydrates) in the ration.

The Roasted Soybeans used in Scampers Choice start out as whole in-tact beans.  They are roasted whole and passed through a roller mill which flattens the kernel and opens it up for optimal digestion by the horse.  The oil stays in the bean so the animal has access to the oil. 

Scampers Choice also adds Soybean oil, by adding soy oil, the amount of molasses used is greatly reduced.   Horses seem to love the scent and taste of soy oil, so along with a superb energy source it also helps finicky horses eat well and allows them to meet their nutritional demands.  

When adding a fat supplement to your horse’s diet, do so gradually over several days.  This is especially true if the animal has been on a high carbohydrate diet.  Typically you see a difference with performance and health in 30 days on a high fat diet.