Camelina oil or False Flax oil is produced by pressing the seeds of Camelina sativa. Like linseed oil, it’s high in anti-inflammatory omega 3 and low in pro-inflammatory omega 6. And just like linseed oil, it’s good for weight gain and skin condition. Unfortunately, like linseed oil, for maximal anti-inflammatory benefit, the omega 3 fatty acids need to be converted to EPA and DHA but this conversion is very slow in horses. An alternative where high EPA and DHA are required is to feed marine sources, either from algae or fish. If it was a choice between linseed oil and camelina oil (39% omega 3) then linseed with 54% omega 3 and predominantly as alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) would be the winner. So camelina oil isn’t going to offer any significant advantage over linseed oil for weight gain or skin and coat condition.
Whilst there are a number of papers on feeding linseed to horses, there are very few papers on camelina oil. A paper from the University of Guelph concluded that “These results support the conclusion that camelina oil is a sustainable ingredient that can be included in the diets of dogs and horses with no observed impacts on gross safety over a 16-week feeding period” (Burron et al., 2021). A paper from the same group looking at inflammatory markers, oxidative stress and skin and coat health concluded, “These findings suggest that in terms of the skin and coat health outcomes assessed, camelina oil is comparable to flaxseed and canola oil, which are currently used to increase omega-3 inclusion in canine and equine diets. Therefore, this ingredient has the potential to provide an alternative oil source of omega-3 fatty acids for dogs and horses, while supporting skin and coat health claims.”
So what about gastric ulcers?
Unfortunately, a large amount of misinformation still exists concerning oil and gastric ulcers. To date, oil has ONLY been shown to be BENEFICIAL when used as a REPLACEMENT energy source for STARCH. Removing starch based feeds from your horses diet and replacing them with high fibre/high oil ingredients will reduce the risk of gastric ulcers and help horses with gastric ulcers recover. BUT, ADDING OIL to the diet without reducing starch will offer NO BENEFIT. Unfortunately, much of the misinformation around oil originates from a very old and flawed scientific paper and the myths surrounding oil are still being repeated by some veterinary sources.
In terms of gastric ulcers, the same applies to canola oil (Brassica napus) which originated from the cross-breeding of rapeseed. One thing to be aware of is that most canola crops are genetically modified. A number of animal studies have also suggested a link between canola oil-based diets and increases in inflammation and oxidative stress. The omega 3:omega 6 ratio is 1:2, which means that there is twice as much pro-inflammatory omega 6. So there are much better oil options for feeding to horses. As for ANY type of oil, canola oil would only be beneficial as a replacement for starch in the diet NOT as an addition to a starch-based diet.
References:
Burron, S., Richards, T., Patterson, K., Grant, C., Akhtar, N., Trevizan, L., Pearson, W., Shoveller, A.K., 2021. Safety of Dietary Camelina Oil Supplementation in Healthy, Adult Dogs. Animals 11, 2603.. doi:10.3390/ani11092603
Richards, T (2022) Effects of dietary camelina, flaxseed, and canola oil supplementation on inflammatory and oxidative markers, transepidermal water loss, and skin and coat health parameters in healthy adult dogs and horses. https://hdl.handle.net/10214/27320
Further information:
We have more articles on feeding different oils, feeding for gastric ulcers and we have comparison tables on the different types of oil.
- Article – Feed Materials In Focus – Is Feeding Corn Oil Good for Treating or Preventing Equine Gastric Ulcers?
- Article – Feed Materials In Focus – Why and How to Feed Oil to Horses
- Article – Linseed/Flaxseed as a feed material for horses
- Article – EGUS – Equine Gastric Ulcer Syndrome
- Article – Cod Liver Oil for horses – safe or not?
