Sunflower seeds

What specifically are sunflower seeds good for? I have never heard of them being fed to horses before.

They are a fat source and have selenium and vitamin E. They can help coat condition. You should not (IMO) feed more than 1 cup a day.

Hey, glad to hear that you had a good result with them! It will be coming in to Spring for you guys soon and when Buzz gets his summer coat, the black sunnie seeds will make it extra glossy! If you can't buy black sunflower seeds from the livestock/feed store, don't buy them from anywhere else as they may not be suitable for horses as previously mentioned.

Post some more piccies soon!

Haha thanks sarahver I will have to get some more pics soon when I remember my camera :P and it stops raining
I will look around at all the other feed stores...
Ummm the place I was buying them from before was a pet store so the seeds were probably designed for birds.... it didn't seem to affect him and he's still alive and kicking should I try and avoid that place then?

I've never seen boss designed for horses to be honest. Everyone I know get them from TSC or Bowman's and they state "for birds". But as far as there are no additives there why not?

I have to disagree, luvs. I did lots of research on that and Canola has the BEST omega3 to omega6 ratio (I believe 1 : 3). This is one of the sources and I can dig more respected ones. Omega-3 and Omega-6 balance is critical to heart health.

Well as long as they look like this:


But not like this:


You should be fine!

Horses don't need Omega 6 fatty acid supplementation. Decent grass hay actually contains all they need, plus more, so there is no need to give them any oils or supplements that has Omega 6s, or much of them. You want to see Omega 3's much higher if there is any Omega 6's at all, like 3:1 or more.

Flax meal or oil is usually 3:1 or 4:1 Omega 3 to Omega 6 in values.

From what I can find, Canola oil is 23% omega–6, and 10–15% omega–3, which is about 2:1 or 1.5:1. That's not a good ratio for omega-6:omega-3 for horse diets.

ALL ABOUT OILS
This may be "good" for people (as the article claims), but it flax is the healthier alternative for horses.

According to this chart, Sunflower seeds only contain trace amounts of Omega 3 fatty acids (which give better hoof/coat results than Omega 6), so the hoof/coat improvement we see from feed BOSS (Black Oil Sunflower Seeds) must come from the high amounts of Vitamin E.
Omega-3, Omega-6 in Oils Nuts Seeds. Essential Fatty Acids

Here's a page with good information on BOSS, including a nutritional breakdown. I do not agree with feeding 1 lb of BOSS though. Horses' digestive systems are not meant to eat that much "seeds" at one time. I would be afraid of the risk of colic or choke. 1 cup per-feeding is all I would be comfortable feeding.
Black Oil Sunflower Seeds for Horses

Another article giving some good "devils advocate" thinking on BOSS. Definitely worth reading.
Black Oil Sunflowers (BOSS) for Horses

[QUOTE=luvs2ride1979;727676]
Here's a page with good information on BOSS, including a nutritional breakdown. I do not agree with feeding 1 lb of BOSS though. Horses' digestive systems are not meant to eat that much "seeds" at one time.

Great info luvs, thanks for posting! Just to clarify, in the other thread that RedTree posted where I originally suggested feeding black sunnie seeds, I recommended a handfull each feed. I agree - you have to be carefull not to over do them. In moderation they can be a wonderful supplement to horse feed to help with weight gain and coat condition.

Is it okay to feed sunflower nuts to horses? We have a large bag and no one around here likes sunflower nuts.