BOSS!!!! Boss? Yes Boss. Black Oil Sunflower Seeds. Or BOSS. This is quite the new craze apparently in coat and weight management for your horses. Boss, is simply a WILD BIRD FOOD!!! So it is Cheap Cheap!!!! A good friend of mine has started using it with amazing results, however I myself am torn. If you look it up on the web there is about 70% Pro to 30% Neg feedback on it. So, let's discuss it.
PROS!
- SUPER High Fat content. Roughly 33% fat. Great for hard keepers.
- Cheap
- It is an "oil" seed like flaxseed is, so AMAZING for the coat and hooves.
- People say their horses LOVE it! So very palatable.
- Has Vitamins in it.
- Does NOT require a lot to get results. People say only 1 or 2 cups a day for a healthy coat.
CONS!
- There has been no official testing done on the effects of it on horses.
- VERY high Omega 6 content.
- People are worried about the hulls. (I soak mine with my horses beet pulp to soften the hulls.)
To me it sounds great! I bought a small bag and only used a small handful to start. Just to test it out a little. See what my horse's manure looks like tomorrow. If it's being digested properly and so forth. Have any of you used it or heard of it? I DO have a hard keeper and would like him fatty fat fat before winter, so could this be the answer to our prayers? (For those of us with hard keepers.) I've been crazy researching it on the net and the only thing I will admit I find mildy dis concerning is that Boss hasn't been researched yet.... So will the proof be in the pudding?
8 comments:
I feed it to my guys, I have sunflowers growing all over the place!
I would definitely like to know about you results. I have one TB mare that is a really hard keeper and we are going though a drought so the grass isn't as good as usual. She has been dropping weight when she sould be fat and sassy.
My horse's feed has sunflower seeds in it (it's a pre-mixed feed from Landmark called Extreme Supreme, and it's on their website, but difficult to get to as the page on equine feeds is linked through another page on their website), and there is nothing abnormal about his manure, or behavior. He's shiny and beautiful, and it doesn't make him hot. I've never had an issue with the hulls. I'll like to see how your horses do on this, TX! I reccommend it.
My horses loved BOSS which I combined with ground flax, hoping to balance the high OMEGA 6 content of the BOSS with flax seeds OMEGA 3. Interesting discussion here http://www.google.com/search?q=balancing+the+OMEGA+6+in+BOSS&hl=en&start=10&sa=N
We've been using corn oil for two of our horses' coats, though one could probably benefit greatly from the added fat content in BOSS. It sounds totally boss :D
I think it is possibly a good supplement...in moderation. The studies and therefore the knowledge are not there in regards to this feed yet. I'd be cautious of the Omegas. Also, the high K+ levels are okay...but not in large quantities so you'd want to be careful with that as well. I think it can have great benefits, but the key would be (as always) - moderation. It's great in that, as a fatty food, it doesn't create a "hot" horse either, and it's more efficient and digestible than other grains! Nice tip!
I think my pony would love BOSS, but I think I'll stick to my beloved Rice Bran Pellets! Definitely let us know your opinion on the results.
I fed it a long time ago to my horses and didn't see any results. I have read that there is no research proving it is helpful in horses, like you said. Until I see some proof that it is actually helpful, I probably won't bother feeding it. Even though it is cheap, if it's not helping it's a waste of money. I've found that quality grains make a huge difference in coat and hoof health. I feed Strategy and my horses are extremely shiny and have great feet too.
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