I had never heard of it either…
A reader told me about it and asked if I knew anything.
I said, “No.”
I thought Equine “Chia” was a Chia Pet. In my mind, I was thinking of a chia plant growing out of a horse shaped ceramic figure. (I always liked the ‘Chia Scooby-Do’ the best.)
My favorite.
GOOGLE’D IT
So, I Googled it.
Aha! I was wrong. Equine Chia is not a chia plant holder… It is a seed for equines that is supposed to help them in a myriad of ways.
Myriad of benefits...
Hmmmmm. Sounded kinda gimmicky to me.
But, it wasn’t that expensive and I noticed that some ‘natural’ vets were using it.
Hmmmmm. Oh Alright!
I went to the page and ordered the cheapest size (which at that time was 5lbs but now I see they have a 24-day Challenge size…). I figured I could try it on the ponies because a smaller amount goes a long way with Shetlands.
Besides… the ponies had a hard winter. They are older now and need help to keep their weight on.
Click to see the Chia store
2 MONTHS LATER…
So, the 5lb bucket of Equine Chia arrived. It looks a bit like bird seed, kinda oily in a flax seed way. Not much fragrance. Couldn’t hurt, could help.
I poured it onto the Shetland’s soaked mixture of beet pulp pellets and flax for 8 weeks (my equine nutritionist suggested I soak the Chia seed as well – with the flax and beet pulp – as it is much more effective when it is softened so it is more digestible). I used it until it was gone which was about a week ago.
The seeds at the bottom of my 5lbs bucket (with a piece of hay in there, too). They look like little, shiny black bed bugs.
SHED-OUT JUBILATION
Now, I’m not one to really jump up and down unless a product has made a significant and focused difference.
OK, so here I go…
Slick and Dodger shed out last week and I helped them with a thorough grooming. As I was brushing all the excess hair off of their toplines, I was taken aback.
They were totally filled-in and even a bit (OK, a lot) plump! So, I continued to pull off the dead shag to see the entirety of my Spring ponies and I gotta say, they both looked terrific! They looked better than they looked going into winter. I was astounded! Both were kinda fat (wow) and their coats were shiny and dappled!
I had no idea that under those shaggy coats were little Jack LaLannes. Older but looking great! Honest to Betsy, I usually have to fatten them up or at least get rid of Slick’s rain rot (he won’t go into his shelter unless he absolutely has to…). To me, they look and seem very vital.
BEFORES AND AFTERS
Below I’ve provided some photos from earlier this winter before the Equine Chia.
This is Dodger's topline earlier this winter before Chia. He looks good but he still has a visible spine ridge in his topline.
Here is Slick's pic before Chia. He also looks fine but you can see he could use a bit more filling out in the wither/topline.
AFTER SHEDDING AND 8 WEEKS OF EQUINE CHIA
Now, even though the heavy winter coat hid their true new coat, it is obvious to me that they are now heavier, their topline is invisible and their coats look really nice!
Dodger is 21 and has never been well conformed. But, he looks dappled and fat and his topline is filled out!
This is Dodger's topline. He has always been slab sided but this looks really good for him - especially coming out of winter!
This is Slick, he is 20. He looks shiny, dappled, fat and healthy!
Here is Slick's topline. It looks awesome! And, no rain rot. I have no idea how that happened - but he has never not had rain rot in Spring.
IN CONCLUSION
It is kinda nebulous for me to recommend this because I’m not exactly sure what it did since neither ponies were sick. Yet, they both look terrific.
I mean, with Anti-Flam, Norma was no longer lame. You know… an obvious improvement from an illness that could be directly correlated to the remedy.
With this Equine Chia, I’m not sure what it did; I can only say that all-around, they look great coming out of the hardest time of year. So, I think I like it as a general food additive.
If any of you try it, PLEASE let me know what you think. It isn’t a ProBiotic or Ulcer remedy or anything specific. But, I do think it is a simple and successful, inexpensive food supplement.
So, please let me know if you try it and what you think. In the meantime, I’m going to get more and see what it does for Wrigley.
You can order it here.
Click to go to the Chia store and see if you'd like to order
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I think I am going to try this. Our Lass is what I call a “diabetic” horse…She has been “sick” since she was 4 months old (when she first showed signs of not being “right”. It has been a roller coaster with her and no help form most of the vets here. I have t be careful with what I give her..NO grass…carrots or apples and definitely no molasses or sugar of any kind…yikes…
I use it all the time and think it’s great. I can NOT use it for certain hard keepers I have, as it tends to make them think they’re not hungry, and they actually LOSE weight. But everyone else does great on it, and I’ve found several horses who used to love to chew their fences, stalls, roofs, now don’t. I also take it! I recommend it highly and am glad you had a good experience too. I have a good source for bulk (I have to buy it by 55 pounds for all these horses).
Chia is a little like flax – adds good oils and general stuff. :) Bioestar EQ also is a great source for chia seed and other whole foods equine supplements. I appreciate your reviews of products here very much! had a nice visit with a gal from Omega Alpha at our horse expo after reading your blogs about their products. I’ve been using Biostar’s Colostrum38 for my ulcery mare with great results, but she kindly gave me some Gasta-FX to try or to share as well.