Omega® Products Ingredients
Human-Grade Fish Oil
Our Omega® products utilize human-grade fish oil from wild fish caught in the waters of Iceland. Fish oil provides a direct source of Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and Decosapentanoic acid (DHA), which are the omega-3 fats that your horse ultimately needs. Plant-based omega-3 sources such as flax oil must be converted to EPA and DHA by the horse, which is an inefficient process. Providing EPA and DHA directly ensures your horse has what is needed. No conversion is necessary.
Research has shown that supplementation of EPA and DHA from fish oil at the levels found in our products results in an appreciable increase in EPA and DHA in the equine bloodstream. An increase is also seen in red blood cell membranes which is not the case when feeding plant based sources of omega-3 fats. Feeding EPA and DHA guarantee that your horse receives the researched benefits that these fats have on joint health, hair coat, immune function, gut health, allergy support and much more.
The human-grade fish oil used in our Omega® products is molecularly distilled to ensure no contaminants, such as PCBs, heavy metals, and other toxins, are present. The fish are also from natural waters and wild-caught, so they are not exposed to antibiotics or growth hormones the way that farmed fish are. Avoiding farmed fish is better for your horse and better for the
environment.
All-Natural Vitamin E
We utilize all-natural Vitamin E in three of our four products. Vitamin E comes in several chemical forms and may be derived from synthetic or natural sources. Synthetic vitamin E is derived from petrochemicals, while natural vitamin E is extracted from plant-based sources, most typically soybeans. Synthetic vitamin E is not well absorbed by the horse; in fact, natural vitamin E is up to 6 times more bioavailable than synthetic.
Although vitamin E is a fat-soluble vitamin, the most bioavailable form goes through a process called micellization, which makes it water-soluble. Unless micellized, vitamin E requires a source of fat to be absorbed from the digestive tract into the bloodstream. This is achieved by the oils that make up the foundation of our products.
Unless your horse is on abundant fresh pasture, it is unlikely that they are receiving adequate amounts of vitamin E unless provided a supplemental source. Recent research indicates that the vitamin E requirement of horses is much higher than was thought 10 years ago. Providing adequate vitamin E not only helps with performance recovery but it also reduces the risk of developing a number of serious conditions such as NAD, Vitamin E Deficiency Muscle Myopathy and Equine Motor Neurones Disease.
Organic Soybean Oil
The foundation of all our products is soybean oil. Soybean oil is rich in essential fatty acids, especially omega-6 fat, a required nutrient that plays a vital role in cell membrane health. Not all soybean oils are created equally. The beans extracted from the oil are non-GMO and have not been exposed to herbicides, pesticides, and other toxic chemicals. Another big difference between the soybean oil in Southern Equine Distributing’s Omega® products and what you might find on the grocery store shelf is that our oil is expeller pressed.
Unlike most store-bought soybean oil, this mechanical process does not require using chemical solvents such as hexane and acetone. Instead, the beans are squeezed to force out the oil. This protects valuable and healthful plant components such as polyphenols, sterols, and antioxidants. These compounds’ presence is why our oil is cloudy when grocery store-bought oils are not. Polyphenols, sterols, and antioxidants have many health benefits, including regulation of inflammatory response.