KM Elite Ultimate Oil (Equine)

What is KM Elite Ultimate Oil? All the oils in Ultimate Oil are of the highest quality, easily biologically absorbed by your horse and are included at specific levels for specific reasons so they work together, creating a synergetic effect for the total health and well-being of your horse. One of these effects is the balance and ratios of essential fatty acids Omega 3 and Omega 6.

Why Omega 3 and 6? It is important to remember that horses need a balance of both Omega 3 and Omega 6 fatty acids for optimal health and performance. It isn't necessarily so that one is better than the other - they simply have different roles in the body and must be in balance with each other for optimal health and body function. Omega 3 is responsible for repairing cellular walls and maintaining a fluid and efficient waste-nutrient transfer. It's also critical for brain function and is instrumental in cleaning up after an injury has healed. Omega 6 on the other hand, assisting in causing inflammation and immune system reactions, which is necessary to stabilize injuries and fight off infections. As herbivores and nomadic grazers, horses are naturally adapted to a diet rich in Omega 3 fatty acids (ALA). These can be digested easily with positive effects on the horses’ system, but the ratio of Omega 6:3 must be kept in balance when additional oils are added to their diet. Cereal grains such as barley, oats, wheat and maize all contain high levels of Omega 6 compared to their Omega 3 levels, as do most oils like sunflower, corn and soya oil. Ultimate Oil contains a ratio of 1:1.4 (Omega 6 to Omega 3) helping to keep a healthy balance. Ultimate Oil contains no fillers, bulking agents or cheap carrier oils, all the ingredients are of the highest quality and are there for a specific reason.Ultimate oil contains no cod liver oil or fish products and is therefore a more natural product for your horse. Horses are herbivores and not designed to eat fish. Our oils are also from sustainable sources and have no chance of containing contaminated substances like heavy metals that can occur in fish oils.

What does Ultimate Oil contain? As you can see from the list of ingredients in Ultimate Oil any one of them fed on its own would give good results for the health and wellbeing of your horse. Combine them together and you get the Ultimate in oil supplementation delivering fantastic results for the health and wellbeing of your horse. The Ingredients in Ultimate Oil are: Flaxseed oil Coconut Oil Rice Bran Oil Sea Buckthorn Oil Flaxseed Flaxseed oil contains an essential fatty acid known as alpha-linoleic acid, or ALA. This fatty acid belongs to the Omega 3 group of lipids. Flaxseed oil is unusual among oils as it contains considerably more Omega 3 than Omega 6, therefore is fantastic in helping to address the imbalance of the ratios of Omega 6 to Omega 3, which in the modern horses diet is a common problem. Flaxseed oil is obtained from the gentle cold pressing of dried ripe seeds of the flax plant. Of all the vegetable oils, Flaxseed oil (or Linseed Oil) has the highest levels of Omega 3 fatty acids. The Omega 3 fatty acid in Flaxseed oil (ALA), has been shown in research to help to tackle stiffness, the circulatory system and aid the ability to fend off immune disorders, making it ideal as a nutritional supplement. The equine diet has changed over the years as much as the human diet has and Omega 3 and 6 are not always as balanced as they should be. Any imbalance can affect the general wellbeing of your horse. The Essential Fatty Acids (EFA) contained in Flaxseed oil ensures basic cellular health, and is as important to the health of our horses as vitamins and minerals. EFAs help cells form and function correctly and they are responsible for helping the body perform biological functions. Another benefit of Flaxseed oil is the effect it has on the coat. If your horse suffers from a dry or very dull coat, fatty acids help to improve the texture of the coat, making for a fuller, shinier appearance. While it may seem superficial, a dull coat can often be a sign of other health problems. Flaxseed oil will not only improve your horse's coat and produce a gorgeous shine, but it can also help with skin problems - Flaxseed oil has even been shown to help with sweet itch. Flaxseed oil can help to reduce the build-up of lactic acid in muscles, which is a common cause of fatigue in performance horses. Research has indicated that supplementing a horse daily with Flaxseed oil will, over time, have a beneficial effect on horses with stiff joints.

In summary, some of the benefits of feeding Flaxseed oil are;

• Improved skin and coat condition
• Fewer skin allergies
• Fighting sweet itch.
• An important aid to a healthy digestive system
• Supports mobility and flexibility
• Supports healthy tissues
• Supports the immune system

Rice Bran Rice Bran Oil is not only high in slow release energy and essential fatty acids, it is one of the few natural sources of Gamma-oryzanol and Ferulic acid. Gamma-oryzanol is a rice bran derivative with two major active molecules, sterol and ferulic acid. Trials in the U.S.A., Japan and Australia have shown the positive results that gamma- oryzanol has on weight gain and performance. Gamma-oryzanol also stimulates the body's endocrine system resulting in increased metabolism of fat and increased synthesis of protein. This, in turn, leads to increased lean body mass ie - "increased muscle to fat ratio" with better muscle definition in the rump, neck and over the withers. Another study has shown gamma-oryzanol to reduce the risk of gastric ulcers caused by stress, while at the same time maintaining gastrointestinal motility. The gamma-oryzanol / ferulic acid molecule is a fat soluble material which means that like the fat soluble vitamins A, D, E & K, fat is required for it to be efficiently metabolised in the equine digestive tract. The gamma-oryzanol in rice bran oil is in its natural state and, therefore absorbed far more efficiently than powdered forms of gamma-oryzanol. Rice bran oil also contains tocotrienols (natures’ most active antioxidants) and is also an abundant source of the primary antioxidants (Vitamin E) including alpha, beta, gamma and delta tocopherol isomers as well as the most active of all antioxidants - the tocotrienols. The importance of natural antioxidants in rice bran oil cannot be underestimated as they serve to deactivate certain molecules known as free radicals. Free radicals are the natural by-products of many oxidative metabolic processes within cells. In horses, free radicals usually come in the form of O2, the oxide molecule and if allowed to go unchecked can cause damage to cell walls, certain cell structures, and genetic material within the cells. Hard working horses with high metabolic work rates produce large amounts of metabolic by-products, which include free radicals. The addition of antioxidants to the equine diet is of benefit in neutralizing free radicals and accordingly has a positive effect on muscle integrity, the immune system and indeed the general health of the horse. With the high calorie demands of elite performance horses, oils play an important role in maximizing feed efficiency due to their energy dense nature. Rice bran oil contains approximately 2.5 times more energy than most raw cereal grains. Rice bran oil is also almost entirely absorbed in the horses' small intestine resulting in a cool, non-heating form of energy that is safe to feed to all classes of horse. Being able to reduce the amount of grain required to meet a horses’ energy requirement by the addition of rice bran oil, reduces the 'sugar high' associated with high grain intake and subsequent behavioral problems. The high concentration of 'cool' energy provided by rice bran oil also makes it ideal for horses undertaking sustained aerobic activity such as endurance. This is largely due to the fact that the horses' body is particularly efficient in metabolising fat aerobically at this level of exercise intensity, and as such, produces less lactic acid. Older horses too can benefit from rice bran oil as a cool energy source particularly as it is easily digested in the small intestine. From a thermogenic (heat producing) point of view, the addition of rice bran oil will allow a horse to achieve its energy requirements with the production of less metabolic heat. This is of particular benefit to horses in warmer climates, and of course during summer. Please note that the use of Gamma Oryzanol my contravene competition rules.

Coconut A healthy oil, which was once believed to be unhealthy because of its high saturated fat content. It is now known that the fat in coconut oil is unique and different from other fats and possesses many healthy benefits. It is now being recognized as a nutritious health food - one of the healthy fats. One big difference between coconut oil and many other oils is its size. Most oils are long chain fatty acids or LCFA. But Coconut oil is a medium chain fatty acid, or MCFA. The vast majority of oils in our diets, whether they are saturated or unsaturated are made up of long-chain fatty acids (LCFA). More than 98 % of all the fatty acids consumed are long-chain fatty acids (LCFA). The size of the fatty acid is extremely important. Why? Because our bodies respond to, and metabolize, each fatty acid differently, depending on its size. So the effects of MCFA in coconut oil, are very different from those of the more common LCFA. MCFA are very different from LCFA. MCFA help to lower the risk of both atherosclerosis and heart disease. It is primarily due to the MCFA in coconut oil that makes it a healthy fat and beneficial to our health. There are only a very few good dietary sources of MCFA. By far the best sources are from coconut oil. A lot of research on the nutritional and medicinal benefits of coconut oil has surfaced in recent years. Much of that research has classified coconut oil as a "functional food," which provides health benefits over and beyond the basic nutrients. In other words, it is a healthy fat! specifically identifying lauric acid as a key ingredient in coconut oil. Coconut oil typically contains 49% Lauric Acid, 18% Myristic Acid, 8% Palmitic Acid, 8% Caprylic Acid, 7% Capric Acid, 6% Oleic Acid, 2% Stearic Acid and 2% Linoleic Acid (Enig 2000). Coconut oil is fundamentally dissimilar to many other fats typically fed to horses, in terms of fatty acid composition, degree of saturation and high content of medium chain fatty acids. Lauric acid has been scientifically proven for is antibiotic, antiviral, antifungal and antiprotozoal actions (Kneiflova et al 1992; Sutter, et al. 2000). Hence, coconut oil may have beneficial traits, which extend beyond the realm of simple nutrition.

Seabuckthorn Sea buckthorn is a deciduous, thorny plant that grows primarily in Europe and Asia. The oil of the sea buckthorn berry is extracted from either the pulp of the fruit or from the seeds. Clinical trials and scientific studies during the 20th century confirm a number of medicinal, nutritional and topical benefits of sea buckthorn oil that have been recognized around the world for centuries. Historic records indicate that the ancient Greeks as early as 212 B.C. knew about the healing properties of sea buckthorn, including the fruit, seed and oil. The Greeks used it in a diet for racehorses and thus it gets its name hippophae, which means "shiny horse." It is important to note that no one nutrient makes sea buckthorn a wonderful choice for health and wellness. Sea buckthorn has so many health promoting properties stemming from it’s vast nutritional profile that singling out any one component, such as the highly coveted Omega-7 fatty acid, is actually doing the Super Berry a dis-service. It’s the synergistic effects of well over 150 phytonutrients and active components that make this fruit so beneficial for health. The high levels of Omega-7 within sea buckthorn have been found to have amazing healing properties for the body, particularly tissue health. It rejuvenates and heals tissues inside the body. Omega 7 coats the gastrointestinal tract and reduces inflammation to soothe dietary distress and discomfort while nourishing mucous membranes. Sea buckthorn is host to a complex network of antioxidants, including Superoxide Dismutase (SOD). SOD is a super antioxidant that repairs cellular damage caused by free radicals. SOD helps reduce inflammation in the body that can lead to joint and gastrointestinal disorders. Sea Buckthorn contains unusually high amounts of Vitamins C and E, as well as flavanoids. The fantastically high carotene content of these berries results in their notable orange colouring. Vitamins C and E have been known to boost immunity, slow or prevent macular degeneration, and improve overall cardiovascular health. Flavanoids additionally help to fight free radicals. In total, these antioxidants have proven to be noted preventers of several forms of cancer. No other fruit has such a makeup, and very few known naturally occurring foods are so loaded with Vitamins C and E along with flavanoids and other essential fatty acids. The small, yellow-orange to red berry is an abundant source of vitamins, amino acids, fatty acids and 27 trace elements. Sea buckthorn oil contains many nutrients and bioactive substances, including 14 essential vitamins, polyphenols, carotenoids, flavonoids, essential fatty acids and trace elements including zinc, selenium, manganese and iron. Many of these constituents help build, restore and improve immune function.