# cool stance copra vs linseed



## weebarney (3 March 2013)

Looking for something to add a little weight on my old pony with cushings. He is currently on 3 mugs of linseed(recently upped from 2), speedibeet, handful of chaff, brewers yeast and a mineral supplement,(split into 2 feeds) I am tempted to try copra, does it add weight better than linseed?


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## Goldenstar (3 March 2013)

How much linseed in wieght are you giving him?


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## weebarney (3 March 2013)

havent weighed it yet but was wondering if copra would be better results? Does it make a difference if he has cushings as to what feed is best(his cushings is under control). I'll go to the garage aka feed room and weigh what i give....


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## weebarney (3 March 2013)

it will be around 525g between 2 feeds.


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## sleepingdragon10 (3 March 2013)

Coolstance Copra meal is lower in energy than linseed so I doubt it'd help in terms of weightgain for your pony.


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## SCMSL (3 March 2013)

Besides, copra meal is incredibly low in lysine and methyonine, the two amino-acids horses actually need to form muscle tissue. So basically its useless.


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## Roasted Chestnuts (3 March 2013)

better sticking with the linseed 

Id maybe add something with a little more protein as well as fat is all well and good but they need protein for bulk just as humans do


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## SCMSL (3 March 2013)

Best protein supplement is Alfalfa, either bagged or in hay form. High quality with an excellent amino-acid profile. You just need to be careful balancing out the diet so you don't end up with too much of a good thing!


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## Goldenstar (3 March 2013)

There's a limit to how much protein that a horse can process .
Linseed to high in both fat and protein so it good for muscle building and wieght gain but I would not feed more than 500 perhaps 600 grammes per day .
I add oats up to three kilos a day for hard work and speedibeet which I am ashamed to say I don't wieght so can't tell you how much I give in wieght as eight plastic cups does not help any one much .
But IMO the best thing to help a horse whose not in hard work to gain wieght is good quality hay or haylage .


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## weebarney (4 March 2013)

ok thanks for the replies, he gets good quality haylage as much as he wants but as he is missing some teeth i think he maybe isnt utilising it as well as he used to. Why do some people choose to feed copra if linseed is better?


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## Goldenstar (4 March 2013)

I have never fed copra but was curious and just looked it up it's 20% protein 8/12% oil and less than 11% NS carbs 
Linseed ( micronised ) is 23 % protein 35% oil and lower in sugars so it looks like a no brainier to stick with the linseed.

Perhaps some copra feeder will be along to tell us why it's fed.
Boiled barley is a good way to get condition on oldies but that might be a bad idea with his cushings so ask the vet if you want to try this.


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## chrissie1 (4 March 2013)

I am not a 'Copra feeder' as such.  But there has been the occasional horse that has got silly and spooky on linseed, defeating the object.  These horses have without fail been calmer and therefore, perhaps, gained a lot of weight on Copra.

I know it is lower in oil etc, as are the Linseed Lozenges which I have found useless.  I feed it alongside ad lib haylage, and a conditioning cube of some sort, usually Build Up which I find the least heating, and a vit/min supplement.


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## weebarney (4 March 2013)

chrissie1 said:



			I am not a 'Copra feeder' as such.  But there has been the occasional horse that has got silly and spooky on linseed, defeating the object.  These horses have without fail been calmer and therefore, perhaps, gained a lot of weight on Copra.

I know it is lower in oil etc, as are the Linseed Lozenges which I have found useless.  I feed it alongside ad lib haylage, and a conditioning cube of some sort, usually Build Up which I find the least heating, and a vit/min supplement.
		
Click to expand...

thanks i have been trying to avoid commercial mixes etc but i think i will have to start adding a little of something like build up.


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## Goldenstar (4 March 2013)

weebarney said:



			thanks i have been trying to avoid commercial mixes etc but i think i will have to start adding a little of something like build up.
		
Click to expand...

Why not try micronised barley or boil some yourself rather than a conditioning feed at least then you know what you are feeding.
Or soaked  oats.


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## amandap (4 March 2013)

What about increasing his beet and even forage if not add lib already? I do believe some horses with Cushings have problems keeping weight on though. More frequent small meals can help if practical. Using yea sacc as opposed to the brewers yeast might help his digestion as well.


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## criso (4 March 2013)

I feed it as well as linseed. 

I am restricted in what I can feed as I have incredibly high calcium where I am so cannot feed alfalfa or sugarbeet which cuts out alot of feed.  The horses in question have ad lib forage but aren't especially good doers (not poor doers though)  so am looking for a reasonable level of calories and protein and enough bulk to hide supplements.

The Copra is not only low in calcium, it has reasonable levels of phosphorous so works with the forage profile really well.  

I use the Copra as a feed which is relatively high in protein and oil for slow release energy and feed up to 1kg depending on the horse.  I've just never thought it appropriate to feed Linseed at those sort of levels, I feed Linseed at supplement levels about 150g daily.

I wouldn't feed Barley  which at 55% is too high in starch but have fed Oats for more instant release energy but only when they are work.


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## unbalanced (5 March 2013)

My cushings pony gets blue chip, one cup linseed, milk thistle, yeasacc, minerals, lots of speedibeet (2/3 round scoop/day dry) joint supplement and cider apple vinegar. She also gets ad lib hay and eats her bed. 
The vinegar can boost appetite, she was losing weight from a liver problem which the milk thistle helps and yeasacc makes the digestion more efficient. She just likes blue chip and I'm a soft touch but it makes her eat her other food. Also she does tricks for it. 
Can you increase the speedibeet - it's an amazing fibre source, especially if their teeth aren't great.


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## sweepeep (17 November 2015)

I feel awful!!!!!

One massive mistake I made recently was to give my TB Copra Coolstance on top of his hay, chaff, micronized linseed, additives and supplement diet recently. He dropped weight like there was no tomorrow and looks awful.  I wish I'd seen the post on this forum before I decided to go with what everyone had told me would be so good for him. I have now taken the Copra out of his feed and instantly he seemed happier. It was noticeable within 24 hours! 

I have now upped the linseed to 1 mug morning and night. From now on I'm going to keep things simple...


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## NiceNeverNaughty (17 November 2015)

very interested to read the above as i had no difference with linseed but found copra excellent as do a lot of other people?


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## BORODIN (17 November 2015)

St hippolyt do a feed specifically for ponies with cushings and its fabulous 
Our pony has been on it for 4 years and looks amazing you would never know he had ever had it


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## BlackRider (17 November 2015)

Have you thought about feeding alfa beet instead of the speedibeet - that might help.


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## sweepeep (5 December 2015)

I posted on 17th Nov and my horse was a bag of bones as I'd been feeding him Copra & Linseed. He has put on some weight since I stopped feeding the copra. I also found out he had a bacterial infection which didn't help but he is on the mend now.

So pleased I read this post!


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## curio (6 December 2015)

what about some grass nuts can soak them so he can eat them easily


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## JillA (6 December 2015)

A friend who has a really metabolically challenged horse and does a lot of research told me recently that it has been found that copra can cause a high insulin spike, even though it is apparently low in NSCs. She also said micronized linseed can have high starch levels so best using the oil - that said, my horse has had micronized linseed for many months and is on Prascend but tested normal for insulin at the end of August. 
My TB who is a really poor doer has improved on yeasacc (or any other probiotic) and barley/mix. I am about to try Saracen Releve, heard good things about it as low starch - anyone else used it?


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## BORODIN (10 December 2015)

not used the Saracen but the hippolyt equigard is 3% starch


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