All horses can benefit from the protein quality hemp seeds provide. Even if your horse is overweight, improving the protein quality will allow the Amino Acids in the diet to be used to produce and repair body proteins. If only one source of protein is fed, many Amino Acids will not be utilized and will instead, be converted to glucose, fat, or burned for energy – all of which are not how protein should be used.
Hemp seeds are high in beneficial fats, including Essential Fatty Acids Linoleic Acid (n Omega 6) and Alpha Linolenic Acid (ALA) (an Omega 3). They also contain Gamma Linolenic Acid (GLA) which is an omega 6 but actually decreases inflammation, unlike too much Linoleic Acid.
Choose from the following:
Hemp Seed Oil
All the goodness of 100% organically grown (cold-pressed hemp seed oil, offering Omega 3, Omega 6, Omega 9, Gamma Linolenic Acid (GLA) and Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA) to reduce inflammation. This is an excellent way to offer your horse more calories needed to weight maintenance, and increased energy needs.
Hemp Seed Meal 37% – Non-GMO
This product is considered a hemp seed “meal,” meaning some of the fat has been removed. Whole hemp seeds, with the hulls, are cold pressed to extract the oil and then ground into a powder. Protein still remains at ~37%. Choose this is you do not want your horse to have as many fat calories but want to offer a good protein source to boost the overall protein quality in the diet.
Hemp Seed Protein – 50% – Non-GMO
This product is considered a hemp seed “protein,” meaning some of the fat has been removed. Whole hemp seeds, with the hulls, are cold pressed to extract the oil and then ground into a fine powder. The refining removes much of the fibre and increases the percentage protein found in the powder. The Protein that is at ~50%. Choose this is you do not want your horse to have as many fat calories but want to offer a higher protein source to boost the overall protein quality in the diet.
Dehulled Hemp Seeds – Non-GMO
This is considerably higher in fat than the Hemp Seed Meal since none of the fat has been removed, providing ~43% fat with ~30% protein. This a beautiful whole food product, just the heart of the seed without the hull, providing high quality protein and full fat , so you horse’s protein status as well as additional calorie needs, can be met for exercise, performance, or for the underweight horse. Dehulled Hemp Seeds, without the outer hull, are far more concentrated, so you can feed less than the powders.