Wild1 - 2019-01-06 7:26 PM Looking to add one of these to my feeding program. Which one is better for hoof, mane and tail and help with weight? I currently feed a really good alfalfa/grass hay and stratedy. Not wanting to buy a bunch of supplements, but I have a couple that could just use a little extra something, especially when kept barefoot all winter.

winwillows - 2019-01-08 4:16 PM

These are two widely different ingredients. Flax (depending on form, source and stability) can provide a good source of Omega 3 fatty acids, and digestible vegetable fat if it is full fat, and not defatted flax seed meal in which the majority of the fat has been removed to make flax oil. A full fat flax source can be a good addition to the program if you feed grain in your horses diet, because grain generates a poor Omega 6 to Omega 3 ratio. If you are going to feed flax, I recommend whole flax seeds or stabilized full fat flax meal.
Biotin is a water soluble B vitamin. It is important to understand that a horse will make all the biotin that they need as a byproduct of the beneficial bacteria in the hind gut in the right situation. This requires a healthy, fully functional hind gut and the health microbial population that results from that. If you feed grain based feeds at levels of more than two pounds per feeding your horse will likely not make all the biotin that it needs because of hind gut inefficiency. If feeding grain, additional biotin in the program may be worthwhile. If you do not feed grain, you will not see any improvement from added Biotin since the horse is already producing all that they can use.
Most biotin supplements are slightly misleading in what they actually provide much less biotin than you may think. Often times the amount listed is actually not pure biotin but biotin on a carrier. These can be as little as 2% actual biotin. Buyer beware.
Hopes this helps.
Win