Feeding Flaxseed

purpose of grinding fresh flax straight into a horses feed very gourmet!. It is possible to purchase preground and stabilised flaxseeds if grinding your own is not an option.
Does flaxseed have to be boiled before feeding?
Tradition says that flaxseed must be boiled before feeding it to a horse because of the risk of Prussic Acid or hydrogen cyanide poisoning. Anyone who has boiled flaxseed knows how messy it gets and for most the effort and mess are too much to continue persisting. Well good news ... flaxseed it seems can be fed safely without being boiled
Flaxseed contains compounds called cyanogenic glycosides. When the flaxseeds are chewed up by a horse these cyanogenic glycosides come into contact with an enzyme βglycosidase which converts it to hydrogen cyanide which can then lead to cyanide poisoning. HOWEVER the βglycosidase enzyme is destroyed by the acidic environment of the horses gastric stomach meaning the cyanide is never produced in quantities large enough to cause any problems. This means you can feed flaxseed without cooking it first.
A study published in the Canadian Journal of Veterinary Research in 2002 looking at the ability of flaxseed to reduce the inflammation associated with culicoides hypersensitivity sweet itch or Queensland itch reported that they fed 1 lb of flaxseed per 1000 lb of bodyweight to horses or 0 5 kg per 500 kg bodyweight over a period of 42 days with no negative sideeffects being observed. With this dose rate being much higher than the normal 1 to 2 cups fed per day it can be concluded that flaxseed is safe to feed to horses without cooking it first.
What about soaking it?
It is possible that soaking flaxseed may actually make it dangerous as soaking the seeds would to some extent allow the βglycosidase enzyme to come into contact with the cyanogenic glycosides and allow for the production of hydrogen cyanide. So it is recommended you do not soak flaxseed before feeding.
Can flaxseed meal be fed?
Flaxseed meal is the high protein 32 meal left over after the flaxseed oil has been extracted from the seed. Flaxseed meal can be fed to horses however because the meal has had most of the oil extracted its primary use in a horses diet is as a protein supplement. The risk of cyanide poisoining from flaxseed meal is a little unclear. Because the seed is crushed during the oil extraction process it is possible