Question

My horse is prone to both squamous and glandular ulcers, with the glandular ulcers being more difficult to clear. I want to add a source of omega-3s to his diet. Which is better for this, EO-3 or ReSolvin EQ? From what I can tell from the product literature, both have the omega-3s EPA and DHA and ReSolvin EQ also contains the omega-3 DPA and the omega-6 GLA. I would assume more long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids would be better? Any insight would be helpful.

Answer

EO-3 contains EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid), while ReSolvin EQ contains EPA, DHA, and GLA (gamma-linolenic acid). Both contain DPA (docosapentaenoic acid), though interest in DPA is minimal when compared to the other fatty acids.

The three fatty acids in ReSolvin EQ (EPA, DHA, GLA) are known to have synergistic effects that benefit numerous inflammatory conditions in humans. Research in horses showed strong evidence of prevention and resolution of gastric (squamous) ulcers in racehorses given ReSolvin EQ. This is thought to be due to the production of anti-inflammatory eicosanoids formed through the enzymatic oxidation of polyunsaturated fatty acids. The GLA in ReSolvin EQ increases DGLA production in tissues that can, in turn, be converted into PGE1. Misoprostol, a synthetic analogue of PGE1, is a medicine used to treat glandular ulcers in horses. Although horses in the study were not examined for glandular ulcers, it stands to reason that ReSolvin EQ would benefit those as well.

Want to know more? Read the peer-reviewed research. This research paper goes into some detail on feeding short-chain and long-chain fatty acids. We believe feeding long-chain fatty acids produces significant benefits over short-chain fatty acids as horses are not able to effectively elongate short-chain fatty acids like LA (linoleic acid) and ALA (alpha-linolenic acid) to long-chain fatty acids.