Can feeding straw cause ulcers?

[TotalMadgeness]

Hi

I give my big guy oat straw because he is prone to obesity and thus laminitis. The oat straw is really the only thing that keeps him occupied and keeps him trim (along with exercise obviously!). He gets about 3 slices a day which is washed through to remove any dust and he always leaves at least a slice's worth on the floor (he picks out the softer stuff and leaves the big stalky stuff). He also gets about a slice of compressed timothy/rye mix haylage (about 5Kg) most of which is fed at night. (Haylage is fed because he can get a cough plus this haylage has low sugar content) He gets 4 to 8 hours of daily turnout. He gets a handful of chopped oat straw chaff in his feeds along with speedibeet, micronised linseed & a balancer. The oat straw I give him is the best quality I can find i.e. there is no crap in it.

So yesterday on my FB feed I saw a Haygain advert and in there it said straw can cause ulcers.

I googled this and found another feed manufacturer's page where it mentioned a study in 2009 which found feeding straw is 4.5 times likely to cause ulcers. I would need to find the actual study in order to get to the detail in case this claim is 'overstated'.

Its just that I've got the vet coming out on Monday because I think my boy may have a sore tummy (see my other thread about him standing with his head down). He's been fine the last few days with no signs of anything amiss - but this is normal - one day he's fine another day he's looking uncomfortable. In general he is bright as a button, moving well and looking very healthy. Physio says there is no problem with his neck/poll/thoracic sling etc.

Just to add he was getting 2 x danilon a day and I have reduced this 1 a day with the aim of coming off it. He was getting this for bone spavin but after treatment with osphos vet wanted me to reduce the dose after a few months. So I'm in that process now.

ANYWAY.
Has anyone had any actual experience with oat straw and ulcers ??

 

[Lintel]

Hmm interesting, following with interest as I have recently started feeding straw.

I'm sure it's better than standing with an empty tummy for hours on end after gorging on all their hay/haylage. Also it must be better than having an obese horse or pony.

I think the pros would outweigh the cons being the risks for me, would be interesting to read the study though!

 

[dorsetladette]

I can't answer your question but very interested in other peoples responses as I keep 2 large nets of straw hung in my shelter for them to pick at in between feeds/haynets to help keep tummy's moving and warm. I do this because I have a pony with no off switch.

 

[rabatsa]

I have been feeding barley straw for years with no sign of ulcers.

 

[DD]

I feed oat straw in a net and also as chaff. no problems. I expect more info would be required from non biased sources. maybe an email to the AHT would shed some light ?

 

[AnShanDan]

I use barley straw for bedding and my horses often pick at it, so I was interested to see this research.
It looks like this may be the study referred to:
Risk factors associated with equine gastric ulceration syndrome (EGUS) in 201 horses in Denmark
It found the following:
Three variables were significantly (P<0.05) associated with EGUS §2: straw being the only forage available; exceeding 2 g/kg bwt of starch intake/day or §1 g/kg bwt/meal; and water not being available in the turn out paddock. Risk of NG §2 significantly increased when straw was the only forage available, 1 g/kg bwt of starch/meal was exceeded, water was not available in the turnout paddock and the interval between forage feeding was <6 h.

So, the finding was that when straw was the ONLY forage available there was a correlation with the finding of EGUS and this seems to have been extrapolated/misquoted in some literature into "feeding straw".

 

[TotalMadgeness]

I use barley straw for bedding and my horses often pick at it, so I was interested to see this research.
It looks like this may be the study referred to:
Risk factors associated with equine gastric ulceration syndrome (EGUS) in 201 horses in Denmark
It found the following:
Three variables were significantly (P<0.05) associated with EGUS §2: straw being the only forage available; exceeding 2 g/kg bwt of starch intake/day or §1 g/kg bwt/meal; and water not being available in the turn out paddock. Risk of NG §2 significantly increased when straw was the only forage available, 1 g/kg bwt of starch/meal was exceeded, water was not available in the turnout paddock and the interval between forage feeding was <6 h.

So, the finding was that when straw was the ONLY forage available there was a correlation with the finding of EGUS and this seems to have been extrapolated/misquoted in some literature into "feeding straw".

Thank you that makes much more sense!