Feeding oats...

[Christmas Crumpet]

I feed my old hunter A&P Calm & Condition with a scoop of rolled oats and his supplements.

When I am poo picking, I can see his poo is full of oats which clearly have gone right through him. What a waste.

Does anyone else suffer this problem? How do I go about rectifying it?!!!

 

[fatpiggy]

Horses have very poorly developed and highly inefficient guts, hence they are so long. Lots of them pass perfectly recognisable food items but I would agree that the older horses are even less efficient. Have you tried soaking the feed to soften grains? He might do better on something like barley rings which being cooked are much more digestible.

 

[JillA]

I feed my old hunter A&P Calm & Condition with a scoop of rolled oats and his supplements.

When I am poo picking, I can see his poo is full of oats which clearly have gone right through him. What a waste.

Does anyone else suffer this problem? How do I go about rectifying it?!!!

I had that problem and remember thinking it was an expensive way to feed the birds. The answer is to find oats that have been properly rolled to break the husk. Meanwhile if you have got a quantity to use up you could soak them to soften the husk so he can digest it

 

[NellRosk]

I feel naked oats, think they are sold by dengie and I soak them to soften them and make them easier to digest. Could always try them?

 

[claribella]

You could also switch to using micronized linseed which helps maintain weight but has lots of other benefits too. Its dead easy for them to digest too.

 

[ester]

are you seeing whole oats or just the husks? naked oats are huskless (but as such are quicker to digest).

 

[madlady]

Have you tried him with crushed oats to see if he does the same?

it could be that he's finding them difficult to digest but if he is the same on crushed oats then he might be better with something completely different