Feeding oats

[Fuzzypuff]

I'm looking to move my boy over to straights as I want to remove processed stuff from his diet as much as possible. The plan (if he will eat this!!!) is to go to Copra, Readigrass, Linseed and then Oats if he needs them (and if they don't blow his brain).

I think I remember reading that it is better to feed crushed/rolled/bruised oats than whole as they are more digestible, is that correct? What are the advantages and disadvantages of each type of oat you can get? Saracen also do Superior oats that apparently don't need crushing?

Can anyone recommend a good "brand" of oats please? Ideally I'd like organic but none of them seem to be - I need to use the current supplier as horse is on livery. They do Saracen, D&H, Dengie.

Thanks

 

[Tnavas]

Oats are one of the grains that can be fed whole.
They have a soft fibrous husk which is easy to chew and digest.

What you need to consider is how long it will take you to get through a sack of rolled (best) oats as once the husk is broken the grain starts losing its goodness, generally its advisable to use up the whole sack within a couple of weeks.

If you are concerned about feeding the grain whole, pour some boiling water over the grain and allow to cool. At one time oats were the best food for racehorses as the energy and fibre were an ideal ratio.

Contrary to popular belief oats don't 'Hot' horses up at all, they liven them up in proportion to the quantity fed. Like any feed if you feed too much and don't work accordingly you will end up with a lively horse. Getting a horse fit can also liven it up.

If you are after a grain for weight increase or maintenance then crushed Barley is ideal. Barley needs to be fed with chaff or beet pulp as it is not a fibrous grain.

For added fibre feed one of the beet pulp varieties, beet contains a great supply of Calcium as it is used during the processing of the beet pulp

Be careful about falling for the 'better oat' - they are all very much the same in feed value. Look for plump, sweet smelling grains. Oats are long, sleek and have a wee tuft at one end. Barley is diamond shaped with a wrinkly husk. Both grains should be free from dust and should smell nice.

Good on you for going back to straights. There is a lot of damage being done to our horses by feeding all the processed foods.

Make sure that your feed contains a good allround vitamin and mineral supplement or at least access to a good mineral lick.

 

[Fuzzypuff]

Oats are one of the grains that can be fed whole.
They have a soft fibrous husk which is easy to chew and digest.

What you need to consider is how long it will take you to get through a sack of rolled (best) oats as once the husk is broken the grain starts losing its goodness, generally its advisable to use up the whole sack within a couple of weeks.

If you are concerned about feeding the grain whole, pour some boiling water over the grain and allow to cool. At one time oats were the best food for racehorses as the energy and fibre were an ideal ratio.

Contrary to popular belief oats don't 'Hot' horses up at all, they liven them up in proportion to the quantity fed. Like any feed if you feed too much and don't work accordingly you will end up with a lively horse. Getting a horse fit can also liven it up.

If you are after a grain for weight increase or maintenance then crushed Barley is ideal. Barley needs to be fed with chaff or beet pulp as it is not a fibrous grain.

For added fibre feed one of the beet pulp varieties, beet contains a great supply of Calcium as it is used during the processing of the beet pulp

Be careful about falling for the 'better oat' - they are all very much the same in feed value. Look for plump, sweet smelling grains. Oats are long, sleek and have a wee tuft at one end. Barley is diamond shaped with a wrinkly husk. Both grains should be free from dust and should smell nice.

Good on you for going back to straights. There is a lot of damage being done to our horses by feeding all the processed foods.

Make sure that your feed contains a good allround vitamin and mineral supplement or at least access to a good mineral lick.

Thank you

I don't think we will get through them very quickly as I can't imagine feeding more than a couple of cups a day, so I guess whole will be the best option. I don't think anyone else on the yard will use them.

Would pouring boiling water over the oats not kill off some of the nutrients? Is there a disadvantage to feeding whole?

I don't really need weight increase as I think I can manage that with the copra/readigrass/linseed and good amino acid supplements on top. It is just if he needs a bit extra that I will add the oats. Also he is a fussy feeder so adding oats may encourage him to eat up. Unfortuantely he doesn't eat unmolassed beet, that was rejected even though I did persevere with trying!

He will of course have a complete vit/min supplement, amongst the others he gets! This is another reason for going to straights as currently he gets a couple "complete" feeds but not at the required rate so it is hard to work out how much to supplement.

 

[leflynn]

I only feed mine half a scoop a day atm for a bit extra oomph and up it as and when needed. I buy micronized oats as they are fine to feed straight with no soaking and last a good few weeks once open (plus cheap as chips), he is a sensitive ex racer but seems totally fine on them (been on them about a year)

 

[criso]

I feed my tbs on a similar regime to yours. Copra, Oats, Linseed and Bran.
I adjust the quantities according to work and condition.

However I wouldn't recommend Bran unless like me you know you are feeding forage very very high in calcium and low in phosphorous.

I just buy the local own brand oats from my feed dealers.

 

[ILuvCowparsely]

I'm looking to move my boy over to straights as I want to remove processed stuff from his diet as much as possible. The plan (if he will eat this!!!) is to go to Copra, Readigrass, Linseed and then Oats if he needs them (and if they don't blow his brain).

I think I remember reading that it is better to feed crushed/rolled/bruised oats than whole as they are more digestible, is that correct? What are the advantages and disadvantages of each type of oat you can get? Saracen also do Superior oats that apparently don't need crushing?

Can anyone recommend a good "brand" of oats please? Ideally I'd like organic but none of them seem to be - I need to use the current supplier as horse is on livery. They do Saracen, D&H, Dengie.



Thanks

In my opinion Tiger oats are the best http://www.gwfnutrition.com/prod_equine_tigeroats/index.htm

 

[Tnavas]

I feed my tbs on a similar regime to yours. Copra, Oats, Linseed and Bran.
I adjust the quantities according to work and condition.

However I wouldn't recommend Bran unless like me you know you are feeding forage very very high in calcium and low in phosphorous.

I just buy the local own brand oats from my feed dealers.

Have you actually had your grazing analysed as coming from Bucks on the Chilterns we still fed Limestone flour despite being on chalk. Hertfordshire is mostly Boulder clay with a small part including the Chiltern hills.

Be very careful feeding any bran as it contains phytates that prevent the absorption of calcium.

Fuzzypuff feeding Molassed Sugarbeet will not hurt, the added molasses is minimal, and is actually added to make the beet more palatable.

In a 20kg sack of Sugarbeet you have just 1kg of sugar, which when you consider how much you feed per feed is minimal. The whole bag contains just 2900 calories total of sugar.

 

[LCH611]

I seem to recall that you can get organic oats mail order from Thunderbrook? Their website always used to have some quite useful info about sprouting oats as well

 

[nikkimariet]

Fig gets 2.5 scoops of rolled soaked oats a day, not blown his brain.

They are rolled and we soak overnight to make them easier to digest, using our local farms own crop.

I'd be wary of using any kind of beet, especially with Georges tummy issues.

 

[criso]

Have you actually had your grazing analysed as coming from Bucks on the Chilterns we still fed Limestone flour despite being on chalk. Hertfordshire is mostly Boulder clay with a small part including the Chiltern hills.

Be very careful feeding any bran as it contains phytates that prevent the absorption of calcium.

Yes I have had both grazing and hay supply analysed.

I have actually done this in 4 areas now (all in Herts) and all have been high in calcium, though some were only high as opposed to very high. 3 were in the London clay basin, 1 was in a pocket that is on a lighter soil.

I even had a new analysis done when I moved to my current yard which is only about 3/4 mile from the last one as I wasn't going to trust that just because it's down the road it is the same. It was almost identical except Manganese as it turned out.

The bottom line is as soon as I adjust to the forage (I feed a standard mineral mix while I'm waiting) I get a big improvement in hoof quality, you can see the tighter growth where it changes.

 

[Fuzzypuff]

In my opinion Tiger oats are the best http://www.gwfnutrition.com/prod_equine_tigeroats/index.htm

Thanks but they are fortified with a vit/mineral pellet and are therefore not the unprocessed feed I'm looking for. Which is a real shame as I would love to feed black oats if I could get hold of them.

Fuzzypuff feeding Molassed Sugarbeet will not hurt, the added molasses is minimal, and is actually added to make the beet more palatable.

In a 20kg sack of Sugarbeet you have just 1kg of sugar, which when you consider how much you feed per feed is minimal. The whole bag contains just 2900 calories total of sugar.

Thanks, I know overall the added sugar is minimal however molasses is one of the things I am looking to cut out.

I seem to recall that you can get organic oats mail order from Thunderbrook? Their website always used to have some quite useful info about sprouting oats as well

Thanks, yes they do, but I need to get feed from our supplier as my horse is on livery. Ordering from Thunderbrook would be cost prohibitive unfortunately.

Fig gets 2.5 scoops of rolled soaked oats a day, not blown his brain.

They are rolled and we soak overnight to make them easier to digest, using our local farms own crop.

I'd be wary of using any kind of beet, especially with Georges tummy issues.

Thanks, that's the other reason I am not looking to feed beet!

 

[NZJenny]

I feed whole oats and have never had any issues. I start mine at 250 grams per day and go from there depending on the weather/work/age etc. When I was endurance riding I used to soak them for extra fluid uptake, and have also done this for old horses. Just cover in water, in a covered container to keep the wild life out, and pour off the excess water when you want to feed, 12-24 hours is fine.

My horses do well on them and my pocket is a lot better off!