I'm a numpty ~ Can someone explain about oat straw please?

Porkie

Porkie

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I posted yesterday about my overweight 29yo and lots of people mentioned about bulking out his forage with oat straw.

This may be a bit of a numpty question but what exactly is oat straw and how do I know it is oat straw and not some other kind of straw?

Also, is it totally safe to feed (I though straw was more for bedding) - as he's an old boy I don't want to feed him anything that might be more difficult for his gut to break down.

but........I want to help him lose some weight !!
 
I think you can just ask around farmers/suppliers for oat straw as far as I know? We have had it in the past as bedding, but had to request not to have it as my horse was eating it, and I think sending himself a little doolally, must have been some oats left in it?!
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Oat straw is what it says on the tin, so to speak! It's used to bulk out feeds, such as Hi-Fi Lite, many chaffs, low calorie feeds...

Barley straw is more yellow than oat straw, but if I'm honest, I can only tell the two if they're side by side! With that in mind, your best bet is to ask! I've used oat straw for Henry when he was fat, with no ill effects, but if you're worried for teeth reasons (it does take a little more chewing), see if you can find a chaff cutter or buy it chopped. I just fed it shaken out like hay, with hay alongside it. It did the trick!
 
Porkie - straw has a much lower nutrtional content than hay, which is why it is sometimes fed to overweight horses. Oat straw is slightly softer and more palatable than barley or wheat straw. If you decide to use it, start by just replacing part of his hay ration and making the changeover gradually - over at least two weeks, I would say. Do keep an eye on him - straw is harder to chew than hay and if he is an old boy, he may find it problematic as his teeth will not be in perfect condition, so make sure he is eating it happily.

As far as supply is concerned, it will just be a question of asking around!
 
Oat straw is what the feed manufacturers put into their chaff to lower the calorie content, but they chop it up fine so it is easy to find. You get oat straw direct from farmers I guess, but they would use it to feed their own animals, cattle and sheep. Or they supply it on contract to the feed manufacturers.

It depends where you are, as there are parts of the country where hardly any oats are grown. If you ask at your local feed merchant they might be able to put you in touch with a local farmer. Get a small amount first and very gradually introduce it to your horse to see if he can cope with it.
 
I also have a question about feeding straw "porkie" i hope you dont mind me adding it on here.
I live in Scotland and we have had snow on the ground for the past 8 weeks. So you could imagine the amount of money im spending on hay for my 2 that are living out!! They are both good-doers and i was wondering if it would be a good idea to feed straw to fill them up a bit more and to may be try and stretch out my hay?
 
You can certainly do this Gleek but the same caveats apply: make sure the horses are happy to eat it and add it very slowly to give them time to adjust. Make sure it is good quality - choose it the same way as you would choose hay i.e. clean, sweet smelling and not dusty. Mix in a little with the hay to start with and then increase it over a couple of weeks.
 
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