Most digestible oats or competition-type feed

[milliepops]

ARGGHH I'm at the end of my tether with the crows scratching through Kira's droppings to get the oats that make it through whole...

I have a bag of Topspec Turbo on the go which she seems to digest well, there are no oats in her poos when she has that then but they are more like porridge oats & Soya with no husks in sight.

Because she's on holiday this week I didn't want to keep on with the Turbo so have popped her back on the normal bruised oats she was on before, and here we are, back in poo picking hell with some whole oats coming through untouched.

So in conclusion, there's no point in me continuing to feed the normal oats that my feedshop has because she's not getting the full value of them. The question is, is there a better alternative? I will have to order in anything but do have access to most brands - so, tiger oats? Saracen Superioats? Anything else I've not thought of?

The Topspec Turbo will do if that's the best option, but it's quite pricey.

Or is there a complete feed she could have instead of her oats/balancer? All the ones I've seen that look promising have lucerne/alfalfa which makes her itch. She keeps condition well on her grass/hay, it's the quick release energy and fizz that I need for her work now.

 

[ihatework]

Naked oats?
That will be my next go-to with mine I think who is having similar issues. I can’t feed turbo unfortunately at my yard

 

[BenvardenRach2]

I feed my boy Allen & Page power and performance, it has defo given him a little bit more of a spark when ridden which is what we needed. He is a good doer so fed it carefully to start with - was scared he may put on weight but hes looking fab and hasn't put on weight at all. I know people worry about the startch content however its 1/2 of the starch content in turboflakes! (20% P&P, 40% Turbo)

https://www.allenandpage.com/product/power-performance/

 

[milliepops]

Naked oats?
That will be my next go-to with mine I think who is having similar issues. I can’t feed turbo unfortunately at my yard

thanks IHW, struggling to find any round here, I think the Saracen ones are naked so I can ask one of the feed shops to order in. Do you know of any others? all the own-brand ones I can get easily are a similar kind of rolled/bruised offering.

 

[milliepops]

I feed my boy Allen & Page power and performance, it has defo given him a little bit more of a spark when ridden which is what we needed. He is a good doer so fed it carefully to start with - was scared he may put on weight but hes looking fab and hasn't put on weight at all. I know people worry about the startch content however its 1/2 of the starch content in turboflakes! (20% P&P, 40% Turbo)

https://www.allenandpage.com/product/power-performance/

Thanks, ingredients suggest it's mainly peas and beans that are supplying the oomph? I'm not worried by the starch tbh, she does well on it and gets ad lib forage to even out her ration. my WB can eat grass nuts and not a lot else but the little welsh is totally different! The more "go" the better.

 

[ihatework]

thanks IHW, struggling to find any round here, I think the Saracen ones are naked so I can ask one of the feed shops to order in. Do you know of any others? all the own-brand ones I can get easily are a similar kind of rolled/bruised offering.

I don’t, but only because I’m just using up my current oats - just looked up Saracen and yes they say naked. I’ll be interested to hear how you get on with them

**IHW just recovering from BD and needing a rocket up backside**

 

[JillA]

I struggled to find naked oats - several firms do them but Wynnstay ordered some for me several weeks in a row and nothing came. I use micronised or cooked barley instead, seems to be well digested by my poor doer ex racer and keeps his ribs covered like nothing else I have tried with him.

 

[milliepops]

I don’t, but only because I’m just using up my current oats - just looked up Saracen and yes they say naked. I’ll be interested to hear how you get on with them

**IHW just recovering from BD and needing a rocket up backside**

I will report back. I nearly had a tantrum this morning when it took me 30 mins to scrape up the fragments from 6 droppings in the field Those damn crows know what's what because they don't bother with Salty's poos. The half-bag of bruised oats is going up to the oldies, they will think it's Christmas. They don't get poo picked so I don't care whether they can digest them or not!!

 

[JillA]

You could try soaking them - that will soften the husk, might be enough. Wasn't with mine but if you still have some bruised oats worth a try

 

[milliepops]

thanks for the suggestion Jill, didn't make a jot of difference sadly.

 

[ester]

all rolled/bruised oats are definitely not equal either. The better ones I would only be seeing the husks in droppings.

tiger oats taste really nice (not really helping am I )

 

[milliepops]

not really ester

I got some direct from the farm a few years ago that were beautiful golden things and crimped rather than bruised/rolled... they were loads better. But can't normally get them.

 

[Britestar]

Tiger oats or any kind of veteran mix. I have always found that that is some kind of rocket fuel!

 

[HufflyPuffly]

Outside the box but micronised linseed has a good protein and energy count I think, certainly it's all I give Topaz if she needs any extra (happens twice a year at coat changing season :lol.

Otherwise I've always just fed rolled oats and never seen the crows go mad for Doodle's poos, *wonders what else Doodle eats that they don't like*...

PS I did feed flaked cereals for a while for Doodle, they were most definite rocket fuel when Topaz accidentally got a handful :eek3:!

 

[ester]

So a bit left field but I was just pondering peas and found this if you scroll through the comments.

better than topsec

http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/foru...led-Peas-and-for-what-reason-and-Live-Yoghurt

 

[Lovethebeach]

I use soaked naked oats for mine, delivered from Equi Supermarket, feed about half what I was giving rolled oats and he really enjoys them. BUT birds still pick apart the poo :-(

 

[WelshD]

I'm not sure if oat groats are the same as naked oats but they are very cheap and on my list of generic 'plain packaging' straights (I work in a feed shop) they would be much cheaper than branded versions

Another option may be to look at Agrobs who do not use alfalfa, my allergic pony has the hay flakes but for more energy they do a feed that's maize based and also something called 'green oats' that may be worth investigating

 

[milliepops]

So a bit left field but I was just pondering peas and found this if you scroll through the comments.

better than topsec

http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/foru...led-Peas-and-for-what-reason-and-Live-Yoghurt

thanks, yes I had thought about peas, an old skool YO used to feed straights and her comp horses had peas and flaked maize to spark them up...

Thanks everyone for the suggestions, I will see what I can get hold of and experiment a bit

She's had a very boring bowl of sugarbeet for tea tonight just to spite the crows

 

[Squeak]

Tiger oats or any kind of veteran mix. I have always found that that is some kind of rocket fuel!

Second tiger oats

 

[ester]

^^^ see it might have been useful to know they taste nice

 

[milliepops]

^^^ see it might have been useful to know they taste nice

Kira eats EVERYTHING but I'll consider them for my breakfast porridge now that I know.

 

[chaps89]

I can recommend Saracen Re-Leve for adding some pep. The ingredients are fairly reasonable too, especially if she has a sensitive tummy at all.

 

[milliepops]

thanks chaps, she LOVES it, (that's how we overcame the loading issue because she'd follow a bucket of that anywhere ) but it's got lucerne pellets in sadly, don't want to set off the itching again.

 

[Archangel]

I hate to say it but the crows rootle through my horses' droppings and they don't get oats. I have a good recipe for Pan Fried Crow.

 

[Tiddlypom]

Mine aren't on any whole grains either, just chaff, micronised linseed, salt and supplements, and the crows still scatter their droppings everywhere.

 

[SEL]

Mine aren't on any whole grains either, just chaff, micronised linseed, salt and supplements, and the crows still scatter their droppings everywhere.

And mine. Plus the farmer has guinea fowl and they scatter it everywhere.

 

[milliepops]

we must have really bright crows, because they don't bother with Salty's and today Kira's were mostly undisturbed!

 

[Quadro]

Barley rings work well. Can feed them as they are or in a mash