Oat straw with heads on

[MochaDun]

Excuse my ignorance but presumably if it still has heads on, this is effectively like feeding your horse oats? Should most of the heads come off when it is cut?

 

[carthorse]

Well the oats should have come out of the husks as that is the most valuable part of the crop. Oat straw is then often fed as a high fibre feed. It can be used as bedding but is usually more expensive and may well be eaten

 

[SatansLittleHelper]

Is it safe to give horses oat straw to eat..?
I have always thought it could cause colic (Im not going to pretend to be an expert lol), if it is safe to give could it be used along side hay..??

 

[MochaDun]

Thanks - the oats were from the previous year and think a grass mix was then sown in the same field this year so it's a bit of a mix but quite a lot of the straw still has husks with oats in them as it was then just cut as hay.