Oats and Calmer - Self Defeating?

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Evelynmary

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To get the energy levels I require from my competition horse I feed oats. With the recent high winds I have dropped the oat quantity to maintain safety! However yesterday we competed but with absolutely no fuel in the tank.

Now I am wondering can I feed the usual quantity of oats for the energy requirement but add a calmer to maintain sanity in the wind? Or will the two cancel each other out and I'll have an lazy scatterbrain?

Any ideas please?
 
No they won't cancel each other out. Each is a quite different aspect of your horse's intake. Calmers usually seek to deal with deficiencies in trace elements or vitamins which if you are feeding straights might well be a problem.

If you are not presoaking your oats you could try doing so to make them a little more digestable, therefore possibly not needing to feed as many.
 
Thanks Mother Hen. I don't think there is a vitamin deficiency because I'm feeding straights. Did a lot of research and consulted feed Companies to achieve the correct balance. He is less stressed on straights than compound feed and haven't needed a calmer, but high winds stress us both! I previously used Relax Me and know it works.

Also thanks to Nokia. Could try a natural calmer but thought I would try the Relax Me as I have some but seems silly to feed and pay for oats and calmer if they cancel each other out. I'm hoping oats will work on the engine and calmer on the brain?

I'll give it a go, by the time the calmer kicks in the wind will have died down!
 
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why dont you try a natural calmer..iv been told lavander works well, i am looking for a herbal calmer at the moment

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depending on level of competition - lavender is a prohibited substance i believe
 
I used to do this occasionally and no do'nt cancel each other out. Try the calmer you have but if it doesn't work try mag ox from ebay only £10 and its great!!!!
 
Oats provide quick release energy from starch. This can make horses excitable.

Wind heightens the senses because things move alot more and hearing is harder, so horses appear more on edge.

Soaking or any other form of processing doesnt increase the digestibility over whole oats. Tiger oats are lower in starch and higher in fibre than normal oats though, so may be worth a try in your situation. Fibre provides slow release energy, as does oil, so good if you are doing several classes in one day. The energy from oats is shorter lived and timing of feeding in relation to when you ride is therefore important to optimise the energy release following digestion. If you feed at 8am and compete at 2pm the oats wont give any benefit in 'oomph' terms.

So if your horse is scatty in the wind and then is getting too much starch as well, yes the oats can make things worse. But a calmer (of any type) works in different ways, it doesnt cancel out the effects of starch!
 
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Try tiger oats - energy giving but not mind blowing so hopefully no need for calmer!

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I was going to suggest Tiger Oats too. My feed merchant recommended them to me as they give the engery required without excess fizz to my very busy horse.
 
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