Soaked Oats

[hebs]

Firstly. My horse is on topspec conditioning flakes, which he is looking great on but in an effort to save money I am thinking of moving him onto the soaked oats, but my question is why do you have to soak them because what is putting me off the oats diet is having to soak them as opposed to topspec. Can you just put them in dry and mix with a little water?? Also how much do you mix to water i.e like sugarbeet is it one to one. I know this has been done before.

Thankies

 

[ThomasTank]

You dont have to soak crushed oats but I think soaked oats is the 'thing' to do ! I feed crushed

 

[seabiscuit]

Soaking the oats for 24 hours makes them fully absorbable as they become a living enzyme and therefore the most digestable cereal of them all.
Soaking also makes the outer husk of the oat fully absorbable,which is full of vitamin E and fixed oils/alkaloids and vitamins that are fully digestable and absorbable.

Unsoaked whole oats have an unabsorbable outer husk and is therefore not digested. Most of the goodness in whole oats is in the husk. Hence that is why it is whole oats that are soaked, not bruised or rolled oats as it the husk of a oat that holds the magic! Bruised/rolled/crushed oats have a damaged outer husk.

 

[ThomasTank]

Damn and blast, I may have to start soaking mine now

 

[PapaFrita]

Ooooh you should!!! I'm never ever going to feed PF anything else!!!

 

[Judie]

PF - sorry I know you've gone over this a 1000 times, but I changed from crushed oats to Tiger Oats this year and apart from noticing they are jolly expensive, he seems to pass so many out in his dropping he's keeping the birds in easy fodder! So if I was to change to 'soaked' oats, do I just buy a bag of whole oats, soak them in cold water for 24 hours, drain and feed?

I have spoken to the advice line at Tiger Oats and he said my horse was passing the oats because he's on haylage

I suppose the advantage to soaked oats compared to crushed is the goodness is still in the husk and not crushed out?

Thanks

 

[aran]

'So if I was to change to 'soaked' oats, do I just buy a bag of whole oats, soak them in cold water for 24 hours, drain and feed?'

Yep - you buy whole oats (~£3.50/sack!) and then soak them in cold water for 24 hrs, drain and feed. If you find them in the droppings then they are not being digested so maybe soak for a little longer or add hot water.

 

[Judie]

£3.50 a bag - good god, I currently pay £9.00 a bag for tiger oats!

Never noticed the crushed outs in his droppings only the tiger oats so clearly he isn't digesting them properly - so much for all the bumph on them!

Thanks for your help....off shopping now

 

[PapaFrita]

LOL! It's ok

I soak for 12 hours because it's so hot here, and put 2 buckets inside each other (the inside one has holes drilled in it) for ease of drainage. Oats have to be whole. PF used to pass lots of whole oats too when she had them dry, but doesn't at all now (some people have said that their horses still pass the oats even soaked, but it's only a very few people)
Soaking the oats makes them more digestible and of course you get all the goodness out of the husk as well as kernel and they go alot further. I'll pm you the whole blurb

 

[seabiscuit]

Tiger oats would NOT work if you were to soak them- they are slightly crushed and have expensive pellets added to them which are not needed and are a complete waste of money!
You need ordinary whole oats- about £5 a bag, and then you soak them for 24 hours, then drain, then feed, then you just add a double handfull of alfalfa, a spoonfull of seaweed, and some cidear vineagar and linseed.

 

[Judie]

I wasn't intending to soak the Tiger Oats, but thanks anyway, and yes you're quite right, a total waste of money!

I've had the blurb from PF so think I'm sorted now

 

[the watcher]

I can't get whole oats..at least by that name..but I buy what are described as bruised oats (I think it is the same thing) and soak them..the diffenrce in my horses is just amazing

 

[KrashnBurn]

My boy is also on the TopSpec Super Conditioning flakes. After reading so many peoples experiences on the soaked oats I am very tempted to give it a try. I read somewhere that it should not make him fizz up either.

So my question is...how much whole oats (dry weight) should I soak per day (to split into 2 feeds) for my 20yr old cob x tb who is an extreemly lively ride but needs to keep the weight on as we have NO grazing. He has around 1/3 to 1/2 bale of hay per day (depending on the bale) 500g TopSpec, Alfa A and unmolassed sugar beet.

any help appreciated

Thanks Ax

 

[MagicMelon]

Im trying out this "soaked oats" thing just now. I did feed normal unsoaked oats last year and took my boy of them when I noticed the whole bits of oats in his poo! So he obviously wasnt digesting them!

However I have noticed with them being soaked, no oat-y poops so far!

Mine is on it to see if he has a barely intolerence - he's always been very itchy, sensitive and agitated so soaked oats and Alfalfa is the order of the day. So far, he was a total fruit loop at the weekend show jumping - Talk about a nutcase! So it may be heating him up a little...... ;(