Straw for feeding - wheat, barley or oat straw?

[TotalMadgeness]

I have been feeding my fatty oat straw (alongside his restricted amount of timothy haylage) but the supplier has ran out. Horse has been doing great on this regime so would like to keep to it! Would I be OK feeding barley or wheat straw instead??

 

[sport horse]

Oat straw is best. Horses can digest Barley straw but not wheat straw - that will cause colic.

 

[TotalMadgeness]

Oat straw is best. Horses can digest Barley straw but not wheat straw - that will cause colic.

So... as I cannot get any oat straw for at the moment, barley straw would be the next best thing as a temporary replacement?

 

[laura_nash]

So... as I cannot get any oat straw for at the moment, barley straw would be the next best thing as a temporary replacement?

Yes. I feed my fatties barley straw.

ETA - Around here at least the farmers have "feed quality" barley straw and "bedding quality" barley straw. Obviously you want the feed quality if that distinction is made!

 

[HappyHollyDays]

Would you consider oat chaff as an emergency alternative? Efeed do a pure unbranded oat chaff which has nothing added and is more course than Top Chop Zero. My fatty who is out at night in a muzzle also has a minute amount of haylage as he can't have hay but I leave a trug of chaff in his stable for him to nibble on if he is feeling peckish during the day.

 

[TotalMadgeness]

Would you consider oat chaff as an emergency alternative? Efeed do a pure unbranded oat chaff which has nothing added and is more course than Top Chop Zero. My fatty who is out at night in a muzzle also has a minute amount of haylage as he can't have hay but I leave a trug of chaff in his stable for him to nibble on if he is feeling peckish during the day.

I'll look into that thanks! I found some feed quality barley straw too...

 

[sport horse]

Your other option would be to soak hay for 24 hours and then feed. That removes nearly all the food value - was recommended by a vet and used by a friend to get weight off a vastly overweight diabetic horse,

 

[honetpot]

I have fed barley straw for 20 years, I leave a bale in the field, with no problems. Most low cal feed is made from treated straw.

 

[poiuytrewq]

I see a company that does packed oat straw, wrapped in bales similar to small bale haylage. I took a photo on my phone but its currently drying out in rice so cant check but can do tomorrow if its of any use to anyone.
Why is oat straw so hard to find?!! Really irritatingly apparently loads was made here on the farm last summer and i was given a big bale which i loved but they sold the rest and kept me some crappy wheat stuff insisting it was best for horses ...gutting