What type of oats to feed horses

They are an excellent source of calories, and have a better protein and amino acid profile than many other grains. They are higher in fat and fibre thanks to the hull and are, therefore, lower in non-structural carbohydrates NSC than most other grains.

If your horse has nutrient requirements that are higher than what is being met with hay alone — particularly energy calories , oats can be an excellent option. Oats are, however, low in calcium and high in phosphorus, and lack several vital nutrients for the horses. So oats seems to have a double safety catch built in for our horses. First, most of its starch appears to be digested in the small intestine. Ask questions and have them answered by PhD and Masters qualified equine nutritionists and spend time with like-minded horse owners.

Double Safety Catch in Oats So oats seems to have a double safety catch built in for our horses. I am assuming that with rains you have had in Texas, pasture must be adequate?

If your pasture is good or you have good forage, you may want to consider feeding a ration balancer product at recommended feeding rate generally lbs. Oats are a very good feed ingredient and good source of Calories, but do not balance high forage diets very well when it comes to macro minerals calcium, phosphorus and magnesium , trace minerals copper, zinc, manganese, selenium etc. You also need to provide salt free choice. If you do decide to purchase oats, good quality oats are available at most Nutrena dealerships.

Hi Elizabeth, Thank you for your question regarding flax oil. Flax oil, also called flaxseed oil, is used for humans, horses and other species as a vegetable oil source of beneficial Omega 3 fatty acids. It is generally available in tack shops, on line and in health food stores. Linseed oil also comes from flax, but is generally not heat treated raw and is used for paint, wood treatment and other purposes and should not be used as a food or feed additive.

I feed oats to my mules along with a supplement, grass hay and pasture. If so why can I not purchase feed especially for my mules? Thanks for your great question! In other words, they tend to be very easy keepers. If you start to see BCS getting above the 6. For easy keepers such as mules, we recommend a diet or ration balancer like Empower Balance , to fill in the nutritional needs of balanced vitamins, minerals and proteins without additional energy.

Lastly, be sure to provide salt free choice and access to fresh water. I hope this helps with your question! Let us know if you have more. Everytime I read one of these articles about oats, I just shake my head. We have always fed oats to the horses for the past 45 years. Are they healthy?

Have I ever had a horse colic? What have my horses been used for? Every type of show event from local clubs to 4-H to world championship breed shows. Have we been successful? This is an interesting read, but not changing the feeding strategy at home.

First, thank you for reading the blog and for your comment. You bring up good points about the value of oats to horses. For years oats have been the staple energy source to help horses perform.

This remains true for most horses today. But thanks to advances in research about the nutrient requirements of horses to support metabolism, performance, growth and reproduction, we are better able to provide horses the balanced nutrition they need to live longer more productive lives than ever before.

My goal of this post was not to state that oats are bad but rather, to help illustrate the nutritional gaps where oats fall short — and what owners can do to fill in the gaps. If you are satisfied with how your horses are looking and performing, that is what is important. However, should there come a time when you are unhappy with body condition, muscle mass, topline, coat or hoof quality, I hope you might consider adding a ration balancer to your program to round out the nutrition provided.

I agree with you Melissa …And although I am a new horse owner my breeders family has been raising Clydesdales for over yrs and always fed oats. Through all kinds of challenging health situations, oats have been the best choice for her and so that is what I will be sticking with.

I am also a fan of whole oats, i am from the racing industry and have ottbs mostly, a couple arabs and an appendix, I feed a can of oats or half a can, a scoop of triple crown and hemp oil…my horses are …shall we say fabulous! I just read an excellent article about oats in thehorse. Therer are some contradictions to what Megan has written.

We are considering switching to bulk oats and a ration balancer. Reason for this is we are going to have 6 horses on the farm and are tired of buying so much bagged feeds. We have been feeding Safe Choice Perform at about 4lbs per day and free choice grass hay. We actively compete in Ranch Sorting during the winter and do Western Pleasure and Trail riding all summer long. I would consider my horses to be at medium work most of the year, youngest horse is a coming 3 year old and others are between 7 and My question is if a person were to use the Empower Balance, is it safe to add the empower boost during peak competition times for the extra fat to keep those horses in top shape?

My hopes would be it would save a few trips to the feed store, and a lot less bag lugging around. Hello DeAnna, Thank you for contacting us. Yes, you can feed the Empower Boost right alongside the Empower Balance very safely. I was wondering about your thoughts on oats and ulcers. I am hearing conflicting stories. Thank you!! Thank you for the question. A lower starch feed for a horse with ulcers is generally a good idea.

I gave a 25 year old mare to a friend, the mare appears to be underweight, my friend said she is going to feed her oats and nutritional additives….. Thanks for the question. It will provide more calories and help her get some weight on. I was considering adding oats to my horses feed plan. He needs a little weight and I have heard its good for that.

My horse is insulin resistant and I see oats are high in startch. Is this safe for him? Hi Amy, Thanks for contacting us. You have a couple options better suited to try: 1. You can either slightly increase his current regular feedings, or add an additional feeding period during the day. We hope these options help!

If you have further questions, please let us know! Feeding oats to horses is an entrenched tradition, especially among racehorse trainers. Even when feeding fortified performance feeds, many trainers still feed some amount of oats. Unfortunately, this can result in them not feeding the fortified feeds optimally. Whether you should continue to feed oats depends on your horse, his energy requirements, and your preferred way of feeding. Oats are making a bit of a comeback among owners who desire to get back to basic feeds.

However, they can complicate rations due to the need for additional supplementation. Many horses coming off the track can be picky eaters , and oats are often very palatable.

Their lean muscle mass is so high when they first leave that they often continue to need a surprising number of calories, even when not working. You may, therefore, find yourself needing to feed a large amount of concentrate feed in addition to hay to maintain condition and might decide to feed some or all of this as oats.

A number of fortified feeds exist that contain oats but rely more on fat and fiber than starch. These feeds could be good options for you and your horse at this time. As a nutritionist she works with all equids, from WEG competitors to Miniature donkeys and everything in between. Growing up, she competed in a wide array of disciplines and was an active member of the U.

Pony Club. Today, she serves as the district commissioner for the Salt River Pony Club. You must be logged in to post a comment. Oats and OTTBs Fed as a concentrated calorie source, oats have been the go-to grain for horsemen for generations, especially on the track.

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