For those that feed oats...

[Tobey]

Is there anything that you add to the oats--like vitamin supplements or anything else?

 

[Farmhand]

Are you talking about mini's or big horses?

 

[Tobey]

Sorry, I mean minis.

 

[Farmhand]

We used to mix oats and corn. For both the big horses and the mini's. Now we use a "sweet feed" mix. I don't know what all she puts in? My wife mixes it up and tells me who gets how much.

 

[Lisa-Ruff N Tuff Minis]

Yes i use a balance rationer/protien pellet with my oats and beet pulp.

 

[Farmhand]

We used to mix oats and corn. For both the big horses and the mini's. Now we use a "sweet feed" mix. I don't know what all she puts in? My wife mixes it up and tells me who gets how much.

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Guess I'm not much help in that department

 

[Kim Rule]

I feed vitamins, beet pulp, and BOSS...that's black oil sunflower seeds. I also like to add flax seed that is soaked with my beet pulp.

Kim R.

 

[Margaret]

Yes, I like to mix 10% "Professional Nutrution" to my oats. It has everything that they need in it,as far as suppliments go, and is not cheap, but my horses do very well on it. You can "bump" up the ratio to 16% in breeding season or other stressful times, but for this summer heat right now I find that 10% is good. Also it is best to use "race horse oats" for this... they are a heavier weight and a higher quality. Edited to add: I feed "grass hay" and pasture along with this program.

 

[Robin_C]

Oats are a great natural grain for horses. They are, however, lacking in some of the major amino acids (lysine and methionine), and are much higher in phosphorus than calcium (like all grains). Many people who feed straight oats rather than a commercially prepared product like Strategy, Omolene, etc. will:

1) feed alfalfa hay via either a mixed grass/alfalfa like T&A or O&A, or alfalfa cubes/pellets. This supplies some of the needed calcium and protein which is lacking in the oats alone. In all horses (big and small) the calciumhosphorus ratio is extremely important for good health. In young horses, that ratio is pretty tight at less than 2:1. Adult horses can stand a little more leeway in the ratio, up to 4:1 and some reports stretching that to 6:1. NO HORSE can tolerate more phosphorus than calcium in the diet over the long term. It leads to bony abnormalities including a condition called "big head disease".

2) mix in a "ration balancer". These are products that generally contain no grain, but are a protein/vitamin/mineral supplement. They are designed to be added to straight grains, preferably oats, and supply the "missing links" to the oat and grass hay diet. You can also feed some alfalfa with this plan if you'd like. The ration balancer supplies the recommended daily amounts of all vitamins and minerals PLUS the protein/amino acids that the oats and grass hay lack. The oats/ration balancer/mixed hay diet is a popular diet for both big horse and mini show horses. The oats provide weight and energy, the ration balancer provides all the vitamins and minerals and protein for optimum health, and the hay provides the required day fiber. Beet pulp can be used for additional weight control and/or to replace part of the hay in the diet (up to 40%). Ration balancers are generally high in protein (30%), but when fed in proper amounts this is perfectly safe (remember that protein is averaged across the diet -- when you are feeding your horse 4 oz of 30% ration balancer per meal, he is NOT on a 30% protein diet!).

If neither one of these plans sounds like an option to you, just be aware that when feeding straight oats you will, at the very least, need to add a vitamin/mineral supplement, and probably a calcium source (alfalfa or even beet pulp qualify) to ensure all your nutritional bases are covered. Adding BOSS and flax are great additions, too, but they won't make up the deficiency in protein, vitamins and minerals when they are fed in an appropriate amount for a mini.

Robin C

 

[Jean_B]

I feed whole oats and depending on the horse and it's condition, I add either Strategy, Equine Junior, or Equine Senior. I also supplement with a product that is identical to Farnum's Mare Plus. I also give them pretty much free choice on good quality grass hay.

I do NOT feed any corn. Corn adds a lot of the wrong kind of fat, has very little nutritious value. So what you end up with is animals that are fat but poor muscle condition, etc. As my brother, who is a animal feeds specialist says, "Corn is only good for animals meant for slaughter." (i.e., hogs & beef cattle)

 

[Teedee]

My wife mixes it up and tells me who gets how much.

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[SIZE=14pt]Farmhand, [/SIZE]

HAHAHAHAHAHA You made me laugh out load and now all the others in my office think I am smoking crack.

You are probably the most honest person here! I am calling my husband right now and telling him he is not the only one that gets told how to do things...

Thank you for my laugh of the day! Your awesome!

Tammi

 

[chandab]

So, what are the names of the products to add to the oats to supplement, those ration balancers?  Who makes what?
Triple Crown 30?  and???

I want to decide before weaning time!

barnbum

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I feed Progressive Nutrition grass balancer to both my minis and my senior half-Arab gelding.

My mini yearling stallion 32") gets 1# per day of the PN pellets, 1/2# oats and free choice grass hay.

My mini 2-year old filly (chunky 35") gets 1/2# per day of the PN pellets, no oats and about 5# grass hay per day.

My senior gelding is only getting about 1/2#/day; at this time he is just helping to keep the bag fresh (it takes a long time to go through a 50# bag when only two minis are eating).

Progressive Nutrition grass balancer is fed based on weight of animal, activity level and age of animal. Next year my mini stallion will also be down to about 1/2# of the pellets.

Here's the link to Progressive Nutrition site.

http://www.prognutrition.com/

I really like this product. When I first started feeding it, the filly would not eat eat it, but I think she had been on straight alfalfa and sweet feed and to drop to no-frills pellets and grass hay was quite a shock for her. Now she demands her pellets.

 

[countryrose]

My first trainer put all horses on ( rolled) oats, Red Cell for vitamins( only 1/4 to 1/2 ounce, don't over dose this one) and vegetable oil to moisten it and give them a nice coat. Then 1/4 to 1/2 flake of orchard grass morning and night.

Alfalfa pellets can be added if they are down in the back line.

 

[Lisa-Ruff N Tuff Minis]

I feed a land o lakes product called VigorPlus it is a 33 perecent protien pellet with all the vitamens and minerals they need. I also feed beet pulp with my oats and alfalfa hay

 

[Erica]

Robin

Does one "oat" favor another in your opinion??

I have always feed the steamed, crimped, cleaned oats...............

But there are so many, some say race horse oats are the best, others like whole oats, others one with molasses on them, some just feed plain old feed oats.

I have always feed (or mixed in) the steamed/crimped as it "seems" as if they would digest more. To me it seems that the oats that are still whole some/several would get passed through (end up in the manure?)

Just wondering..........

 

[Robin_C]

Robin
Does one "oat" favor another in your opinion??

I have always feed the steamed, crimped, cleaned oats...............

But there are so many, some say race horse oats are the best, others like whole oats, others one with molasses on them, some just feed plain old feed oats.

I have always feed (or mixed in) the steamed/crimped as it "seems" as if they would digest more.  To me it seems that the oats that are still whole some/several would get passed through (end up in the manure?)

Just wondering..........

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Rather than give you my opinion, I'll just pass along the facts which are much more important!

1) Whole oats provide the most nutrition as they have not been processed. Any time you heat, crimp, steam, press, etc., the oxidation process begins and the nutritive value begins to drop. This doesn't mean that crimped oats aren't nutritious, it just means that they have lost some in the processing. Whole oats are very appropriate for MOST classes of horses. The intact husks provide much needed fiber. While oats are primarily starch, they still are still lower in starch than most sweet feeds. Contrary to popular opinion, when oats are "seen" in the manure, it's more likely to be the oat husk that you see. Takes a little closer inspection to tell the difference between a whole, undigested oat and the left over oat husk.

2) Of the whole oats, race horse oats or heavy oats are the highest grade. They give you the most bang for your buck. There are lots of lesser grades of oats on the marketplace.

3) Naked oats have no hulls and therefore are more energy dense than whole oats. That's because they contain much less fiber, so more pure "oat" per volume. They also have more nutritive value for the same reason.

4) Steam, rolled and processed oats are more digestible, approximately 6% according to a Canadian University study. However, to retain maximum nutritive value, processed oats should be used quickly. According to the study, there is up to a 70% loss of protein after 30 days. Processed oats would be a good choice for horses who have digestive or chewing problems, i.e. a very young horse, a horse with chronic colic issues, or an older horse facing tooth problems.

Now for my opinion: For the most nutrition, use naked oats ($$), for the average horse use race horse/heavy oats (that's what I use), and for horses with issues requiring ease of digestion, steamed or processed oats would be a good choice.

Robin C

 

[whitney]

I feed Buckeye's Gro N Win formulated to be fed with grass hay.