Oats

HUS_WP_lovr · 09-21-2008, 11:40 AM

I've heard that oats dont have enough nutritional value for a horse to live off of but the barn Felix is at in training feeds all of their horses oats.

They add suplemnts as needed but she says almost all of them dont have an extra supplement because they dont need it.

All of the horses are constantly in training, showing, and on the road constantly. They all look fantsatic, not a rib showing on any of them, fantastic shiny healthy coats.

Its so much cheaper and I'd love to switch Felix and Jackson over to them. I took Felix's food over there for now but if he ends up staying for a period of time then they'll switch him to oats also.

The food right now that they are on is costing us $19 a bag for 50 lbs. And in all honesty Jackson is just not thriving on it like he should be.

The trainer says that the commercial grain is so inconsistent and in the poor economy the manufacuters are just buying what they can.

Ive noticed both feeds change smell, color, and texture on a regular basis.

So is there anything that is absolutely terrible about switching to plain oats?

You can see their horses here, all on oats.

www.dubinfarms.com

imjustjoking22 · 09-21-2008, 12:02 PM

I know some people will disagree, but my horse was on hay and oats and then grass and oats and looked fabulous. I have since changed his diet a couple times, but he hasn't ever looked much better than he did on the oats (although he likes the TC feeds a little better- he would still eat the oats). I did like to add some oil for shine.

HUS_WP_lovr · 09-21-2008, 12:05 PM

Well, my guy is already on a coat supplement that he'll stay on.The feed he's on now is supposed to be so great but his coat is rather blah.

PeggySue · 09-21-2008, 12:35 PM

Oats and hay is not a balanced diet ... you will need to add a good vitamin/mineral supplement to ensure complete nutrition

HUS_WP_lovr · 09-21-2008, 12:44 PM

Would a free choice mineral block be okay? Or is their something you can buy to add? (not a grain or rb)

County · 09-21-2008, 02:09 PM

I've fed nothing but good forage, whole oats, and min/via blocks to 100's of horses since the early 70's and had no problems at all. Show horses, breeding stallions, young stock, and brood mares with foals. They look great, perform great, no breeding problems. Oats is a very good and economical grain to feed.

4kids · 09-21-2008, 02:36 PM

Thats what my grandpa always fed my horses when they were at his place and they all looked great!

That Dubin Farms sounds great, and I'll bet everyone has a blast!

Dawn · 09-21-2008, 03:49 PM

Oats are very unbalanced. While they do have a full range of essential amino acids in them, you would have to feed such high amounts to get a good serving of them in, it would be quite dangerous. The overall mineral content of oats is low and unbalanced.

On top of that, oats have an NSC value of roughly 50%. That is extremely high. When included in a mixed feed at a lower inclusion rate, it is tolerable to most horses. Fed alone, it's not tolerated at all by many horses, and causes undesirable effects in others.

Oats from batch to batch will vary widely in nutritional content. Fortified feeds will not (I will clarify on that though) as they have a set nutritional package added to them.

Where you run into problems with fortified feeds is when you buy poor quality (and that's not necessarily reflected by pricetag many times). If you're feeding something that is not a fixed formula, you will get wildly varying nutrition from bag to bag. It's also quite dangerous as the ingredients can vary so much. One bag might have 20% oats and 10% corn. The next might have 10% oats and 15% corn. Most people do not gradually wean their horses from one bag of feed to the next. It's literally like buying a random bag of feed each time you go to the store. Along with the ingredient changes, the nutrition will change right along with it. Which is why the guarenteed nutritional analysis is kept to the minimum required by law on these feeds.

What feed are you currently feeding. It does sound rather pricey (not sure how much is supposed to be fed, I think you mentioned the name in another thread, but I can't recall it). But if the appearance is noticeably changing from bag to bag, it's likely not a fixed formula feed.

And on and ending note, I would not allow them at all to change Felix's feed. Just simply continue to take his own over to him while he's there.

HUS_WP_lovr · 09-21-2008, 04:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dawn

Oats are very unbalanced. While they do have a full range of essential amino acids in them, you would have to feed such high amounts to get a good serving of them in, it would be quite dangerous. The overall mineral content of oats is low and unbalanced.

On top of that, oats have an NSC value of roughly 50%. That is extremely high. When included in a mixed feed at a lower inclusion rate, it is tolerable to most horses. Fed alone, it's not tolerated at all by many horses, and causes undesirable effects in others.

Oats from batch to batch will vary widely in nutritional content. Fortified feeds will not (I will clarify on that though) as they have a set nutritional package added to them.

Where you run into problems with fortified feeds is when you buy poor quality (and that's not necessarily reflected by pricetag many times). If you're feeding something that is not a fixed formula, you will get wildly varying nutrition from bag to bag. It's also quite dangerous as the ingredients can vary so much. One bag might have 20% oats and 10% corn. The next might have 10% oats and 15% corn. Most people do not gradually wean their horses from one bag of feed to the next. It's literally like buying a random bag of feed each time you go to the store. Along with the ingredient changes, the nutrition will change right along with it. Which is why the guarenteed nutritional analysis is kept to the minimum required by law on these feeds.

What feed are you currently feeding. It does sound rather pricey (not sure how much is supposed to be fed, I think you mentioned the name in another thread, but I can't recall it). But if the appearance is noticeably changing from bag to bag, it's likely not a fixed formula feed.

And on and ending note, I would not allow them at all to change Felix's feed. Just simply continue to take his own over to him while he's there.

Im not doubting you but if there as bad as you make them sound why do so many horses do fine on them?

Also if its just a bag of rolled oats how is their corn in it?

Sorry, Im just bad on the nutrition side of horse owning.

Felix is eating Seminole's Grow Right(6.5 lbs a day seperated in 2 meals).
Jackson- Senior Formula by Seminole (also 6.5 lbs).

They have nutritional values on the bag as well as the brochure we got initially.(thats how we picked them in the first place based on starch, protein, fat etc)

Dawn · 09-21-2008, 04:20 PM

I was using an example of fortified feed products, not whole oats. Based on the comment made by your trainer.

There are many, many things that cause horses to look 'good' on the outside. There's also many things that cause them to look 'bad'. While nutrition can help and/or hinder that, the initial (and sometimes only) effects of nutrition are on the inside where you can not see.

Seminole as a general rule has some pretty good feeds. I believe that all of their feeds are a fixed formula. If there is noticeable changes in different bags, you should contact Seminole directly as there might be a problem with the mill that you're getting your feed from.

I'm not familiar with either of those formulations off the top of my head, but I will go look at them.

Is there a particular reason that Jackson is on a Senior formula? Or that Felix is on the Grow Right?

09-21-2008, 11:40 AM	#1
HUS_WP_lovr Senior Member+ Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: SW FL Posts: 6,216 Images: 312	Oats I've heard that oats dont have enough nutritional value for a horse to live off of but the barn Felix is at in training feeds all of their horses oats. They add suplemnts as needed but she says almost all of them dont have an extra supplement because they dont need it. All of the horses are constantly in training, showing, and on the road constantly. They all look fantsatic, not a rib showing on any of them, fantastic shiny healthy coats. Its so much cheaper and I'd love to switch Felix and Jackson over to them. I took Felix's food over there for now but if he ends up staying for a period of time then they'll switch him to oats also. The food right now that they are on is costing us $19 a bag for 50 lbs. And in all honesty Jackson is just not thriving on it like he should be. The trainer says that the commercial grain is so inconsistent and in the poor economy the manufacuters are just buying what they can. Ive noticed both feeds change smell, color, and texture on a regular basis. So is there anything that is absolutely terrible about switching to plain oats? You can see their horses here, all on oats. www.dubinfarms.com __________________ SPLAT! I just got snowballed!

09-21-2008, 12:02 PM	#2
imjustjoking22 Senior Member+ Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Coastal California Posts: 3,850 Images: 74	I know some people will disagree, but my horse was on hay and oats and then grass and oats and looked fabulous. I have since changed his diet a couple times, but he hasn't ever looked much better than he did on the oats (although he likes the TC feeds a little better- he would still eat the oats). I did like to add some oil for shine. __________________ ~Ikelos- 2003 Oldenburg by Ideal~ My last and greatest gift from my mother. What would you do if you knew you could not fail? In a clear act of divine justice, Anne Coulter had to have her mouth wired shut this week.

09-21-2008, 12:05 PM	#3
HUS_WP_lovr Senior Member+ Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: SW FL Posts: 6,216 Images: 312	Well, my guy is already on a coat supplement that he'll stay on.The feed he's on now is supposed to be so great but his coat is rather blah. __________________ SPLAT! I just got snowballed!

09-21-2008, 12:44 PM	#5
HUS_WP_lovr Senior Member+ Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: SW FL Posts: 6,216 Images: 312	Would a free choice mineral block be okay? Or is their something you can buy to add? (not a grain or rb) __________________ SPLAT! I just got snowballed!

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09-21-2008, 02:09 PM	#6
County Senior Member+ Join Date: May 2008 Location: Mn Posts: 1,844	I've fed nothing but good forage, whole oats, and min/via blocks to 100's of horses since the early 70's and had no problems at all. Show horses, breeding stallions, young stock, and brood mares with foals. They look great, perform great, no breeding problems. Oats is a very good and economical grain to feed.

09-21-2008, 02:36 PM	#7
4kids Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Iowa Posts: 844 Images: 20	Thats what my grandpa always fed my horses when they were at his place and they all looked great! That Dubin Farms sounds great, and I'll bet everyone has a blast!

09-21-2008, 03:49 PM	#8
Dawn Senior Member+ Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Tennessee Posts: 31,458 Images: 1390	Oats are very unbalanced. While they do have a full range of essential amino acids in them, you would have to feed such high amounts to get a good serving of them in, it would be quite dangerous. The overall mineral content of oats is low and unbalanced. On top of that, oats have an NSC value of roughly 50%. That is extremely high. When included in a mixed feed at a lower inclusion rate, it is tolerable to most horses. Fed alone, it's not tolerated at all by many horses, and causes undesirable effects in others. Oats from batch to batch will vary widely in nutritional content. Fortified feeds will not (I will clarify on that though) as they have a set nutritional package added to them. Where you run into problems with fortified feeds is when you buy poor quality (and that's not necessarily reflected by pricetag many times). If you're feeding something that is not a fixed formula, you will get wildly varying nutrition from bag to bag. It's also quite dangerous as the ingredients can vary so much. One bag might have 20% oats and 10% corn. The next might have 10% oats and 15% corn. Most people do not gradually wean their horses from one bag of feed to the next. It's literally like buying a random bag of feed each time you go to the store. Along with the ingredient changes, the nutrition will change right along with it. Which is why the guarenteed nutritional analysis is kept to the minimum required by law on these feeds. What feed are you currently feeding. It does sound rather pricey (not sure how much is supposed to be fed, I think you mentioned the name in another thread, but I can't recall it). But if the appearance is noticeably changing from bag to bag, it's likely not a fixed formula feed. And on and ending note, I would not allow them at all to change Felix's feed. Just simply continue to take his own over to him while he's there.

09-21-2008, 04:20 PM	#10
Dawn Senior Member+ Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Tennessee Posts: 31,458 Images: 1390	I was using an example of fortified feed products, not whole oats. Based on the comment made by your trainer. There are many, many things that cause horses to look 'good' on the outside. There's also many things that cause them to look 'bad'. While nutrition can help and/or hinder that, the initial (and sometimes only) effects of nutrition are on the inside where you can not see. Seminole as a general rule has some pretty good feeds. I believe that all of their feeds are a fixed formula. If there is noticeable changes in different bags, you should contact Seminole directly as there might be a problem with the mill that you're getting your feed from. I'm not familiar with either of those formulations off the top of my head, but I will go look at them. Is there a particular reason that Jackson is on a Senior formula? Or that Felix is on the Grow Right?