I don‘t feed my horse oats. He eats something called Hoffmans food formula. He also gets daily pasture and hay. I‘m just wondering what you think of the benefits of oats and the benefits of other foods.
Oats are probably the most consistent feed I have used over my life time. It is one of the safest feeds as far as insect and mould contamination goes when stored. They have the highest crude fibre of any of the grains that are safe for horses. The lowest digestible energy of any whole grain. And regardless of popular myths if fed whole are actually safe for and can help reduce the risk of laminitis, as the starch is digested in the small intestine rather than the hind gut. Nutritional values do vary greatly from season to season, and if a horse is in hard work oats alone won't provide sufficient sustanence. Also you need to add some good quality lucerne or dolomite to their diet as oats bind up calcium magnesiun, zinc and iron a little more than the other grains. So if your horse already has a deficiency or issues relating to tying up, any whole grain can create more problems. My horses are all and have always been full time pasture kept. I have always tried to keep them on paddocks that are more than 50% native (we are in temperate area of Australia). So on that basis even though over 30yrs I've never had a problem with oats, our native grasses are VERY different and also our soils minerals are different to every where else in the world other than south africa. All my horses have been fed oats during their life with pellets and feed mixes being added as required by the horses. Oats and hay with easy access to a mineral block is pretty much the base of all my horses diets and is what they get when at pasture and not in work. Colic is rare, i have only had to call a vet once for one of MY horses. That is over 30yrs and probably close to 100 horses all up. Laminitis and laminitic prone horses/ ponies I have rescued have not had any recuring laminitis or founder after the initial recovery. So between science and experience I LOVE OATS!!!
Sunflower Seeds, Barley, Wheat, Bread, Soft Corn, Grass, Celery, and Banana Peels. Horses will eat most any fruit or vegetable that you provide for them. Be sure that the food is clean, remove all stickers and rubber bands, if feeding something like brocolli. My horses didn't care for bananas too much, but they loved the banana peels. It was neat to watch them squeeze the banana out of the peel, let it fall to the ground and proceed to eat the peeling. Mine ate lots of carrots and apples. We would slice the apples in half before feeding them, so the younger horses wouldn't get them caught in their windpipes. Thanks, and have a good day! 3
