Oats

Question
QUESTION: Dear Corlena,

I have a fourteen year old TB gelding, Scout, that I rescued last fall (beginning of Sept.).  He was only 710lbs. when I brought him home.  He was dehydrated, lethargic, depressed, scared, starved and severely emaciated.  My neighbor didn't think that he would make it through the night.  I did the stupid thing, and gave him tons of grass hay to gorge on right away (this was my first horse#.  He never had colic and was completely fine.  I can't believe how he has dealt with everything!  He gained weight extremely fast and was 1150 by the end of that fall, around Nov.!  He didn't have much muscle, but he was diffidently putting on the pounds.  He grazed all day long on grass and clover and we gave him some sweet feed at night with some supplements.  by winter, he had a nice thick coat, and had way more energy.  He made it through our MN winter and had only lost 50lbs!  All this summer he has been on pasture, Strategy and Source powder.  I take up to 11 mile trail rides on him once a week#on top of regular training/exercise#, so he has gained a TON of muscle.  I had his teeth floated, all his shots up to-date, him vet checked, shoes put on his supper small feet# he still drags his back feet#, and put him on a deworming schedule.  He does crib, due to the fact that he was kept in a stall for the first three years of his life, so he doesn't have upper teeth.  The vet said that he has amazing alignment on the back teeth and I know that he has NO problem eating.  He is a completely different horse then the one that I rescued last fall!  Supper calm and laid back horse.

All that said, I have some questions.  Scout still can put on another 100lbs. my vet said.  His backbone is still a little too obvious.  I know that TBs are hard to keep the weight on, but I was wondering if you had any suggestions.  He is also pretty lazy.  We just got a ton of whole oats from a farmer.  Do you know what the proper way to feed oats is?  I know that it is somewhere around 4lbs. a day, and needs to be spread out into two-three feedings.  I'm wondering if I can or should cont. to mix the Strategy in with my oats#for extra protein or something#.  I know that he'll need more calcium to balance out phosphorous in the oats, so I was wondering if you knew what I should supplement with the oats.  I still have him on Source, but am thinking of putting him back on Weight Builder for the winter# I know this has lots of protein in it).  Is the starch in the oats going to be too much for him.  I read that oats has helped tons of horses gain and lose weight.  Why aren't oats as popular as they were years ago?  Is there a safe way to feed oats to horses?  If you could please help in any way, I would greatly appreciate it!!!!!  Thank you so much!

Amy

ANSWER: Hi Amy,
GOOD FOR YOU!  This is a process I have undertaken so many times, and with a tremendous amount of success.  It is amazing how tough horses can be if they have to...it's generally people who turn them into princesses...lol.  

So here's the skinny on oats:  of all of the starch sources available to horses, oats are the safest.  Starch fed to a horse needs to be digested in the stomach and absorbed in the small intestine...only forages should make it to the hindgut (cecum) for fermentation.  When grains are fermented in the hindgut, bad things happen. Oats have a pre-cecal digestibility of 85% (which is excellent) compared to whole or cracked corn which has a pre-cecal digestibility of 27%.  Also, the fibre in oats is very fermentable, and is used as a fibre source in high fibre feeds.  

Starch, if used properly, can be about the most effective way of putting weight on horses.  It is turned into glucose for the horse to use as energy and extra is stored as liver/muscle glycogen or fat.  It can create a 'sugar rush' because the conversion to blood glucose is fairly quick.  Some horses handle this well, others not so well...so you need to make the decision for your own horse.

You are right that in feeding oats for it's starch (energy) value, you will need to balance the ration for protein and minerals.  If you are familiar with the Purina products, take a look at the 'Nature's Essentials Enrich 32 Supplement'.  I would pair it with the oats to create a 'home made' complete feed.  If that's what you do and you need help with feeding rates, let me know and I'll crunch some numbers for you.  Another product that is new, and that I really like is 'Lifeforce Formula' from Alltech, Inc.  I make my own version of it to use on different horses, and always on horses that need to gain a lot of weight safely. It will improve the efficiency of your horse's digestive system. You can order it directly from them by calling their customer service desk (I haven't seen it in a store yet) 888-636-3302.

I hope this helps and please let me know if you have any other questions.  And again, good for you!

Thanks, Corlena


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Dear Corlena,

Thanks for your answer.  I did end up buying the 'Nature's Essentials Enrich 32 Supplement' for Scout.  I don't know exactly how much I should feed Scout of the Supplement and the oats.  Could you help me with this?  Scout is 14 years old, weighs 1160lbs., and is 15.2hh.  I also have a QH mare that is not skinny what so ever.  What should I feed her?  She is 6 years old, weighs around 1230lbs., and is 15.2hh.  She is all muscle and high energy.  I have to feed her something when I feed Scout, because she starts wood chewing if I don't feed her, while I'm feeding him.  I don't want to spend tons of money if I don't need to on feed for her.  I still have two bags of Strategy left, and a two month supply left of Source.  I also have all the Whole oats that I'm switching Scout to.  I would prefer to just feed her something that doesn't have any sugar in it so she isn't so hyper.  I don't know!  Could you please help me?!  Thanks so much!

Amy  

P.S. What do you think my mare, Chloe, is lacking in that is making her want to wood chew?

Answer
Hi Amey,

Very sneaky getting that second question in there...lol...in fact I think we can fix both horses with the same supplement.

So for Scout I would suggest that you feed oats at a rate of no more than 1 pound per feeding, to a MAX of 8 pounds (and that's a lot) per day.  Start with the 1 lb per feeding and see what happens.  Feed the 32% supplement at a rate of 1/2 lb per day (5 cups total).

For your Chloe mare, go with just the 32% at 3-4 cups per day split between feedings.  This will bring all of the mineral and vitamin to the ration, with quality protein for muscle maintenance but without any energy that will make her fat.  Remember that the starch in oats all gets converted to sugar in the horse's blood stream so steer clear of them for Chloe.

Hope this is of help, pleas let me know how they do or if you have any further questions.

Thanks, Corlena