oat hay

Question
Is oat hay (put up in the milk stage) a good choice for free feeding draft horses?  I have a team of 4 yr olds that are currently not being worked.  They are on free-choice brome hay from a large round bale, and that is how I would feed the oat hay.  We are in the Midwest, and our area did not experience a drought.  This oat hay is a first year cover crop for alfalfa, so there is a little alfalfa in there, too.  Thanks!

Answer
Dear Dionne,

The fact that you didn't experience a drought is important because stressed hays are higher in sugar and you don't want high sugar feeds with young draft breeds.  At the milk stage the grains will be softer and should still be on the stems.  My suggestion would be to test the oat hay by taking a core sample from the bales and sending it to a lab like www.equi-analytical for testing.  They will tell you the protein, energy, sugar starch and also the mineral levels in the hay.  The Amounts of calcium and phosphorous are also particularly important to young horses.

Dr Beth Valentine is a true expert in heavy horses
http://www.ruralheritage.com/vet_clinic/virtualvet.htm

and you might also look at the rural heritage site

http://www.ruralheritage.com/vet_clinic/epsm.htm

You may find lots of answers to your current and future questions there.

Best wishes,

Clair Thunes, PhD.
Independent Equine Nutritionist,
Equilibrate Equine Consulting,
clair@equilbrateequine.com
www.equilibrateequine.com