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  Discussion on Oats
Author Message
Member:
Seraf

Posted on Saturday, Jul 29, 2006 - 7:59 pm:

Should you feed regular oats or crimped oats? What is the difference? How much do you feed? What schedule do you follow to increase the oats to maintenance amount?
Member:
Christos

Posted on Sunday, Jul 30, 2006 - 6:20 am:

We feed oats whole but soaked.

The idea is that you gain nothing with crimped oats, it is highly digestible as is. Barley and corn, on the other hand, are better utilised crushed.

Soaking is to wash it a bit from chemicals and dust and also save some wear of the horse's teeth.

My trainer was saying to always feed a couple of handfuls of dry oats once a week to clean their teeth.

How much grain you feed depends on a lot of things, you may want to have a look in Care of the Horse >> Nutrition.
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Sunday, Jul 30, 2006 - 6:52 pm:

Crimped oats have been processed to crack open the hull with the idea of increased digestibility. For horses with normal teeth, this is unnecessary. For determining the amounts follow Christos' lead and study the article Care for Horses » Nutrition » Equine Nutrition an Overview of Feeding Horses.
DrO
New Member:
Srfotog

Posted on Tuesday, Dec 26, 2006 - 10:43 pm:

I would really like to know how much real oats equal a pound of oat pellets in nutrition! I can't understand the relationship. Also, what I'm giving my two thoroughbreds is two coffee cans of rolled oats twice a day with grass hay and one flake of alfalfa at night. I live in Oregon and I like to keep them fat during this rain and cold. They are quite healthy, but one is 20 and has chewing problems. His teeth have been floated this year by his previous owner, but I should probably have him looked at again in the spring. Anyway, they were both eating oat pellets in California before I moved up here and there are no oat pellets here. So is two coffee cans of rolled oats the same as two coffee cans of pellets? Or is it less?
Member:
Mrose

Posted on Wednesday, Dec 27, 2006 - 12:32 am:

I've never seen "oat pellets." Are these made entirely of oats, or do they have other grains or additives?

IMO horses should be fed "by the pound" not "by the can." A horse should get about 1.5 - 2 lbs. of total feed per 100 lbs. of weight, depending on amount of work, age, etc. If you'll read the article under "care of the horse -> nutrition" there are some good guide lines to go by.

Even just between sacks of oats there are differences in weight. I feed triple cleaned oats, also known as "race oats" and a 1lb. coffee can of them weighs 1 lb. However, a 1 lb. can of the regular whole oats weigh a lot less. And, the crimped oats weigh less than the whole oats also.

If your horse is older and not chewing good, you might need to get him something like a senior feed and soak it for him before feeding.

You'll probably find yourself learning to feed all over again with your move. I moved to Utah from No. Calif. and a lot of the feeds I was used to using aren't available here. It took me awhile to get it all figured out.
Member:
Srfotog

Posted on Wednesday, Dec 27, 2006 - 1:28 am:

Sara, thank you! I'm going to buy a scale tomorrow. Both of them have kept all their weight in the month I've been here, but their stools were mushy at first. The water here is really hard and full of sulfates, but the stools have hardened finally this week on their own. They were acting fine and I put electrolytes in the water. So rolled oats are crimped oats? Believe it or not, he doesn't really like senior feed. I hate to add even more foods when they're eating wonderfully finally. They get grass, oats and alfalfa everyday. They are as fat as they were in California (if a thoroughbred can ever be fat)! Knock on wood, but everything is finally coming together after one month. I think the oat pellets were just oats, nothing else. My younger TB was actually kind of fat on them. The trainer that had him liked them too fat, as far as I was concerned.
Member:
Mrose

Posted on Wednesday, Dec 27, 2006 - 10:18 am:

Susan, no, rolled oats are different than crimped oats as far as processing goes. Rolled oats looked flatened, like the ones you make oatmeal out of; crimped are just mashed a little in processing so the hulls are cracked which supposidly makes them easier to digest. At least I think I've got it right! Nutritionally I don't think there's any difference.

If you're guys look good and are healthy, I'd stick to whatever you're doing. I feed whole oats with a little oil and some vitamin pellets except to my "special needs" cases. I feed the vitamins because we get hay from several different sources and Im not sure of it's vitamin balance; also we are in a low selenium area and the vitamins have some selenium in them.
Member:
Maggienm

Posted on Thursday, Dec 28, 2006 - 9:53 am:

The other important reason to feed by weight not by can is in the fall when grain is newly harvested one can of grain will weigh more than the same can of grain in the spring.
Lori
Member:
Hpyhaulr

Posted on Thursday, Dec 28, 2006 - 12:46 pm:

Lori, that is a great point about the difference in weight v/v the season. I will keep that in mind. We feed 1 part whole oats, 1 part sweet feed,1 part 12% Legend pellets. We got out of the crimped and rolled oats as they were coming out exactly the way they went in! COuld not see the point in that. SInce we switched to whole, they no longer appear in the apple picker, and everyone is doing just great (exceptions: the donkey picked them out, so we stopped adding them to his feed, the jelly-belly pony and minis are on a handful of oats only...no pellets etc.) We re hoping to get them ready for the beach this spring.
Member:
Mrose

Posted on Thursday, Dec 28, 2006 - 2:58 pm:

Cyndy, wearing bikinis?
Member:
Hpyhaulr

Posted on Thursday, Dec 28, 2006 - 4:58 pm:

LOL , maybe!!!gotta watch that girlie figure. Theirs not mine, I am beyond all hope. lol When we first got them, the vet was here for another issue with someone else. Like everyone else, he just started chuckling when he saw them, but warned me that the biggest problem with minis is everybody gets taken with the "excessive cute factor" and kills them with kindness. I can see how it is easy to do. I work them in the round pen, take them for walks and they do run & play, but they still have these jelly bellies. Cute, but when the belly sticks out past the butt line and you KNOW hey are not in foal... mama gotta go what mama gotta do!
Member:
Mrose

Posted on Thursday, Dec 28, 2006 - 5:52 pm:

Kind of off subject, but while visiting my parents I read an article in Reader's Digest about a mini, Petie the Pony, that goes around visiting patients in the hospitals and nursing homes in Ohio. The article made me want to rush out and buy a mini and start taking it around to places where people need a little love and a laugh. It would be a great use for a mini if you could get the local hospitals/nursing homes to allow it.
Member:
Hpyhaulr

Posted on Thursday, Dec 28, 2006 - 7:22 pm:

I read that too, Personal Ponies have miniature horses and donkeys. They do a lot of work with children with various disabilities,children in grief, elderly nursing home patients. website: www.personalponies.org. We have been working on the idea of setting up a mini-me world "camp" for autistic children and their siblings loosely modeled after the Imus Ranch setup. Til then, we are working on getting my minis socialized enough to do the school and nursing home thing. Not thinking I am emotionally or discipline equipped to do the hospital thing. School is my speed. Got to get them used to being around more people. When Walt is home next time, We will take them for a walk downtown (such as it is here) and by the shopping centers. Get them ready for lots of people and children (bringing pooper scoopers).
My breeder (mini mentor) is cautious about vaccines as well. Does not want me doing the West nile either, but I have a neighbor who lost 3 large mares to encephalytis last year. It's here. Take no chances, take no prisoners. Not sure how I will go with that, got a couple of months to decide.
Member:
Hwood

Posted on Thursday, Dec 28, 2006 - 10:18 pm:

Check out: www.heartsandhooves.org
Member:
Qh4me

Posted on Tuesday, Jan 2, 2007 - 10:38 am:

Oh Sarah and Cyndy,

I had the perfect Mini for you guys. Well, I didn't but my old farrier and his wife did. I hired them a few times to come up to the nursing home that my gramma is in. They had "Dynasty" for the past 5 years. And he is just the sweetest little guy you would ever want. They did birthday parties for children with him, and he would come right on in the house.

At the nursing home one day, we were leading him to all the residents rooms who couldn't get out of their beds and he jumped right up in one of the beds. It was priceless. You would think he was going to curl up like a dog.

They would haul him in the winter time in the back seat of their Honda Element. He was very small however. He only weighed about 112 pounds. You should have seen some of the residents. "no way that is a horse" that is a dog. Their eye sight wasn't the best, but could make out the size of him, and would argue black and blue with you that it wasn't a pony or horse! I will try and find some pics of him at the nursing home.

They just sold him this past month.
Member:
Mrose

Posted on Tuesday, Jan 2, 2007 - 11:03 am:

Shawna, would love to see pics!
Member:
Mrose

Posted on Tuesday, Jan 2, 2007 - 11:07 am:

Holly, don't tempt me with sites like that; I don't need a mini! But, I do think this is great stuff these people are doing with the minis. I've taken our dog to visit at the nursing home, and it's amazing how people connect and brighten up, even in the Alzheimer's ward. It's an easy thing to do, most places welcome the visits if you ask ahead of time, and it's very rewarding.
Member:
Mcbizz

Posted on Tuesday, Jan 2, 2007 - 4:16 pm:

This discussion hit two buttons with me...#1 being, why the heck is oats so expensive??? I don't feed that much, but like to give my horses about a lb. per day with their vitamins and corn oil. The price goes up with every bag! We used to grow oats in Wisconsin, never had problems harvesting fields full every summer...
#2 button is animal therapy in nursing homes. My Father died in a nursing home in Wisconsin, Dec. 2, 2005. He was 93. My Mother was there with him...he died six hours after I flew in from Reno. She is (91) now in an assisted living home in the same small town. She is permitted to have her little Poodle there almost daily. Without "Sugar" I don't think she could live on.
When both my parents were in the nursing home, they had their little dog there too. There was also a resident therapy dog (golden retriever) and occasionally someone brought in a pot bellied pig, which was the hit of the Manor! Dogs and pig played together very compatibly, brought lots of cheer to many old old people.
The mini horses as therapy animals sounds terrific. Maybe when my arthritis progresses to "no more riding" that will be an option for me to think about...how rewarding!
Member:
Hpyhaulr

Posted on Tuesday, Jan 2, 2007 - 4:20 pm:

I went into hearts & hooves and emailed to start up an affilliate here in SC, so far, have not heard anything back.... will try again. Shawna, I would love to see that mini too.... I am wondering lately if I can teach mine anything besides how to eat and make me laugh! How does someone sell a service mini???? I do't get that one! IMO an animal who performs a public service is priceless and to be cherished.
Member:
Mrose

Posted on Tuesday, Jan 2, 2007 - 5:34 pm:

Carolyn, I'm not sure why, but all grains are going up in price constantly. You can blame cost of fuel (running the farmers tractor, processing, delivery,) global warming (less rain) global warming (more rain) El Nino (I think this was too much rain also.) I've heard lots of reasons; mostly I think it's because it's what the dealers can get away with charging. I'd be willing to bet that what the farmer is making hasn't gone up much.
Member:
Ilona

Posted on Tuesday, Jan 2, 2007 - 8:11 pm:

What I have learned about pricing is that it is gauged by whatever the market will bare. The moment the consumer stops consuming there is a downward pricing trend to bring in the consumer again. We are caught as its hard to stop purchasing if it is for your horse.
Member:
Qh4me

Posted on Wednesday, Jan 3, 2007 - 1:35 pm:

Cyndy,

The reason they sold the mini is unfortunate, as my farrier passed away suddenly with a massive heart attack at 61. Him and his wife owned 1 saddlebred, and 2 mini's and showed every weekend - both the saddlebred and mini's. They were horse crazy, active in judging and showing across Ontario and down in the States. She did keep them for a year, continued to show and doing the birthday party/retirement home thing with the mini, but was finding it all too much with her job, and the upkeep. After some hard decisions, she decided to sell the farm.

She sold the mini to a friend of hers, just down the road who is continueing to show him - and I I am hoping she will continue the service part of things too.

I found a bunch of pictures, so I will resize and upload them tonight.
Member:
Hpyhaulr

Posted on Wednesday, Jan 3, 2007 - 4:03 pm:

Shawna,
What an unfortunate set of events. Sorry to hear that, but heartened to know that the mini may still have a "job". It also helps when you can sell your horses to friends and know they will be loved and cared for. Looking forward to the pictures when you have time.
Member:
Qh4me

Posted on Thursday, Jan 4, 2007 - 11:05 am:

Cyndy,

Since the pics of the mini are off topic from this discussion, I will post the pictures of him under "Art & Entertainment" under images.

Shawna
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