Switching to Oats???

I have a 10 year old Arabian mare. She is currently getting about 1 1/2 pounds of 12% Sweet Feed once a day. She is in a 1/4 an acre paddock. In the Spring-Fall she gets worked twice a day because I show her in 4-h. But in the winter it's hard to excersise her adn she tends to get hyper. I want to switch her oats. Would that be okay and should I get her a mineral and salt block???

Switching to Oats???
I always kept a mineral and salt block available to my horses all the time. I would switch her to a pellet feed rather than oats and maybe in the winter lower the protein percentage in your feed.You need to do this gradually over a week or 2 though. Do not change the feed all at once. mix a little pellets into the sweetfeed and take away the amount of sweet feed you replaced with pellets and switch a little more each day until you have used up your sweetfeed and are down to almost all pellets. I might go for 10% in the winter with good quality hay since she will be less active.
Reply:Oats aren't recommended for lively horses - they normally just give the horse more energy!
Reply:Why do you want to put her on oats?


To be honest, I dont think oats are the way to go in this case.


Oats are an energising feed, if your horse is already exciteable, feeding her oats will most likely make her even worse.


Try maybe feeding her some sort of cool mix or pony nuts (gradually introduce any new feed and decrease the other feed over a period of around 2 weeks).


And yes she should always have a mineral/salt block.
Reply:Definitely get salt blocks! According to my vet, horses should have both a plain and a mineralized salt block. In addition, add a tablespoon or two of salt to her feed. It'll encourage her to drink more water in the winter when they tend not to because the water is cold.





As for oats...don't know. I feed a pound of (purina senior) horse feed (one horse is 16 and one 10 and they swap dishes all the time) and the rest is alfalfa pellets twice a day plus hay. I reduce the pellets and increase the hay in winter. They seem to keep their weight stable, not get too frisky and be able to maintain body heat. You can contact purina and I'm sure other horse feed mfgs for expert advice on feeding your horse in your area.
Reply:Don't give her oats... oats give energy and should not be given to a horse that isn't doing alot of work... you could cause in a sever case azatoria due to too much energy and not enough work...or in the lightest possible out come she will be bouncing off the walls when you do ride her.








I have to say though I believe lila K had the information a bit wrong... whole oats are not fed because the horse will not digest them properly to get the nutriance from it due to the husk on the seed, thats why most people will feed rolled or crushed oats.
Reply:I feed oats and love them, I use to feed sweet feed but if you arent carefull it is easy to get feeds with things you shouldnt be feeding such as anti-freeze or something of that sort, as for you horses energy i would say feed less grain let her have as much rufage as she can get and only give her enough grain to balance out what she needs in her diet. if you think about it what do horses in the wild get... rufage(grass/hay)and if you do swich over oats you would feed less of them say you are feeding a quart of sweet feed then you would feed about 1 pint of oats, as for salts she should have a white salt block and loose salt and loose minerals avaliable at all times, well this is what my uncle says he is a very respected horse vet in kentucky so im asuming he knows what hes talking about. everyone has their own idea of what should be fed but really its what you want do you like sweet feed or oats better and how does each react with your mare, and if you can you may want to give your horse more pasture space and you should try turning her out in winter, she can run around as she pleases and that would get rid of some energy if she gets cold blanket her even if its for an hour a day
Reply:I watched a seminar about feed that was hosted by the Purina company. Apparently oats have just as much carbs and sugar as sweet feed, if not more. If you want her to calm down you've got to give her something with less carbs, so feed her some type of pelleted feed that's low in sugars. I'm switching all of mine to Strategy. I know that one called Ultium has got even less sugar, and Equine Senior has got the least sugar.
Reply:People say not to get oats but I got to be honest I couldnt live without them, when i turned my horse to oats he was a little nutty, but afetr a week he got used to them. Get rolled ground oats, not pure oats cause it adds on more hyperness for the same benifits. as long as your mare is in constant regular excersice dont worry, but start with only less than a handful of oats until you feel shes used to them then gradually increase them a little each week. I reccomend lunging her or free schooling her before you ride her until shes used to them too, for saftey reasons. Oh try a tablespoon of garlic granuals too, my horses and the others on my yard that get fed this hardly ever get ill and they really like it, It will help in summer too, it will stop flies.
Reply:Yes Get her a salt or Mineral Block,And yes that's fine that you change her oats

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