To Oat or not to Oat

Living in the UK I grew up on the belief that oats made a horse ' nuts'
In 1994 I moved to Germany for 18 months and the yard there fed Oats to everything ( including a european champion ) with no effect at all , our TB started to eat oats there and nothing changed in her manners at all but there was a real change in her condition , her coat bloomed and a growth line appeared in her hooves ( prior to the oats she had poor feet )

I now feed oats to all my neds ( mini to 16h sportshorse ) and none of them have any manners issues but they all have good condition . ( my sportshorse is uncontrolable if fed sugarbeet ) and my vet says that all you really need to feed is grass, hay , alfalfa and oats.

Just like to start a thread on other peoples experiances with oats.

Oats don't make horses hot or nuts... Oats give energy. Lots of it. If that energy is being channelled, then there is no problem, and they are very beneficial.

If, however, the enegry is NOT being channelled, or not enough is being channelled, is when you run into problems. The horse has more energy than he knows what to do with, and may become 'nuts', lol, or hper-active may be a better way to put it.

If you have the knowledge and feed oats correctly, I don't see a problem.

I had a horse with oat allergies (among many other allergies - blood test confirmed) so I looked around for alternative feeds.

I ended up putting her on Ultium from Purina (which did have oat hulls), dac Oil, AND dac Bloom. I did both dac products together to boost her omega 3 intake. She did very well on this protocol. I now feed feeds that are low to no oats and little to no corn (mine act like idiots on corn). I look for feeds that contain Soybeans, beet pulp, rice bran, flax seed, vitamin pack, and probiotics. The Tryptophan in Ultium is a nice bonus.

dac Bloom Weight Gain, Muscle Tone, and Growth
dac Oil Fatty Acid Supplement 7.5 lb - Omega Horse Solutions
Ultium Specifications

I feed oats when riding, but only when we're working regularly and they start to lose condition. I do notice a difference with my horses' behavior when feeding oats, so I won't feed them oats when I don't have to.

My horses are in very good condition with or without oats. I feed bermuda grass hay, alfalfa pellets, flax, and a vitamin supplement. Their feet are hard and grow well, their coats are shiney even when dirty, and they have great muscle tone. I don't feed any horse feed or grain, and they've never been healthier!