How to prepare oats?

Hello there,
I know this is a really stupid question, but, how do I prepare oats (plain, non-rolled oats) to add to my horse's feed? Do I soak them, or just add them as they are? The bag doesn't suggest anything

By the way, I'm not adding lots of oats, I'm just adding a little bit to her normal feed.

Thanks
Holly

Anyone I have known that uses them just feeds them just like they are in the bag.

If they're bagged and sold as feed, you don't need to do anything to them.

However, whole oats aren't the best feed for horses. If you're going to feed oats you should at least get the steamed, crimped ones.

You don't need to do anything to them.

Actually, natural oats are very good as they retain their nutrient quality longer than the crimped/rolled oats. They are highly digestable and can reduce gastric ulcers.

That's great, thank you for your help, everyone. I just wanted to add a few (1/3 of a scoop at most) to her feed, as I knew they weren't the most fantastic thing for her, S.R. I just want her to have a teeny bit more energy.

And thank you gigem88, I didn't know that, and that information is really useful as she windsucks (much to my despair) and I don't have the heart to put a collar on her. So if oats reduce gastric ulcers, that's fantastic news!

I know some people that soak their oats before feeding them (sometimes to the point of them sprouting). Some horses can break down oats and others don't do it as well.

The people I know who soak the oats it was recc'd to them by a nutritionist as they were feeding a lot of whole oats in the manure. (and yes they checked if if was just the hull and it wasn't. The contents of the oat were still inside...slightly solid and white. It was not digested enough to be extruded)

After soaking them it seemed to help immensly. The nutritionist actually said they actualy have MORE nutrient content after soaking because it helps with the phytic acid in them to decrease (phytic acid actually can prevent mineral absorbtion) and also oat sprouts are known for their nutrition.