Posted by Dr. Dan on 3/14/2012
to
Feeding Program
(But That's Not All!)
Has anyone ever been told to NOT feed oats? And if so, has the same person ever offered any reason other than that oats are carbs and
may make your horse “hot”?
Probably not!
So let me preface this article by saying that, personally, I have suggested oats to thousands upon thousands of horse owners (as have
many other nutrition minded educators) and not once can I remember those to whom I suggested such not loving the results. Oats work -
despite the rumors!
But let’s look more closely at why, and also look at why other feeds may NOT be so great. And let’s take a close look at why these commercial feeds may actually be directly related to, and in my opinion the very cause of many of our overweight, cresty necked, insulin resistant, allergic and laminitis prone horses today.
In addition, we’ll consider why the idea of supplementing either commercial or individual grains, oats or otherwise, with vitamins, minerals, microbials, etc. is critical as well.
So what is bad about oats?
Oats like ALL grains are mineral and vitamin deficient. Horses simply can’t get the overall nutrition that they need from any grain UNLESS they are fortified. Oats, corn, barley, etc., etc. are all are deficient. Today, what farmers essentially use to fertilize is chemical fertilizer. The 10-10-10’s or 2010-10’s are only nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus: 10% nitrogen, 10% phosphorous, 10% potassium. What happened to all the other minerals on the periodic chart that we learned about in high school? To make matters worse, these fertilizers are salt based. Salt destroys the soil over time and makes it very packed, claylike and sticky – AND in doing so kills the earthworms, the soil’s true method for oxygenation.