Question
I have a seven-year-old Thoroughbred gelding named Soldier that I am returning to light work. The goal is to be able to ride him five days a week. Right now, he’s in moderate body weight, at about 1,200 lb (545 kg), so I’d like to keep his condition about the same. He has unlimited access to a round bale of grass hay, 5 lb (2.2 kg) of oats morning and night, and a joint supplement. Soldier will soon be moving to new barn and transitioning to pasture turnout. He’ll have high-quality grass hay, rather than a round bale. I will start with whole oats but may gradually decrease the amount and introduce a ration balancer depending on how he copes with the pasture and hay. Questions: (1) Should I bother with the ration balancer? (2) Are oats OK as a feed for a horse in regular work? (3) Do I need to worry about the new hay stressing his system?
Answer
If possible, feed changes should be made gradually over 7-14 days to reduce the risk of digestive upset. Is it possible to purchase some high-quality grass hay and supplement your current program prior to the move to the new barn? Sudden changes in forage type and quality can impact the microbial population in the hindgut, which may lead to digestive upset. Notably, loose manure may occur due to rapid fiber fermentation, but this symptom typically subsides after the digestive system has had time to adapt to the new diet.
Supplementation with a hindgut buffer, such as EquiShure, can help provide additional digestive support during diet changes. EquiShure works to neutralize excessive acid in the hindgut and to balance the microbial population, thereby reducing the risk of subclinical acidosis due to rapid fermentation of nonstructural carbohydrates and dramatic shifts in pH.
Oats are a great source of digestible energy (calories), but they lack important nutrients. One concern with feeding large amounts of straight oats involves the ratio of calcium to phosphorus, which may be inverted. This can be corrected by other diet components to ensure the overall diet provides the correct ratio of calcium to phosphorus (1.5-2:1). A ration balancer provides essential nutrients that are often lacking in a diet composed only of forage and oats.
Commercial feeds are formulated to provide proper nutrition when fed in accordance to the manufacturer’s directions. These feeds are meant to be fed daily at 5 lb (2.2 kg) or more to provide the trace minerals and vitamins to meet an exercising horse’s dietary needs. Commercial feeds use a combination of energy sources: nonstructural carbohydrates, fats, and fermentable fibers like beet pulp and soybean hulls. This allows a reduction in the amount of nonstructural carbohydrates fed, and this can help reduce the incidence of digestive upset caused by starch overload.
If you are feeding more than 5 lb (2.2 kg) of oats, I would suggest switching to a commercial feed that contains added fat (6-10%) plus digestible fiber sources. If your horse does not need this much concentrate feed to maintain weight and condition at the new facility due to the higher quality hay, then a ration balancer can be fed in combination with a reduced concentrate intake to provide the additional nutrient fortification.
