# oats for weight gain



## emmilou (13 November 2013)

hi all,
has anyone had any success?
i have a lanky TB who isnt doing too bad at the moment but i am looking to se if i can find anything to get her that little but fatter.

she is currently on:

Build up cubes
Barley rings
alpha a oil
sugarbeet
linseed
pink powder
(all recommended amounts)

sha also get a large net of haylage but shes not a big eater so eats what she wants.

she is very sensible and does well on barley rings but i have heard good things about oats.
has anyone got any suggestions?

thanks x


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## dianchi (13 November 2013)

Probably help if you give some weight details of both neddy and the amounts you are feeding.
Also how many feeds a day are you giving her? What is her work load etc etc


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## emmilou (13 November 2013)

hi
im ot sure whta she weights but she is a 16.2 tb worked twice a week at the moment. she is also a windsucker.

Build up cubes - 1 stubbs scoop soaked
Barley rings - 1 stubbs scoop
alpha a oil - 1 stubbs scoop
sugarbeet - 1/2 scoop
linseed - 1 cup
pink powder -3 scoops (the one it came with)

the ammounts of hard feed were recommended by a feed merchant

thanks


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## Overgrown Pony (13 November 2013)

Watching this post...

I put my lad on oats (whole and soaked), sugarbeet and full fat soya a month ago.  He's looking well weight wise at the moment but the test will be when winter really kicks in (he dropped weight last winter).

So far i'm happy with this combo although I may swap to linseed once the soya finishes to try and get a better bloom in his coat.

The best shine he's ever had on his coat was on Coolstance Copra.  I stopped feeding it as once soaked the volume was unpalatable (he was getting bored eating it half way through).  However I've since learnt you can feed it damp rather than soaked and you could use it by the cup rather than by the scoop just to get the coat benefits.


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## buddy's mummy (13 November 2013)

I would be interested to know if oats are conditioning?


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## Amymay (13 November 2013)

emmilou said:



			hi
im ot sure whta she weights but she is a 16.2 tb worked twice a week at the moment. she is also a windsucker.

Build up cubes - 1 stubbs scoop soaked
Barley rings - 1 stubbs scoop
alpha a oil - 1 stubbs scoop
sugarbeet - 1/2 scoop
linseed - 1 cup
pink powder -3 scoops (the one it came with)

the ammounts of hard feed were recommended by a feed merchant

thanks
		
Click to expand...

How many times a day?


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## emmilou (13 November 2013)

hi
once at the moment. she will be on twice a day but i really struggle to get anything in to her in the mornings. i am the first on the yard and turn her out and the max i have got her to eat is a small amount of build up. her evening feed is with her for 2 hours! she does eat it all but is the worlds slowest eater


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## dianchi (13 November 2013)

My TB eats mega slow, ive now got it so that she will eat in the morning, but in the past ive given sml breakfast, then had her feed at 3pm, ride in the evening around 6pm and leave with a supper.

If she is only having one feed a day I would increase your feeds first!

Also might be worth a denist check up


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## emmilou (13 November 2013)

hi 
her teeth are definatly ok (been done recently)

my only concern with stabling her too much (overnight) is she spends her night windsucking. yes she gets a small feed in the morning and a little haylage (she does get a full net but leaves it) but when shes out shes much happier and grazes. she doesnt windsuck when shes out.


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## Archiepoo (13 November 2013)

tbh id be trying to get more fibre based feeds into her rather than more straights, have you ever tried alphabeet? i give my hard to keep weight on anglo arab a huge tubtrug (2 stubbs scoops dry and fill up 3/4 full of water) everynight . hes not very fussed on haylage but he eats this soupy bucketful all night long and its lovely and conditioning. buildup didnt help him at all .but this keeps the weight on all winter


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## MadBlackLab (13 November 2013)

I personally would feed something like soaked lurcene nuts or grass nuts. My friends TB always been awful for weight in winter have tried barley rings, calm and condition etc. etc. and the only thing that has worked is Simple Systems with lurcene nuts and grass nuts and at 20 he looks amazing I will state not everything works the same for every horse before I get slated


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## emmilou (13 November 2013)

i have heard a few people say grass nuts or alpha beet. i have tried them and took out the sugarbeet but again its the volume. she just wont eat more than what she gets now.

she will only eat if she is hungry and with all the haylage and hard feed she get there is no way i can get another bucket into her!


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## Archiepoo (13 November 2013)

maybe outshine would be better then or blue chip?


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## emmilou (13 November 2013)

Maybe.

Not keen on these balancers though. They seem very overpriced for the content. Shes on linseed so her oil intake is high.

Im really looking to see if i could replace the buildup with oats or something better x


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## Penny Eater (13 November 2013)

I've just recently started feeding soaked whole oats, with some chopped hay (hand made! Chaff cutter on the shopping list for Christmas!). The horses love them, they're cheap and nutritious and free from all the additives found in commercial feeds. 
Have only been feeding them for a couple of weeks, and only a very small amount as we don't need too much weight gain, but they're going down very well!


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## emmilou (13 November 2013)

Oooooo tedmunster keep me posted!

I no feed companies no what they are talking about but i really think taking things back to basics may be the solution.

Im just worried about giving up the buildup for oats!


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## 3Beasties (13 November 2013)

emmilou said:



			hi
im ot sure whta she weights but she is a 16.2 tb worked twice a week at the moment. she is also a windsucker.

Build up cubes - 1 stubbs scoop soaked
Barley rings - 1 stubbs scoop
alpha a oil - 1 stubbs scoop
sugarbeet - 1/2 scoop
linseed - 1 cup
pink powder -3 scoops (the one it came with)

the ammounts of hard feed were recommended by a feed merchant

thanks
		
Click to expand...

That's a heck of a lot of food to feed at once, you would be better off feeding her twice a day at least.

My TB is currently on 1 scoop of conditioning cubes, 1/4 scoop micronised linseed, 1/4 scoop chaff,  and 1/2 scoop sugar beet twice a day.

I would up the amount of linseed you are feeding to half a scoop a day (split between two feeds).


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## dianchi (13 November 2013)

Have you tried feeding on the floor? My TB eats even more sparrow like with a net but will demolish almost half a bale on the floor, also more natural feeding position and should help with tummy.

Do you know why she wind sucks?


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## Pinkvboots (13 November 2013)

Agree with 3 beasties that is so much for one feed, splitting it will help with weight gain its just a waste to feed that much in one go, up the linseed or fibre intake more hay or haylege feed from the floor not a net.


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## Kat (13 November 2013)

Oats are great.  I feed my fussy poor doer whole soaked oats and she is looking great. 

I feed oats, speedibeet a bit of straw chaff, Micronised linseed and a suppliment.  She is better than she was on conditioning feeds.  

Do try to keep the volume of the feed down,  use three or even four feeds if you are struggling to keep weight on.


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## maccachic (14 November 2013)

I tried my hard doer on all the high calorie / high fibre / oil etc diets and got average results.

Switched him to whole Oats and Alfalfa with a good multi min/vit and salt and he improved almost overnight - wish I had taken pics.

Last summer he spent the spring / summer (until drough hit) on only chaff and a supplement which he had never managed before.  Winter he has about 2kgs oats and 1kg coming into good grass and looks great.

He always has access to fibre as well be it grass or hay or both.

Def worth a try.


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## emmilou (14 November 2013)

In terms of stubbs scoops how much oats would you feed per feed?
I would like to keep the barley and alpha and try it split into another feed.

Also, what do you think the smallest gap between feeds can be?

Thanks


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## TGM (14 November 2013)

Bear in mind that the calorie content of oats is approximately 11.5 MJDE/kg (obviously being a natural product it can vary) whilst Build Up Cubes are 12.5 MJDE/kg, so the cubesare  slightly more calorific than the oats.  This would mean that you would need to feed a little more oats by weight than you would Build Up Cubes to get the same calorie content.  Only slightly though, so you would replace 1kg Build Up Cubes with approx. 1.1 kg oats.  I would recommend you weigh the feedstuffs when changing the diet because the density of cubes and oats are different, you can't just go by scoops.

When you are feeding starch containing feeds (ie cereals such as barley, maize, wheat and oats, and cubes and mixes containing cereals) then the absolute maximum in one feed is 2kg (this includes any additional chaff, beet etc) otherwise you risk undigested starch being pushed through the digestive system which means firstly the calories from the starch won't be utilised, and secondly it affects the delicate balance of the horse's gut meaning that fibre feeds are not digested properly.  So not only will you not get the desired weight gain it could also make the windsucking worse.


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## ILuvCowparsely (14 November 2013)

I prefer Tiger Oats - less starchy and straight oats

http://s104768845.websitehome.co.uk/gwfnutrition/prod_equine_tigeroats/index.htm


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## emmilou (14 November 2013)

so confused about what to do now

maybe i should just stick to whats working.........

in terms of stubbs scoops does anyone know what the right amounts should be????


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## marmalade76 (14 November 2013)

Kat said:



			Oats are great.  I feed my fussy poor doer whole soaked oats and she is looking great. 

I feed oats, speedibeet a bit of straw chaff, Micronised linseed and a suppliment.  She is better than she was on conditioning feeds.  

Do try to keep the volume of the feed down,  use three or even four feeds if you are struggling to keep weight on.
		
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This is more or less what I feed and what I would recommend. Nothing beats linseed as a conditioning feed, it's the feed industry's best kept secret.


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## ester (14 November 2013)

I would up the linseed
split the feeds to at least 2
and possibly look at feeding coolstance copra meal (oil/fibre not starched based)- is fed soaked but am a fab of sugar beet too.

I feed oats but for energy not conditioning, they might condition if I fed at a higher quantity than I do now but currently the increased energy = more expended= no weight gain which is my aim!


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## maccachic (14 November 2013)

TGM said:



			Bear in mind that the calorie content of oats is approximately 11.5 MJDE/kg (obviously being a natural product it can vary) whilst Build Up Cubes are 12.5 MJDE/kg, so the cubesare  slightly more calorific than the oats.  This would mean that you would need to feed a little more oats by weight than you would Build Up Cubes to get the same calorie content.  Only slightly though, so you would replace 1kg Build Up Cubes with approx. 1.1 kg oats.  I would recommend you weigh the feedstuffs when changing the diet because the density of cubes and oats are different, you can't just go by scoops.

When you are feeding starch containing feeds (ie cereals such as barley, maize, wheat and oats, and cubes and mixes containing cereals) then the absolute maximum in one feed is 2kg (this includes any additional chaff, beet etc) otherwise you risk undigested starch being pushed through the digestive system which means firstly the calories from the starch won't be utilised, and secondly it affects the delicate balance of the horse's gut meaning that fibre feeds are not digested properly.  So not only will you not get the desired weight gain it could also make the windsucking worse.
		
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The funny thing is I was feeding 17.8kj / kg extruded and the change in my guy while transitioning to oats was amazing, I am feeding the same weight oats for much better results. 

I think there is more to weight gain than simply calories.


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## dianchi (15 November 2013)

emmilou said:



			so confused about what to do now

maybe i should just stick to whats working.........

in terms of stubbs scoops does anyone know what the right amounts should be????
		
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You need to weigh what your scoops equal not just go by a "scoop"

I don't know if you missed my post, but have you tried feeding hay on the floor? My TB hardly touches a haynet but will eat half a bale off the floor!


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## TGM (15 November 2013)

maccachic said:



			The funny thing is I was feeding 17.8kj / kg extruded and the change in my guy while transitioning to oats was amazing, I am feeding the same weight oats for much better results. 

I think there is more to weight gain than simply calories.
		
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Of course there is more to weight gain to calories.  One factor as stated above is that feeding too high a quantity of starch in one go can lead to it not being all properly digested, so not all the calories that go in are actually benefitted from.  Plus different feedstuffs are not always tolerated well by different horses - if a feed contributes to a horse 'fizzing up' then it may waste calories in excitable behaviour, if a feedstuff contributes to ulcers then again it won't be effective for weight gain.  Also, particularly with fibre feeds, the gut bacteria have to be working correctly to get maximum calories from the fibre eaten.

However, the poster was asking specifically how much oats to feed instead of Build Up Cubes, so it is important that she understands the difference in potential calorie levels when substituting.  If she finds the oats suit her horse better than the cubes then she can reduce the level when the weight has gone on.


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## emmilou (15 November 2013)

hi all, thankyou for the replies.

i do understand that the weight of the scoop will vary between feeds i was just wondering what other people were feeding.

my girl copes very well on barley and linseed which is why i thought oats may do her good. 

i am just not sure what sort of weight (of oats) i should feed. i can get both rolled and whole so which is best? x


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## dianchi (15 November 2013)

I think if you are going to soak then they need to be whole oats rather than the rolled ones, but ive only ever used them for energy and not for weight gain


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## buddy's mummy (15 November 2013)

what are bruised oats?? are they whole??


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## ester (15 November 2013)

no the same as rolled.


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