27/11/2025
All about OATS
Love them or fear them, oats have a long tradition in horse feeding, having been fed for centuries. In more recent times, oats developed a reputation for causing hot behaviour - "he's feeling his oats".
Oats are a cereal grain that contain around 40-50% starch, 10-20% protein, and the remainder fibre - this is the hull. This fibre content, and the digestibility of oat starch, make oats the "safest" grain to feed - and the only one I recommend. Digestible starch and high fibre mean that oats are less likely to cause hindgut pH problems, compared to other grains. This is also why they don't need to be cooked in any way before feeding. They are also extremely palatable and easy to eat, even for those with dodgy teeth.
As for the reputation as a heating feed? In theory, oats should be the least heating grain with slightly lower starch and energy levels than barley or corn - which is why I laugh when I see "cool" feeds advertised as "oat free"... which then list barley as the first ingredient! But they remain a concentrated source of starch and energy - so if you feed too much, to the wrong horse - you may well find that what goes up, must come down, so to speak!
Like all grains, oats contain high levels of phosphorus compared to calcium, which needs to be recognised when balancing the overall diet. It's also not a great source of quality protein. The tradition of feeding oats with lucerne is on the money here - lucerne tops up the calcium and essential amino acids that oats are lacking, making it a great combination.
Whilst oats may be a good choice among grains, you should think long and hard about whether your horse needs ANY form of grain (or concentrate). Few horses truly need the instant athletic energy that starch provides to fuel short, high intensity exercise (sprints, big jumps etc) - and there are many other ways to provide extra calories that don't involve cereals at all - super fibres, fats and plain old good quality forage.
