Description

OAT HAY FOR HORSES

Oat hay is an excellent choice for horses, especially those with metabolic concerns, as it typically has a lower sugar content than some other grass hays. Cattle: Beef and dairy cattle can be fed oaten hay, and it can be a valuable fodder especially in times when other feeds may be scarce. Oat – 9% CP 60% NDF.

Our oaten hay contains mostly stems, long seed heads, and leaves. This grade of hay comes from the first harvest of oaten hay. The key to this grade of premium hay is that it’s made up entirely of coarse stems and leaves.

Oaten Grass – A Great Source of Fiber and Protein

Small Pet Select’s oat hay is a fantastic source of fiber and protein and provides your small animal with the diet variety they love and need. The best Oat Hay for horses, rabbits and small herbivores here at Bailey farms USA. Specifically selected at only early milk stage which provides high nutrition value, and appitizing aroma. It provides higher dietary fibers than other commercial glass, so it can stimulate defication. Pets can produce bigger feces and, help teeth wear down naturally.

What Is Oat Grass Hay and How Can It Benefit Horses?

Oats are a type of cereal crop grown for the seed/grain. Oat grains have been fed to livestock for centuries and have long been a sought-after source of energy for horses. Oats are high in starch and fiber, and while most horses consume and digest them easily, many horses don’t due to their high starch content. Oat plants grown as a cereal crop produce a seed/grain as they mature and energy stores (starch) from the plant are shifted to the grain as it ripens. This is then harvested, and the remaining plant is oat straw, which has very little nutritional value and is high in non-digestible fiber (Cuddeford et al., 1995).

While oat grains can be detrimental to some horses, oat grass hay is an entirely different story. Oat grass hay is specifically grown as a forage crop similar to timothy or orchard grass and is harvested in an immature growth stage to maximize digestibility. As the seed head has not developed, the starch content of oat grass forage is minimal. When oat grass hay is correctly managed using optimal fertilization programs, we can increase fiber digestion and growth of the plant while minimizing water soluble carbohydrates (Malik et al., 2011).

When compared to alfalfa cut at the same level of maturity, oat grass hay is lower in crude protein and lower in digestible energy. To improve the protein quality often, oat grass hay is grown with legumes such as alfalfa. This serves to increase essential amino acids such as lysine while further decreasing the non-structural carbohydrate content of the final product (Bagg et al., 2013).

This product is ideal for growing (moderate to rapid growth) and underweight horses, horses with sensitivity to carbohydrates, horses with gastric ulcers, performance horses, late in pregnancy and lactating mares, breeding stallions and senior horses.

In summary, it is important to remember that oat grass grown as a forage crop and oats grown as a cereal grain crop have different management and completely different nutritional outcomes, with regards to feeding horses.