I know yes BOSS & Oats Again!! Please Input

[woops]

I have read recently that some say Boss makes their horses crazy!
What are they doing[ the horse] and how much were you feeding.

I have also read the same about Oats---
Again What is the horse doing and how much were you giving????

[Fharoah]

I used to feed all our horses flax and BOSS. I was told a 1:2 ratio, would balance eachother. I stopped the BOSS at the seggestion that it could irratate inflammation, and I am already worried about my horses joints. I have never heard of it making a horse hot. My horse gets 1 cup a day of ground flax.

[amdfarm]

Can't comment on BOSS since all of my horses think that stuff is EVIL!!

They get oats everyday, as do my friends horses not on pasture. Friends been feeding oats for more than 30 years and I've fed it off and on for over 7 years. My horses are currently pasture puffs and are getting maybe a pound or so/ea a day (they're only grained once a day.) But when they're in work and showing, the amount doesn't change. I also have a breeding stallion and pregnant mares, all the same diet... youngsters, too. They all do fine and have never reacted negatively to being fed oats, same for my friends that also breed, show and trail ride. We've got 4-H ponies and they are also fed oats, but just a handful or so to make them happy. They're not hot crazy ponies either, quite the opposite. Both very easy going and well behaved.

But on that note, mine don't just eat oats plain, though they could and have before. I feed a mix of alfalfa pellets, Nutrena Youth/Senior and the oats. Out of 12 horses I don't have a hot one in the bunch.

[ThoroughbredFancy]

I fed my TB a mixture of BOSS and oats at one time. He did not got hot at all from it.

[GirlGeek]

I'm going to plead ignorance....what's BOSS?

Ignore the question....I got it (duh - something I feed, but never called it that...)

I feed 1-2 cups per day and have never had a problem making my horse crazy...other than crazy trying to knock it out of my hands to get to it!

[woops]

How much Boss and how much oats are you feeding you TB

[bludejavu]

BOSS is Black Oil Sunflower Seeds. I've been feeding oats since the spring of 2008 alongside BOSS (only a half cup of BOSS per day). Most of my horses get a pound to a pound and a half of oats. I've not had any of them get hyped up or hot on them (11 horses are eating the BOSS/oats combo). Any energy feed can make a horse high/hot if they don't get proper exercise. Most concentrated feed is an energy feed unless you're feeding a complete feed and your grain feed is no different. BOSS is high in fatty acids and would work the same way.

[ThoroughbredFancy]

I fed my TB 2 cups BOSS a day and 4 cups oats.

[woops]

Like Progressive or Buckeye or is the oats and Boss enough??

[pintopiaffe]

Oats are the lowest NSC whole grain. Whole oats have decent fiber content, and a good amino acid profile.

I switched from mfg 'complete' type feeds about five or six years ago now, I have far more bloom on less feed, and feel better about what I'm putting into them. Previously was feeding Vintage Gold and Vintage Sr, Vintage Mare & Foal.

My stallion gets oats almost exclusively--well, EVERYONE gets beet pulp & flax too. But he's sensitive to soy and alfalfa, so oats and barley are his mainstay. I've never really noticed a difference between the two, and barley is higher glycemic index (though traditionally touted as a 'cooling' feed... ) and the barely is more expensive, so whole oats it is.

He is FAR from hot. Even though he's a crazy ayerab.

When he's in full work, he also gets a cup of sunflower seeds as a way to add protein & fat. He's not overly fond of them, about a cup is all he'll tolerate.

I used to use a ration balancer & oats for everyone else. (broodies, babies, growing youngsters.) Poulin's MVP is almost identical to Progressive Grass. But when it went up almost $10/bag this past spring, I switched to alfalfa pellets, since the primary ingredient in the MVP is 'falf. Everyone gets a lb or two of 'falf a day, the ones who need extra calories get a lb or two of oats. I top dress a vit/min for my forage. Saving quite a bit, and able to actually taylor it better to each horse's needs.

[woops]

Do you soak Alfalfa Pellets and how much do feed for calories in comparison to a 1 1/2 pounds of Progressive balancer??

[JB]

I used to feed all our horses flax and BOSS. I was told a 1:2 ratio, would balance eachother.
Balance in what way?

I stopped the BOSS at the seggestion that it could irratate inflammation, and I am already worried about my horses joints.
Being high in Omega 6, which is pro-inflammatory (not necessarily a bad thing!), and given that horses just dont' *need* added O6 in their diet, it's not a bad idea to not give boss to a horse who already has some issues. It's just that there's no proof that boss (ie added O6) has that effect in horses.

[yellowbritches]

Can't add anything about BOSS (I know it is a big hit with a lot of people, but I can't get past thinking of it as bird food. ;)), BUT, if anything, oats have helped settle the horse I put them on rather than make him hotter (which was the reaction I was going for!). He looks fantastic (nice and shiny and filled out without being fat, though we joke that he is fat). I am interested to see what he does once he starts galloping again and what I'll need to do to keep the weight on him, and what his energy level will be like.

pintopiaffe, you say it is cheaper to top dress with a vit/min than use a ration balancer (which is what I'm using). Do you think that is because you were doing it for everybody, or does it really break down better that way? I feed this guy the RB (about 1.5lb a day right now) because I've got it in the barn for the ponies. Part of me wouldn't mind eliminating even that processed product and going to a sup, but I feel like if I've got the RB and he seems fine, I shouldn't change too much.

[woops]

I guess I am curious about the concentration of calories from the balancer,
seeds and oats. Anyone know the calories on Boss??

[JB]

BOSS is roughly 2400-2500 cal/lb, shells intact.

Compare to rice bran at about 1200/lb.

[Fharoah]

Balance in what way?


Being high in Omega 6, which is pro-inflammatory (not necessarily a bad thing!), and given that horses just dont' *need* added O6 in their diet, it's not a bad idea to not give boss to a horse who already has some issues. It's just that there's no proof that boss (ie added O6) has that effect in horses.

I don't know I was told twice the BOSS as flax I can't remeber why. I don't know if the BOSS is truly depremental for my boy I am just afraid to take the chance when my horse is suffering from chronic inflammation injury. I perfer the ground flax as I believe that it has an anti-inflammatory effect.

[JB]

I don't know I was told twice the BOSS as flax I can't remeber why.
Actually, that would be backwards at best :) Boss is extremely unbalanced to the Omega6 side compared to O3. You can't feed enough flax to start to equal that out, unless you're feeding so little boss that it's not even worth feeding :)

I don't know if the BOSS is truly depremental for my boy I am just afraid to take the chance when my horse is suffering from chronic inflammation injury. I perfer the ground flax as I believe that it has an anti-inflammatory effect.
Oh, I don't blame you, absolutely! Proven or not, if you have arthritis/inflammation issues, there's no need to added even more O6 to the diet when they just never need any additional anyway, much less if there's even a small chance it could hurt the situation :)

[pintopiaffe]

you say it is cheaper to top dress with a vit/min than use a ration balancer (which is what I'm using). Do you think that is because you were doing it for everybody, or does it really break down better that way?MVP went up to $23/bag, I went through just over 2 bags/week, so even averaging on the low side, minimum $46/wk

Alfalfa pellets are $12/bag if I pick up 500#, another $1 less if I can get 1000#. I go through 2.5 bags of it at week, so $30

Top dress with Min-a-vite at $15/bag/mo = $3.75 wk.

Basically, saving $12.25 a week, almost $50/mo. That adds up quickly. Especially since Alfalfa is coming down a little.

And, equally as important to me, everyone's soy free, AND the stallion's getting the same vits/mins as the rest--which is really helpful.
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