Are oats and timothy hay necessary?
Much credit has been attributed to oats and timothy hay for horse feed, especially by horse owners of a few years ago. However, when substitutions of other grains and hays were made, researchers have found it difficult to substantiate a need for either. As early as 1911, 365-day tests with hardworking mules at the Trowbridge Livestock Center on the University of Missouri-Columbia campus showed less weight loss and 28 percent less feed cost with corn compared to oats fed with mixed hay. Respiration counts showed no difference in heat tolerance. But the mules seemed to tire of corn more than oats over the year-long test. Horses relish oats. This fact, combined with the knowledge that less care is needed to avoid digestive problems with oats than corn because of the higher fiber contents of oats, has always made oats popular. Many of the early problems with legume hays were due to dust and mold caused by inadequate harvesting methods. Light yields and sparse timothy leaves presented fewer
