I have a small horse / large pony gelding. He has a wonderful bombproof temperament, aka always in a coma 
Ring work is challenging, given his choice he’d probably be a western pleasure guy. My vet always recommends trying oats to give him a little energy. He’s an easy keeper and lives on hay only.
What amount would be appropriate? Would this really work?
thanks.
So, n = 1, no science behind this, but in college I rode a rolly-polly appaloosa mare that really didn’t need much grain, but even when fitted up and slimmed down, her go was a little stuck, despite her mind being ready and willing.
I added a 1/4 cup of oats to her quart of grain (not much ration balancer back then, so she was just on a standard “fat pony” grain with about 12% protein) and that seemed to give her some pep. Then I thought it was a little silly that 1/4 cup of oats made a difference and she was just finally fit. So, I removed it from her diet. Our next ride was noticeably slower/pepless and the lack of pep continued for a week until I decided to try the oats again. Voila! Pep in step!
In general, I don’t think any one ingredient is a go-to for every horse or safe for every horse. I can feed my TB alfalfa all day long and see no change and the TB two stalls down will try and launch himself at the moon if he’s had alfalfa within the last week.
That said, a small experiment with a slow introduction might answer your question on how your personal horse will handle oats or any other diet change.
However, if when you say “hay alone,” you literally mean hay alone, I’d try a ration balancer first. A ration balancer will make sure all the nutrient needs are met and provide a couple extra calories but not too many.
Training.
These horses need to get out and have a reason to go forward.
But he DOES need more than hay - that’s not a balanced, complete diet. You couldn’t feed enough oats for energy that wouldn’t also make him fat.
There are lots of forage balancers these days - some moderate to high nutrition, without the calories. High Point Grass, U-Balance Foundation, California Trace, Vermont Blend, Arizona Copper Complete, and some others.
But beyond that (which really is a need), work on his training.
But "always in a coma’ would also have me doing some blood work just to rule out insulin resistance and any underlying low grade issue.
Poulin Grain (Vermont) also makes a good Ration Balancer.
I agree that the horse needs to be taught to go forward.
The right amount of oats for a bit of Pep but don’t be surprised if you add more oats you might find that it does not mean faster, it may mean a buck in the canter transition instead.
1/4 cup doesn’t sound like very much. What are the normal amounts of steamed/crimped oats fed, when used for energy?
I think first we need to know if you’re only feeding hay and zero grain. If you’re feeding zero grain, I would not add oats. I added a 1/4 cup to an otherwise balanced ration of complete feed as a test and I used only a small amount because oats aren’t a particularly balanced grain, which is why you’ll rarely see straight oats or corn fed to working horses these days - we know better. If your horse is getting no grain, I would not add oats, as that’s going to further imbalance your horse’s nutritional needs. You need to transition your horse onto a ration balancer first. Then you need to reassess where you are. If you’ve never fed grain/ration balancer before, you should be asking your equine vet about this, to see what’s recommended in the area you’re grazing/feeding hay from.
The mare I’m discussing was a/ trained, b/ fit, c/ on a balanced diet that already met her maintenance energy needs, and d/ was trying, just wearing out and clearly annoyed at herself, because she wanted to go. As she was otherwise healthy, willing, and able, oats were an easy extra energy source and I didn’t need much to give this halter bred mare the boost of energy she needed to finish our trail rides still feeling spritely.
Sadly, most vets are a poor source of nutritional advice. They just don’t get real education on it, and unless they actively educate themselves, don’t know any more than the average person on this forum.
I wholeheartedly agree though that I would not be adding oats, and especially not on top of a grass forage diet. It could be ok with the diet had enough alfalfa, but otherwise no, you’d be adding more phosphorous on top of a diet that’s already likely borderline unbalanced in the ca/phos area
Teach your lazy pony to go forward.
Most of the horses I ride are bred very similar, from a similar line. They are all naturally very lazy horses. I’ve never ever had a problem teaching one to go forward. Don’t hold his hand, erm hoof. Tell him what speed and he’s the one that is expected to keep it until you tell him other wise. If he slows down, correct him, cluck, leg, crop. In that order. Use at much as necessary and as little as possible.
As low as there is nothing clinically wrong with him (low iron?), if you are consistent, he will learn.
Feeding grain to make him hot will not change his mental outlook, his body will just do wild things because you’re feeding him some pixie sticks.
Yep! And teach energy appropriately. Don’t expect that he can maintain an energetic trot on his own for even 1 lap of the ring for now. He’s lived a “western pleasure” life for a while now. I don’t now if you’ve just taken it for granted, or half-heartedly tried to get more but give up, but either way, it’s his normal right now.
You don’t want to do “damage” to his mental outlook of work by suddenly whipping him into shape (metaphorically).
Teach him to get HOT off your leg first. Grab mane because if he decides to “I’ll show you!!” and bolts off, the last thing you want is to grab his mouth. If he does that, quietly bring him back and praise the crap out of him. Modify your next ask 
Once he’s HOT off your leg - as in, immediately and energetically but also respectfully - THEN start asking him to maintain that for a bit longer, and longer, and longer.
And keep these rides short. This work is going to be physically harder for him, and for sure mentally harder. 15 minutes is totally appropriate at the beginning. This sort of thing should be all you work on for a few weeks if necessary. GO. Go NOW.
Then you can start in with maintaining that increased pace - not leg speed, that’s rushing and not what you want.
And I tell you, this means you need to be working on this “Go, Go NOW” thing with every interaction. You put the halter on to lead him somewhere? He needs to get right there with you. Use a dressae whip behind you, on his side, as your “leg”, do not pull on the lead rope. All this movement has to originate from his hind end, always. You can spend 1-2 days a week even doing ground sessions teaching him that an ask for energy means he needs to go YES M’AM, but with thought and not just blindly reacting - does that make sense?
You get on and you need to make sure that you are ready to ask him to MOVE off the moutning block. Not bolting (but again, grab mane), but he needs to learn that those first steps are not front feet first pulling him into movement at his leisure
So very time, make sure you are ready to ask him properly, be ready for an exaggerated reaction, but also be ready to escalate your asking until you get a reaction and then QUIT asking.
These sluggy guys may need to be ridden with your leg totally off them for now, if part of the issue is they have become dead to the leg. Teach their sides how to be left alone when doing as askedm which makes leg on a more loud communication. Then you work your way back to normal leg resting on his side.
The better your consistency, the faster this will all go. And it’s worth it
Yeowch!!! 
Uh, as a bonafide veterinarian, I assure you, vets are not in fact “poor sources of nutritional advice.” Yes, a nutritionist (as in a PhD or Masters level educated individual) is a better source of information on diet, because they are a specialist, and I do call them up for advice and refer to them for difficult cases and specific issues, but I assure you, vets get plenty of education on nutrition. My school offered four comprehensive nutrition courses (required at least two, I took three), and nutrition was presented as part of management and prevention in every other class I took as well. Every feed and hay in the hospital during clinics had its little tag or card w/ the analysis info and you better read it before you feed it. Nutrition C.E. has been well attended at every conference I’ve ever attended.
Yes, maybe back in the days when we regularly fed plain oats or corn to horses and our sense of nutrition was far more limited and most vetting was arriving just as something was dying, versus working with owners to create a holistic health program, vets weren’t getting much nutrition, but I graduated 10 years ago and I was hardly the first class to get all those nutrition courses.
So, again, I recommend that anyone who is considering starting grain for their horse contact their veterinarian to ask for any recommendations, as they’ll know what’s available in the area, what other local horse farms are having luck with, and what particular nutrition related issues and concerns they see in the area, because they’re the ones being called out to treat them.
Most aren’t. The education simply isn’t there. There is not plenty of education on actual nutrition. There may be more education on diseases from inappropriate nutrition - Big Head Disease, selenium issues, etc But I guarantee most don’t have a clue about the iron/copper/zinc relationship with hoof health, coat health, foal DOD issues, metabolic issues, etc.
So many vets still tell people with laminitic IR horses to feed low quality hay and nothing else, and that is exactly NOT what to do. They see foals with physitis and tell them the same thing - hay/grass only, no grains no supplements and protein is the problem. None of those are right.
4 courses leaves a whole lot out of the picture. 2 as a requirement is even less. How many actually take all 4, and then go on to do more research with nutrition?
I love that you attend nutrition CE. My vet does too. I’m sure they are well-attended. I’m also sure those who attend are a fairly small % of the total vet population.
I can’t tell you how many vets I’ve seen have a bit of a meltdown over 30% protein in a ration balancer, crying “that’s way too much! 10% tops!”. Which means they don’t know what a ration balancer is, and they don’t understand that horses have fairly static protein requirements in terms of grams. Telling owners to stick to 10-12% feeds is not talking about the big picture.
By all means, start with your vet. Just don’t take it for granted they actually know what to do.
So “sluggy” (and I say that with love, not disrespect for my awesome pony) is now back on a ration balancer, as suggested. Today was a blustery cold day. I hacked out in a halter, and in a wide open field did some mellow loping around, and he’d peeter out before really getting into a canter. LOL! BTW if I could rig a carrot on a stick - he could win the Kentucky derby.
Great reply!! We cannot safely feed for energy. A lazy horse is still a lazy horse. A hot horse still hot, no matter how you feed
LOL!
It’s nice having those safe guys that can be loped in an open field on a cold, blustery day though, isn’t it?
Totally anecdotal evidence, but my gelding was very much like your fella, and to some extent still is. He’s trustworthy, he requires a bit more leg and encouragement than some horses, but he’s now at a place, thanks to getting him fit and tuning him up to my aids better, that he’s much more responsive under saddle. (I broke this horse, so his issues were my doing…he’s 12 now and has been ridden more the past year than in his entire life previously, so I think he’s finally getting trained, LOL)
That said, if he’s fed anything with oats in it, he DEFINITELY has more “go”! And this has been true his entire life. Back when he was a younger horse and I was initially breaking/training him, he and my other two were on Triple Crown Senior. He was as mellow as mellow could be. Literally took an Act of Congress to get him to move. He lived for “whoa.”
One day the feed store was out of TC Sr. so I got what I figured was the next best thing, TC Complete. Fed it without much thought and then one day I noticed I wasn’t having to kick Mr. Pokey Pants along and he was actually willingly moving forward. He was also spooking at blades of grass LOL!
Went back to the TC Sr. and he was once again comatose.
Fast Forward to a year ago. I now board him and have sold my farm after the death of my two older guys. Pokey Pants remained pokey at the new place (hadn’t been ridden for three years and was still pokey when I got back on him). Then, about this time last year, I started noticing him being wound up. Wouldn’t stand at the mounting block, was very quick off my leg and I was actually having to say “whoa” to him to keep him from being TOO forward and rushy at the trot and canter. I thought maybe my training was coming along and he’d learned to GO finally, but then the spooking started too. Things that used to never bother him suddenly did.
And then I noticed the oats in his poop. Unbeknownst to me, the BO had switched him from the ration balancer the barn feeds to a high NSC feed that is packed with oats (she did this because he was dropping weight…good intentions, but totally wrong solution).
Got him off that feed and made some other lifestyle changes including tack fit, better farrier/trimmer that improved wonky feet, some good supplements, and lots of wet saddle pads, and now I have a calm horse that moves forward when asked.
No oats for him though. Heck no. He can’t handle them.
Unlike most people here I ended up feeding my horses at home grass hay (fescue, fescue/orchard grass), Western oats, whole corn and alfalfa pellets, trace mineral salt plus a little, little bit of grazing.
When the horse needed a little bit more oomph I measured the extra oats by fist-fulls. Too lethargic, the horse was started out on maybe three extra fist-fulls of oats. If it was winter I tended to increase their corn (with smaller fist-fulls) except for the POA 12 hand pony.
I weighed my hay. I weighed each grain separately. I went to the nutrition books to figure out a ration that was adequate to keep the horse bright eyed and bushy tailed, but not too much which could lead to weight gain or increased spookiness.
When I switched from the local sweet feed I first added the Western oats by three fist-fulls, reducing the sweet feed by the same amount, gradually increasing the oats and reducing the sweet feed until that wonderful day that they were all on my feeding plan.
At first it did not look that much cheaper, then I realized that the sweet feed was 10% molasses. As my horses condition improved I was happy not paying grain prices for the ‘empty calories’ of molasses. The molasses was also hiding all the dustiness of the grain making third quality grain actually look acceptable. Included in the costs of the nation-wide feed makers is the cost of advertising, and I have never seen advertising helping keeping a horse in good condition.
If I was ever crazy enough to buy another horse to put on my land I would go back to feeding the straight grains, oats, corn and alfalfa pellets. I just do not trust the feed mills any more, at least when my precious equines might be eating the food.
I wish I could find the magic rocket fuel feed.
What works for my mare is giving her more frequent days off, and respecting that she needs a good 20 minutes to warm up, and even longer to decide to get really forward.
I do feed whole oats from time to time when she gets pokey but I’m not sure it makes a consistent difference.
I have read quite a few of the old time horse books from back in the days before cars, especially from the late 1800s.
Oats was for maintenance, building muscles, and “hopefully” reducing stomach upsets.
Their “rocket fuel” was CORN (maize). Corn made the horses hot, hot, hot and if you wanted a quieter horse you cut the corn ration down first while keeping the oats.
This is one reason I ended up hating mixed feeds made by the feed mills. When I measured my own ingredients I could give the pony no corn at all, my super feed efficient Paso Fino one fist full of corn in the winter along with her three fist fulls of oats, while my other horses got a few pounds of oats and maybe a pound of corn if they needed it in the winter.
Later on I discovered that my Paso Fino mare’s “rocket fuel”. CARROTS, even half a carrot, made her almost totally unmanageable.
Well, you can definitely affect energy by proper feeding Energy needs are what they are. What I think you really mean is - you can’t safely feed for an energy level different from what genetics and training bring to the table. The PSSM1 horse who has low energy because his diet is high NSC and low fat, can (and should) be safely fed to have much better energy.
The horse who is all over the place because of an allergy to alfalfa can and should be safely fed to remove that allergen.
But a genetically laid back horse who has been allowed to plug along and not taught to be reactive to the aids? Nope, that’s asking for trouble
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