Oat color has no effect on oat quality, but the variety of hues can range from white or yellow to tan or even black. Historically, oats in horse feed are white, which is what feed companies assumed horse owners would like. Because of this, white-hulled oats are the most-commonly planted for use in equine feed, reports EQUUS magazine.
University of Minnesota researchers have discovered that horses have opinions about the color of their grain. To test whether the horses had a color preference, scientists used six adult horses that had not been fed oats before. The horses were repeatedly offered white or yellow oats from identical feed tubs.
For the first trial, the scientists watched the horses eat ½-pound of oats of each color and recorded their choice every 15 seconds until all of the oats were consumed. That trial was repeated 20 times on non-consecutive days.
In the second trial, the horses were offered several pounds of oats of each color in separate feed tubs and allowed to eat for five minutes. The horses couldn't consume all of the oats in this timeframe; what was left was removed and weighed. The same test was repeated 24 times on non-consecutive days.
Results from the first trial indicated that the horses had no oat color preference; they ate all of the oats they were given. In the second trial, however, horses ate more yellow oats than white oats, suggesting they preferred the yellow oats.
The research team notes that equine vision does allow for differentiation between the colors yellow and white. They also say that other factors, like smell, could influence horse's preference for yellow oats.
The scientists also surveyed 801 horse owners regarding oat-color preference and found there was no color preference. It was reported that the owners were more concerned with cleanliness, reporting that color and weight were least important. The team concludes that other market forces are at work to encourage the idea that white oats are preferred.
Read more at EQUUS magazine.
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