Bran Mash for horses

Hey empowered horse feeders, here is a tip for a cold and wet winter day –

It is unwise to feed irregular bran mashes to your horse!

Why?

1/bran mashes are traditionally made with wheat bran, the hard outer layer of the wheat grain.

If you have a horse that has an issue such as EMS or insulin resistance or PPID they should not be fed any grain, or at least very little. As grain is high in starch, usually having a starch content that is undesirable for these horses.

2/The calcium:phosphorus ratio of bran. Calcium and phosphorus work together to build sound bones and assist muscle function. To do so, they must be absorbed in appropriate proportions (ideally 1.2 or more parts calcium to 1 part phosphorus).

*Wheat bran and rice bran contain approximately 10 times more phosphorus than calcium.

3/The gut microbes can be very easily upset by the sudden introduction of a new feed. All new feeds must be introduced very slowly over a 3 week period so that the gut microbes can adjust accordingly and your horse wont be in danger off issues such as colic.

Throwing in the sudden warm bran mash into your horses feed on a cold wet day may make you feel good but its not actually doing your horse any favours.

Maybe give some more hay or beet pulp instead so that they can get those gut microbes working to keep them warm

Need confidence in knowing you are feeding your horse correctly?

Hop over to the website and get your horse an individually tailored nutrition programme www.dlequine.co.nz