Re: bran mash

Graham Jenkins (graham.jenkins@ITS.CSIRO.AU)
Mon, 25 Nov 1996 12:31:17 +1000

At 01:51 25/11/96 GMT, you wrote:
>---------------------- Information from the mail header
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>Sender: Discussion forum for Horse fanciers <EQUINE-L@PSUVM.PSU.EDU>
>Poster: Debbie Button <dbutton@DIGITAL.NET>
>Subject: Re: bran mash
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>
>> There seems to be some debate on rec.eq whether or not bran mashes are
>> beneficial to horses to provide more water intake in the winter. What
>> are your thoughts and experiences. Any favorite recipes and how often do
>> you give it?
>
>We have always (going on twenty years) fed hot bran mashes at least twice a
>month. I cut up apples and carrots in large chunks and add a few tablespoons
>of molasses. The horses love it and I will swear upon it's ability to help
>keep sand from becoming trapped in the intestines. With all the sand in
>Florida, colic is a big concern. Thank the Lord that I have only had a
couple
>of horses ever colic and they recovered quickly.
>

I'm not a huge fan of bran, mashes or otherwise. Lots of people
swear by them and, if the horse is happy and healthy, fine.
I would need a good reason, and probably from a vet, before
I'd feed it to my horse, but that's my personal opinion.

However, there is something you should be aware of. Feeding too
much bran, without balancing it with other foods, can get the
calcium/phosphorus ratio out of balance, which should be
somewhere around 2:1

Too much phosphorus can be detrimental to calcium absorption.
Excessive phosphorus intake can cause skeletal malformations.

Obviously a handful or two of bran a couple of times a week is
not going to a lot of harm in most cases but it wouldn't be a bad
idea to throw in a bit of calcium rich food, like lucerne, (or alfalfa
as the Americans call it), to balance things if you're feeding a
lot of bran.

As always, if in doubt, TALK TO YOUR VET!!

Graham Jenkins

+61 6 2766812 CSIRO
+61 6 2766617 Fax ITS Branch
018620324 Mobile Canberra
graham.jenkins@its.csiro.au AUSTRALIA

WWW URL http://www.csiro.au