Modern horsemen may unknowingly be causing their horses distress when they feed bran sporadically as a weekly mash or as a constipation preventative just prior to traveling.
Bran mash for laminitis.
Now equine nutritionists question the practice of occasional bran mashes for reasons that have nothing to do with mineral imbalances.
Higher glycemic index than many grains.
So read all labels and lists of ingredients carefully before buying a feed and remember it is buyer beware.
Rice bran has 8 times more starch than alfalfa cubes and over 10 times more than beet pulp.
Tips for feeding the geriatric horse or toothless horse.
Founderguard is a proven preventative for feed induced laminitis.
Wheat bran and rice bran should be avoided.
Wheat bran mashes are good for overweight horses.
Founderguard may also cause drier than normal manure for the first week of treatment and a mild laxative bran mash diet is recommended in these cases for the first few days of supplementation.
Wheat bran mashes are good for overweight horses.
Supply fiber in the diet of all older horses as soft hay or even beet pulp an excellent fiber and energy source.
Horses with laminitis need high fiber low carbohydrate diets.
Horses with laminitis need high fiber low carbohydrate diets.
Bran mash lots of carbohydrates.
Even with significant laminitis present to be underweight horse can be fed up to a pound of rice bran or a cup of oil two or three times a day.
Millrun millmix bran rice or wheat pollard.
These side effects were later alleviated by feeding the bran as a damp but not soggy mash and omitting the supplement.
The small amount of bran needed for these horses may not upset the calcium phosphorus ratio though the entire diet should be evaluated to keep it balanced.
For the underweight horse it is critically important to provide safe calories usually in the form of fats or oils along with beet pulp or hay pellets.
By gradually introducing the dose as recommended the incidence of these.
Beet pulp soaked is easily chewed digestible and a good source of calcium.
After a second bout of laminitis that same year which was again successfully treated with double cream my horse became sound and remained so for the next eight years.
The small amount of bran needed for these horses may not upset the calcium phosphorus ratio though the entire diet should be evaluated to keep it balanced.
Hay feed approx.
Certain grains corn oat wheat even a handful is a bad choice.
1 5 2 bodyweight hay depending on whether weight loss is needed 1 5 or not 2 so 7 5 10 kg for a 500 kg horse 3 75 5 kg for a 250 kg pony soaked for at least 1 hour then drained to reduce sugars or analysed to show combined sugar starch no more than 10.
Bran mash is not recommended since it is too fibrous and bulky.
Any form of steam flaked micronized or extruded grain.