Bran

[SirenaXVI]

I have been amazed recently by people using and advising the occasional bran mash.

Now let me get one thing straight first, I have no problem with using bran on a daily basis, as long as it is fed with something which is high in calcium, ie sugarbeet, alfa or limestone flour. In fact, fed in this way it can be a useful fibre provider.

I have a REAL problem with people feeding it once a week or occasionally, we all know, or should know, that the digestive system of a horse is very very sensitive, and we all know not to make sudden changes in diet, but introduce new feeds gradually - so what makes it OK to change the diet dramatically and suddenly once a week?????

I had to make this post as someone on this forum has just advised another person to feed a cushings pony a bran mash - in this instance it could actually trigger a laminitic attack by upsetting the gut flora

 

[MizElz]

Whatever happened to the old 'bran mash after a hard day's hunting' line of thinking? Most hunting yards - and racing yards too - still do this; if their horses' gut flora were continually being disrupted, as you say, I think they would have given up on bran a few dead horses ago!

Our horses have ALWAYS had bran through the winter - it was the way my mum was brought up, and the way she has taught me. Ellie has had bran mash three or four times a week throughout this past winter; she has never looked better

 

[SirenaXVI]

[ QUOTE ]
Whatever happened to the old 'bran mash after a hard day's hunting' line of thinking? Most hunting yards - and racing yards too - still do this; if their horses' gut flora were continually being disrupted, as you say, I think they would have given up on bran a few dead horses ago!

Our horses have ALWAYS had bran through the winter - it was the way my mum was brought up, and the way she has taught me. Ellie has had bran mash three or four times a week throughout this past winter; she has never looked better

[/ QUOTE ]

We know an awful lot more about nutrition than we used to.

SOME horses can cope with gut disruption, but others, ie one prone to colic or laminitis would suffer an attack.

99% of racehorses suffer with stomach ulcers, this is as a direct result of the stomach becoming acidic, caused by lack of fibre in the diet, if bran was to be fed everyday, this would actually help the situation, fed only 'occassionally' it exacerbates the problem.

 

[MizElz]

All I know is that, with 20 odd years of horsemanship under my belt, (and a good few more from my mother's point of view) I have never even heard of a horse having complications or problems due to bran, let alone had one with issues myself. Three of the ponies we had were prone to laminitis - one in particular, who when she went back to her owners was actually put down because of it. We fed bran to all of them - not every day, but regularly enough - and they were fine.

I think there is a lot of scaremongering involved when it comes to equine nutrition and feeding, personally. But that's just my opinion!

 

[brightmount]

[ QUOTE ]
SOME horses can cope with gut disruption, but others, ie one prone to colic or laminitis would suffer an attack.

[/ QUOTE ]

I don't get the logic of this - on the 2 occasions my horse has had colic (which have been after the last 2 times she was wormed) the vet recommended feeding a bran mash for a few days.

If a bran mash triggers colic, Sirena, why do vets recommend it for horses recovering from colic? It softens the stools and gets things moving.

I must say my horse loved it and soon perked up.

About the calcium/phosphorus ratio and the addition of limestone flour or whatever, I am informed that is only an issue if fed regularly.

 

[pocket]

When I worked as a groom back in the 80's at a very well known yard (now a feed merchant) we often gave bran mashes to horses after competitions.

I have always fed it to my horses as a treat and if they are under the weather and have never experienced any ill effects, so, I will continue to feed bran mashes.

And as previously mentioned have been advised by my vets to feed a bran mash when my horses have been unwell, I am sure that they would not advise such practice if it is unfounded, however, I do understand what you are saying about suddenly changing hard feed and would not advocate this any changes in hard feed should be done gradually, as you should with new cut hay or haylage, a general rule of thumb.

 

[Fairynuff]

A bran mash wont upset the local flora. Bran works as a lax because it cant be digested and irritates the intestine so that it is passed through quickly and takes a lot of water with it. I think that we are going way over the top with new ideas.Once upon a time there was oats, barley, linseed and bran. M.

 

[Diggerdog]

Regarding the whole "It was good enough for my great-grandfather" type arguments, so was pin-firing tendons and giving drenches for colic!!

Just because you get away with using old-fashioned practices, does not make it an intelligent thing to do. Why wouldn't you accept that there have been advances in the science of equine nutrition?

There may be specific cases that a vet or nutritionist would advise using a bran mash for, but for the majority, bran is a waste of space in your feed store.