Do you feed bran? Poll.

Do you feed bran daily as part of your horse's ration?

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Spyda

Spyda

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Reading posts on here I am surprised at the number of people who mention feeding bran as part of their horse's daily ration.

Just wondered how many people actually do still feed it regularly and if so, why?
 
yes I feed bran to my horse after the advice from my vet. He had had a bad case of colic where there was a blockage in the large intestine where it goes into the small one, he adviced to put the bran in his feed to keep him regualar
 
Always feed a small amount (dampened) for a month pre foaling and for a week afterwards. I'll also use it to carry meds in if necessary but I don't feed it as a rule, no; I always used to for the hunters and pointers but since only having mares or youngsters, not regularly. I only feed the amounts you would use to introduce a new feed not a great scoopful.

Interestingly (is there such a word?) Leahurst get through a lot more bran than anything else, it's very good (in the right amount and consistency) for keeping a horse regular as above poster said.
 
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No I would never feed bran to any off mine. Horse need a cal/phos level off around 1/2 but bran is about 1/12 and that's why it must be leveled out with the correct amount off limestone. If feed long term can have terrible effect on your horses bones and actually course a problem called " big head syndrome" google it!!!!

Some people will swear on it and the older ones will but it's a complete no good for me not even for colic.

Speak to any feed company/ their in house nutrition ( spelling) experts. It's very interesting.

It is surprising how many people feed bran without knowing the effects but than I suppose that goes for all kind off things not just feed
 
No way! It depletes calcium and if fed regularly means the body has to pull calcium from bones predisposing the horse to fractures and bone related diseases.
In order to counteract the effects you would have to feed large amounts of something high in calcium like Alfa but what's the point when you get no goodness out of the bran that you cannot get from other sources.
Keeping a horse 'regular' is a load of rubbish, sorry. Bran is high in fibre but not as much as hay! If you want to keep a horse regular feed hay, it's fibre that keeps the digestive tract moving, not a secret ingredient.
People should read the scientific research papers about feeding bran to horses, bet they will stop feeding it then.
 
Normally don't feed it, however my veteran suffers from gassy colic on a fairly regular basis (usually twice a year, sometimes thrice) and he always get a bran mash for his next feed. Apart from that, never.
 
firewell said:
No way! It depletes calcium and if fed regularly means the body has to pull calcium from bones predisposing the horse to fractures and bone related diseases.
In order to counteract the effects you would have to feed large amounts of something high in calcium like Alfa but what's the point when you get no goodness out of the bran that you cannot get from other sources.
Keeping a horse 'regular' is a load of rubbish, sorry. Bran is high in fibre but not as much as hay! If you want to keep a horse regular feed hay, it's fibre that keeps the digestive tract moving, not a secret ingredient.
People should read the scientific research papers about feeding bran to horses, bet they will stop feeding it then.
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SPOT ON but people still believe that bran is a laxative, it isn't. Please do research on bran and find out how bad it is.
 
thatsmygirl said:
Some people will swear on it and the older ones will but it's a complete no good for me not even for colic.
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So Leahurst are talking out of their backsides are they; they don't know what they're talking about according to you? :rolleyes:

firewell said:
Keeping a horse 'regular' is a load of rubbish, sorry. Bran is high in fibre but not as much as hay! If you want to keep a horse regular feed hay, it's fibre that keeps the digestive tract moving, not a secret ingredient.
.
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See above comment and don't forget, it takes a lot of work for a horse to eat and digest hay which a colic sufferer isn't up to at all, especially after surgery.
 
I started working with horses in 1968 the boss always gave bran for colic or hard poo's. Also used to use as a poultice hot as was safe in a hession sack tied loosely over feet for abcesses or infections.
God that shows my age.
 
JennBags said:
Normally don't feed it, however my veteran suffers from gassy colic on a fairly regular basis (usually twice a year, sometimes thrice) and he always get a bran mash for his next feed. Apart from that, never.
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I would be putting your lad on a pre/pro supplement such as naf thrive
 
I'm feeding it because its high in Phosphorous. My forage is very low in phosphorous and very high in calcium so the ratio is completely out. Bran allows me to correct the ratio in his diet.

Its all very well to say don't feed it because the C:P ratio is way out of the acceptable range but this only works if you know what is in the entire diet. The amount of bran a horse would eat in a bucket feed is a likely a very small proportion of his diet compared to forage. Forage could have an entirely different ratio, which may or may not be in the acceptable range.
 
only feed bran when needed as laxative~~~~~~disagree with posts disputing this as have used as such and it works~~~~every time. most recently in snow,a pony showing early signs of colic or becoming colicky as advised by vet gave bran mashes and sorted.
 
Recent research which was carried out showed that bran has nothing in it to make it a laxative for the horse, the researchers said it's more to do with a sudden change off diet ( bran mash) on the horses stomach which has the effect that makes you believe it's such.
 
firewell said:
No way! It depletes calcium and if fed regularly means the body has to pull calcium from bones predisposing the horse to fractures and bone related diseases.
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Really? My first pony was fed [on livery] on oats, barley, bran and sugar beet twice a day ever day for the two years I owned her. All the pony's were fed the same. Don't remember any of them suffering as a result, last I heard she lived until she was in her late 20s/early 30s (don't actually know her YoB)

:confused::confused:
 
Lobelia_Overhill said:
Really? My first pony was fed [on livery] on oats, barley, bran and sugar beet twice a day ever day for the two years I owned her. All the pony's were fed the same. Don't remember any of them suffering as a result, last I heard she lived until she was in her late 20s/early 30s (don't actually know her YoB)

:confused::confused:
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That would be a rather 'old school' feeding regime. Back in the 70's and early 80's that was a typical diet for horses. The SB would have gone some way to balancing the diet, but as others have said, the amount fed of individual ingrediants and the quality and nutritional value of the main forage part of the diet would count the most, I suppose.
 
in the late 70's early 80's we would feed 30+ horses on bran, not one of them had any problems, i don't actually think we had the vet out for anything other than routine things. the horses always had a shine to thier coat and were healthy.

as the years have gone by i don't feed it to mine now and stick to the 'regimented' way of feeding advised by other owners/feed specialists but i have the vet out to mine almost on a monthly basis.

i don't know if it's the feed or a combination of how horses are these days but that's my experience.
 
Spyda said:
That would be a rather 'old school' feeding regime. Back in the 70's and early 80's that was a typical diet for horses. The SB would have gone some way to balancing the diet, but as others have said, the amount fed of individual ingredients and the quality and nutritional value of the main forage part of the diet would count the most, I suppose.
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t'wa in the 80s :)
Everything was in separate bags, IIRC she was on 1 scoop oats, 1 scoop barley, ½ scoop bran, ½ scoop sugar beet


riding_high said:
i don't know if it's the feed or a combination of how horses are these days but that's my experience.
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does make you wonder! :)
 
There is no problem at all with feeding bran, as long as you feed it with limestone flour or alfa and beet, this sorts out any p/c discrepancies. Bran is an old showmans tip for putting weight on, probably because it is a good fibre source (for a 'short' feed).

I do have a problem with the occasional bran mash, contrary to popular opinion, it is NOT a laxative, the resulting squits are because the gut balance has been disturbed.
 
riding_high said:
in the late 70's early 80's we would feed 30+ horses on bran, not one of them had any problems, i don't actually think we had the vet out for anything other than routine things. the horses always had a shine to thier coat and were healthy.

as the years have gone by i don't feed it to mine now and stick to the 'regimented' way of feeding advised by other owners/feed specialists but i have the vet out to mine almost on a monthly basis.

i don't know if it's the feed or a combination of how horses are these days but that's my experience.
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Why don't you put it to the test then and see what happens? (I'm on the side for bran BTW) For the small amounts you'd feed of it, it won't do any harm and it could well improve their constitution, you never know. Would be interesting. :)
 
Well, I fed my now 32yo veteran on a diet of Bran, Sugarbeet and Cool Mix (later on 16+ mix) plus daily turnout and ad lib hay for over 20 years and it's done him no harm whatsoever. He's still going strong but as he has now very few teeth left he needs hay replacers and the independent nutritionist I recently consulted said that it didn't add any value to him now so I've taken hin off it.

Similarly a friend who owns a racing stud gives most of the mares a hot bran mash on cold winter nights. This is a 150yo family owned stud so I reckon they know what they're doing.

I think bran is being unfairly demonized!! :D
 
As Maesfen has said, I give it to my broodies for a month before and about 2 weeks after foaling, I also give it to my Fell mare if she is looking gassy - she is a very good doer and so needs restricting, but has coliced twice due to not having enough going through.
We always fed it (My old boss has gone on to be head horseman at another brewery now and feeds the same there) to the shires, they had it 4 times a day, with mix, chaff, water and beet, they were-still are- show champions, and one of them was in his 20's.

Im very much on the side of bran...if fed very lightly damped it has a slight binding effect - it was the only thing inc pink powder etc etc etc that worked on a severly scouring mare - and if fed wet or as a mash has a slight laxative effect.

Obviously if you are feeding scoop upon scoop there will be a nutritional deficiency, but that can be said for any feed if fed at incorrect levels.
 
On veterinary advice following colic surgery 4 years ago involving removal of 3 metres of small intestine and a re-section, I have fed bran in every feed to my 24 year old gelding. Just ½ a stubbs scoop in with Hi Fi Good Doer and D&H Equine sensitive - all fed very wet. He also has a liquid supplement called Curragh Carron Oil which is high in calcium (also recommended by vets).

With the very restricted turnout at my current yard meaning all my horses are stabled pretty much 24/7 and the number of colic cases around in the bad weather, I have also been adding a couple of handfuls to all my other horses feeds, but will stop when they are getting out more.

I too can remember feeding straights donkeys years ago, when there were no compound feeds - I even remember Spillers bringing out the "pony nut"! I'd say many problems these days are caused by the enormous choice available and people mixing too many different compound feeds and therefore upsetting the carefully formulated nutritional balance of each.
 
Very rarely use it but I do have a very fussy, very elderly mare who is sometimes really hard to get enough fibre into :) She almost always responds well to a change in diet (she hasn't read any BHS textbooks!) but occasionally I will give her a dollop of warm bran mash if she really doesn't fancy anything else.
 
I keep a small bag in the feed room for if I have a sick horse, I'm old fashioned like that!! A warm bran mash can often tempt a horse to eat if it's off it's usual food and I have found it helpful in the past with a mare who was prone to episodes of colic, my vet, who's also old fashioned was in favour of this!
Makes fab poultices too!

Wouldn't feed it on a day to day basis though as very little feed value and too high in phosphorus.
 
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