Feeding Bran

[ru-fi-do]

I was speaking to someone today that said a man they know came into the saddlery(where she works) for a bag of bran, he gives some to his mare everynight with her feed as she is prone to colic, the other night was the first night he didn't feed it her and she went down with colic. Now do you think it was pure coincidence(sp)

? My girl is prone to getting colic whenever we change grazing and wondered wether it would be worth adding any to her feed when we do change onto our spring grazing. Years ago we used to always give the ponies a bran mash after a day at show's or mounted games competitions.
Just interested what peoples thoughts are on bran and wether any of you still use it?

 

[Paint it Lucky]

I've always been told bran is bad, it has loads of phosphorus but hardly any calcium which means horses have to take calcium outof their bones when they eat it to try and balance the phosphorus. Horses find it really hard to digest and it has little nutritional value other then to bulk up food. It is definately bad to give as a one off (ie on day off) as the horse wont be used to it so it will just flush all the other food out of their digestive system to. Avoid bran! I can understand the mare colicing cos it was a sudden change to her diet not to have it, but if a horse isn't used to bran i wouldn't start trying to introduce it to it, there's no point. There is lads of reseacrh now to show that bran is not a good feed for horses.

 

[ThomasTank]

I feed bran every day to my horse. I thnk if you feed half a scoop each day then the phospherous/calcium argument is a bit negligble really, but each to their own

 

[henryhorn]

We sometimes feed bran, often to tempt fussy feeders or to horses who for some reason can't have their normal diet. It is supposed to be fed with limestone flour to prevent calcium leeching.

 

[Jemayni]

Possibly the change in routine? (why would you change her feed for one night?)

My little pony was fed bran for several years & it is still the only feed that doesnt fizz him u, however I did feed it with lime to prevent Calcium deficiency. Then my supplier stopped stocking it, so I stopped feeding it. I have heard it is good for horses prone to colic though.

 

[cosmicblue]

bran has little if any nutritional quality to a horse.
it is a old fashioned way of bulking up the horses feed.
no point in feeding it at all even half a scoop a day can affect calcium absobtion

 

[k9h]

Feeding Bran
Bran Mash

 

[Capriole]

i disagree with that article especially saying bran is an essential part of a horses diet! the only use i can see for bran is as a poultice