tell me why we shouldn't feed bran?

I think that non mollassed sugar beet or A & P Fast Fibre are good means for adding supplements. I googled the feeding of bran and the below may explain the shift away from bran:- The fact that it can pass through a horse quickly may not make it an ideal carrier for supplements also.

Horses, people discovered, liked the taste of bran. And millers were more than delighted to sell bran cheaply to local farmers who fed it to their horses. There was only one problem with this turn-of-the-century feeding practice. Horses fed large amounts of bran over long periods of time developed a serious skeletal problem known as "big head."

Bran has an extremely lopsided calcium-to-phosphorous ratio of 1-to-12. The ideal ratio of calcium to phosphorous in a horse's diet is 1-to-1 or 1-to-2. With the ratio so badly out of balance, horses fed large quantities of bran stole calcium from their bones to achieve the right metabolic balance between the two minerals. Soft connective tissue replaced bone and created the enlarged, lumpish skulls that gave the nutritional disease its name.

Modern nutritionists eventually unlocked the secrets about mineral interactions and explained the cause of big head. Now, however, nutritional science is questioning the practice of occasional mashes for reasons that have nothing to do with mineral imbalances. Like those farmers who inadvertently overfed bran and caused big-head disease, 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.

Not a Change for the Better
It is well known among veterinarians, nutritionists and experienced equestrians that a sudden change in diet causes digestive disorders in horses. At the least, the horse may experience mild intestinal discomfort that makes him cranky, anxious or sluggish. Diarrhea, excess gas, colic or laminitis are other possible consequences.

Sudden means that the change is made all at once, rather than gradually in small stages. A change in feed can be anything from switching to a new load of hay, substituting a different grain mix for one you've been feeding or turning a horse wintered on hay out on a lush spring pasture.
 
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thank you both, new about the dodgy calcium ration, but not about the starch level, he is on unmolassed sugar beet -sppedibeet , but i worry about the iron levels although belive kwikbeet is much lower. He's not so keen on fast fibre doh!!
 
I feed a small amount of wheat bran in each feed, as it helps balance out the high calcium levels in the amount of alfalfa and sugar beet I feed. It is high starch, although human grade wheat bran has much less starch in it, but it is the only real source of starch in his diet and for two 100ml scoops per feed (he gets more than this just of supplements per feed!) we get away with it.
 
thanks for your reply khalswitz, i think my horse actually likes it, which is why I asked, but knew nobody much mentioned it.
 
Horses do tend to like it, but it is a tricky feed to feed well due to Ca:P ratios and varying levels of starch. However it works for me as I need a phosphorus boost in my horse's diet, and it is a simple, appetising fix to that problem!! However if your horse is overweight then do watch out as it's not an ideal feed. You'd be better off feeding supplements alongside a high fibre cube or low energy chaff.
 
I feed it, I have had analyses done at all my yards and at all calcium levels were high and phosphorous levels low so it helps me balance that ratio. I still have to feed additional phos on top but it's unpalatable so bran is very helpful.

At my current yard, calcium levels are so excessive, I need to avoid sugarbeet and alfalfa and anything that contains these e.g. Hi fi or fast fibre
 
criso, what exactly did you have tested? it seems there seems to be alsorts of deficencies and excesses, wonder if i should do some testing to see what issues I have especially as my horse seems to be footy.
 
Grass or hay depending on the yard and what I was feeding at the time.

Bran on it's own isn't enough but it helps add some and bulk out the feed. A scoop of bran does not weight much so calorie wise isn't too high.
 
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