Bran – Not for Horses
The Way
Of Horses:
What goes in must come out. One of the by-products
of feeding horses is
manure. The quality,
quantity and frequency
of production should be of concern
to every horse owner.
Subconsciously we know if things are
normal. Any change from normal can
be a sign of an impending problem.
If a horse is not passing manure, one of
the first treatments many horse caregivers
rely on is bran. Some horses receive
a bran mash once a week. But, does
this by-product of wheat really help?
Let’s look at the nutrient profile of wheat
bran and compare it to timothy hay.
The protein content of feed is always of
interest to horse people. The protein
of wheat bran is approximately 17.0%.
The protein of timothy hay is around
7.0%. Calculations need to be done
to see how much protein the horse is
actually receiving.
Let’s say one pound of wheat bran is
fed along with 15 pounds of timothy hay
per day. The horse is actually receiving
7.6% protein in his diet for the day, which
is not too bad. A healthy adult horse at
maintenance activity needs about an
8.0% overall protein level.
Here’s how the 7.6% protein figure was
reached. 1 pound of wheat bran times
the 17.0% protein level equals 17. 15
pounds of timothy hay times the 7.0%
protein level equals 105. Now add the
17 and the 105 and divide by the total
pounds fed (1 pound of wheat bran
plus 15 pounds of timothy = 16 pounds).
17 + 105 = 122 ÷ 16 = 7.6%.
So, the high protein level of wheat
bran is not of concern – unless huge
amounts are fed…and that would
cause other problems.
Health
The calcium to phosphorus ratio in a
EQUINE horse’s diet is very critical. The calcium
to phosphorus ratio should be 1.0 to 2.0
parts calcium to 1.0 part phosphorus.
If the phosphorus level is higher than
the calcium level the body will pull the
58 www.EliteEquestrianMagazine.com Water helps keep the digestive system
working properly and helps prevent
impaction colic.
The practice of feeding a warm bran
mash once a week also conflicts with
one rule of feeding horses: make feed
changes gradually and over a period
of time. Offering a horse a large meal
of a product they are not used to can
create digestive up-sets. This practice
may be why some people think
it is working as a laxative…the rapid
change in diet causes loose bowels.
This is not good for the horse’s sensitive
digestive system and may lead to colic
or founder.
The key to a healthy equine digestive
system is plenty of long stem fiber, fresh
clean water at all times and exercise.
Save the bran for your cereal bowl and
enjoy being “regular”.
needed calcium from the bones in
order to achieve the required balance.
The bones will become weakened.
Wheat bran contains about 0.12%
calcium and 1.30% phosphorus. The
ratio would be 1 part calcium to 10.8
parts phosphorus…extremely inverted.
If bran was fed on a regular basis and
over a long period of time bone disorders
may occur.
The main reason wheat bran is fed
to horses is to try to increase the fiber
content and improve gut mobility. The
fiber content in bran is approximately
11.0%. Compare that to the fiber
content of timothy hay’s 35.0%. The
fiber level of wheat bran is identical to
that of whole oats…and we never think
about feeding whole oats to horses in
order to increase fiber.
Research has determined the moisture
content in the manure does not
increase when wheat bran is fed to
horses. It is thought that the water,
which is added to the bran when the
mash is made, acts more as a laxative. EE
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