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pepper93
02 Sep 2009 17:07
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We are going to feed my pony a bran mash once a week to begin with and add some linseed oil for his coat and wellbeing and some salt to encourage him to drink more as he doesnt drink an awful amount.
Now we have bought a bag of what is called 'wheat bran'. I asked if it was flakes as i was told that it should be in flakes to be the right sort but i thought the response to that was a bit vague from the shopkeepers.
Anyway, we havent opened the bag yet but i thought i would ask peoples opinion on if this is the right sort before opening it as the last bag we got turned out to have barley and other cereals in it so it wasnt pure bran and we had to give it away!
Also i have been told that you need to put limestone in it to balance calcium;phosphorus or something like that? But would you still really need to do that only feeding it once a week?
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Horse Hero Guru
04 Sep 2009 00:24
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Hi Pepper, why do you want to feed your horse a weekly bran mash?
One of the basic rules of feeding is not to make sudden changes to his diet and feeding something once a week is just that.
If you feel that your pony needs a hard feed or a supplement to what he is already getting then you should feed a small amount daily rather than on a one-off basis.
Bran is the husks of cereal and is largely fibre. It has no proven beneficial effect on the horse’s digestion – after all, his diet is (or should be) mostly fibre from hay and grass. It also contains very little nutrients – and can actually remove minerals from the body, which is why you should add limestone . The other side effect of feeding quantities of bran is that it can change the bacteria in his gut.
With all the modern, balanced feeds available there should really be no reason to feed old fashioned straights unless you have had them analysed and worked out exactly hat you need to feed to provide a balanced feed. Horses may like a bran mash – especially when it has molasses on it, but they like lots of other things too which will be better for them.
With regard to water, if your pony has access to clean fresh water at all times he will drink what he needs. If you feel his diet is low in salt then provide him with a salt lick so that he can take what he wants. Trying to force feed salt to make him thirsty is unnecessary and unkind – would you do it to yourself?
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DressageSpain
04 Sep 2009 18:23
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Sorry HH Guru, I don't agree with you about the bran mashes.
I feed my horses a leisure type mix and rolled oats, so I can control the quantity. I change regularly the type of mix they get, bearing in mind the type of work they are doing and also to give them a different taste in their food. My vet has also agreed that this will not cause any harm to the horses and gives variety. I also do this as well, just to be sure that they are not the kind of horses who would suffer a colic if we were ccompeting away and for some reason had to stay and ran out of feed.
Back to bran mashes, my boys get them once a week, on a sunday, but not to add anything to them vitamins/minerals/moisture wise. But purely because its very good for them to have it as they are used to clear the horses system and encourage things to keep moving through the gut. Again, several vets have encouraged the use of a bran mash with my horses. Its what the hunts used to feed their horses after a day in the hunting field.
Its so gentle on the stomach, it will not cause your pony any harm and is a nice warming treat for them which they enjoy.
Boiled linseed will give your horse a lovely glossy coat, but this should be added to a normal feed, and not the bran mash. But if your pony has a glossy coat already, it could be one less thing for you to prepare.
I would not add limestone to it though....
I make mine with molasses or honey.
The golden rule with feeding horses is to keep it simple, fnd something that works for you and stick to it. My feeding regime could not be simpler and my horses are working at a high level/standard in dressage.
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pepper93
05 Sep 2009 19:32
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Thanks for your comments. A vet had recommended us to use bran to keep things moving.
We didnt add limestone to it as the vet didnt say anything about it and it said in my nutrition book that it wasnt necessary if you were feeding less than 1-2kg and we fed him 0.5kg. But i asked because there was people saying you should add it and i was a bit confused.
He doesnt need any feed, he just gets hay and grass and he is round enough! But our vet had recommended it so we thought we would give it a go.
DressageSpain - i agree about keeping things simple, ponies in particular actually need very little as i have found out. I used to have a poor doer and she was actually easier to feed than my current pony as i feel mean not giving him as much! We had to feed my poor doer a different bag of feed each time we completed a bag as she was so fussy and wouldnt eat hardly anything as she was old and we discussed it with a nutritionist and at first she said you shouldnt do that but i suppose the rules need to be bent in certain cases and it didnt do her any harm.
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Horse Hero Guru
05 Sep 2009 22:32
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There are as many different theories on feeding horses as there are owners, and if you find a system that works for you and your horse then by all means use it.
I agree that hunt horses were regularly given a warm bran mash after hunting when they were tired and cold as it was a way of getting them to eat after a long day’s work. Most modern nutrition advice does not recommend the feeding of bran since it is high in phosphorus and low in calcium (the two main minerals utilised to build bones and muscle). Ideally there should be slightly more calcium than phosphorus in the diet and if there isn’t then the body will take calcium from the bones to balance the excess phosphorus in the diet. Obviously a small amount of bran will not make a significant difference, but is there really any need to feed it when there are better feeds available?
I do not believe that any horse that is fed properly on a fibre-based diet should need anything to keep the gut moving, any more than a person needs a laxative once a week.
I would also not advise feeding molasses or honey, particularly to a pony or any horse prone to laminitis. Horses are not designed to at sugar and it can be potentially dangerous.
I do not believe that anyone should suggest that another person should break the basic rules of feeding unless there is some significant reason for doing so. Certainly on a guest book such as this where the horse and situation is unknown I think it would be very unwise to offer such advice.
My advice is therefore to follow the basic rules of feeding:
• Feed little and often – and regularly
• Feed lots of fibre – grass, hay etc
• Don’t make sudden changes to the diet, as this will upset the bacteria in the gut. The gut is full of many species of bacteria, each type of which is responsible for the digestion of a particulat element of the horse’s diet. A rapid change of feed will affect the balance of bacteria and can result in the release of toxins from the dead bacteria leading to metabolic disorders (such as laminitis) or colic or diarrhoea. A gradual change allows the bacteria to adapt.
• Always make sure that there is plenty of clean fresh water
• Feed each horse as an individual and according to work done, not what will be done
• Feed good quality food, which is where most of the digestion takes place
• Make sure that the horse can make the most of his food – check his teeth regularly and keep worming up to date.
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joallan
06 Sep 2009 13:33
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I used to feed my horse a bran and linseed mash in the 1970's, after a days hunting.
The bran was "broad bran" ie large flakes which were ordered from the very last rolling mill of its type in England.
Since the stuff you can get nowadays resembles bran meal, which would have been rejected by the old feeders, i don't even consider it.
Boiling linseed is a messy business, so i might consider using linseed oil (where all the work has been done for you), but instead of lots of supplements, (and where does that end), i would prefer to buy a complete feed to suit the horse and its current work.
When my ponies are in full work, ie not less than 60 minutes every day including trotting and cantering, I tend to feed two or three bagged foodstuffs at any one time(one being a chaff or alfalfa), so i can replace one element with another without causing any digestive upset.... it may be that the supplier has run out of one feed, or that you want to change from a conditioning feed to a competition mix for example.
I would only feed a gruel to very tired or sick horses, and not to those out on good grazing at all as grass is a laxative in itself.
If your pony is only walking a few hours per week, and is doing well on grass and no feed so much the better, if he is expected to jump and gallop around the place then you should consider feeding minerals and vitamins, someone in the yard you keep him in will be experienced with ponies, i would have a chat with them, to my mind, it is strange for the vet to suggest a bran mash as the only management alteration to his regime.
Re water, please make sure that his stable is kept clean especially around the feed and water area, they are very sensitive to smells and not all of them will even drink tap water if they are used to river water.
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