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Bran - safe once a month?

4K views 4 replies 5 participants last post by  dressagebelle 
#1 ·
Sand is everywhere over here. So instead of giving them sand clear, BO gives everyone a bran mash once a month...she insists it does the same job.

Now I have been reading and am aware that bran is not all too good for them. I also know that she feeds them nowhere near the amount of bran mash needed for it to actually clear anything.

I just...would rather avoid another argument if possible. Is a once a month feeding of the bran harmless? Or do I need to stand up and insist she feed them something else while the other horses get "branned". Keep in mind she is one of those people who hates to "leave the other horses out", so she needs to feed them something while the other horses get it.

Any suggestions? Is there something they can be fed instead of the bran mash that would do sandclear's job, or can I add sandclear to anything?

For the record, the two horses are an easy keeper coming 10 yo mare and a 13 yo arab gelding who came to us underweight and is in the process of regaining condition.
 
#2 ·
hmm i dont know if we are thinking the same thing here but i have never heard of bran being bad for horses. my horses have always have bran (millrun) in their feeds. and i mean always as in im 31 and ive had horses all my life and we have always fed bran. i would be interested to hear if there is something to this but i have never heard anywhere about bran being bad.

best thing i would do to remove sand from the gut is to dose them with psyllium husks. i cant remember the dosage. maybe 500grams per 100kgs of horse ??? that could be it but not sure.

all that aside, me personally, i would say that this bran procedure should be fine. i cant at all understand though how it should work but hey, you learn something new every day :)
 
#4 ·
#5 ·
Bran does not actually clear out a horse's system at all. I started reading up about nutrition, and what to feed and stuff, so I could be more aware of what my horse should be getting, and one of the things I had been told for years was that I should feed a bran mash once a week or so, to clear out the horse's system, and that it would also help if they've got mild colic. According to the book Understanding Equine Nutrition by Karen Briggs, bran does nothing in terms of clearing out a horse's system, and though there is no harm in feeding a horse a bit of bran, there is no nutritional value in feeding them bran. To clear out sand, use a psylium (I know I spelled it wrong). You just put it in their feed, the package has all the dosage information.
 
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