Rice bran to add fat to diet

I am trying to keep my percheron on a high fat/low carb EPSM diet. I used oil in the past, but she didn't like it mixed in with her food and wouldn't eat it. I haven't added anything since. Can I use stabilized rice bran instead? Will it cause too much CA/Phos ratio since she is already on a ration balancer? She gets about 2.5lbs of Nutrena Empower Balance....looking to switch over to the Purina Enrich 32 soon. She gets bermuda hay and pasture.

You can but if you are feeding 1# of oil (4 C) you would need to be feeding about 4.5# of rice bran a day to equal the same 1# of fat. When you eliminate the Empower, you will also drop the fat content of the diet. There's no problem with adding stabilized rice bran (only thing on the market) as Ca is adding in correct proportions to balance out the high P.

RB is also moderately high in starch and sugars at about 22%.

Enrich is pretty high in protein and should balance your Ca too, since it's meant for feeding grass hay.
Ricebran is high in sugars. 22% is about right. IMO, mixing alfalfa pellets in(give protein AND Ca,), you could feed less ricebran and maybe even try to add oil since the alfalfa pellets soaked might mask the oil a bit. Plus some omega supplement( high fat, too and next to none in sugars).

Thanks guys.

I think this is where I got confused last time..... Since they are already VERY easy keepers....trying to add the fat. I did the FeedXL thing for a month and it said that the ration balancer gave them what they needed, for the most part. That is why I'm switching to the Enrich 32...there was one thing lacking in the Nutrena...can't remember what now. These guys are ridden almost everyday....from some arena work/rides around the ranch to long trail rides for hours. I want to try and add the more fat again, but that much oil or rice bran seems like so much since they only get 1.5lbs and 2.5lbs of ration balancer. How about maybe adding a small amount of the Nutrena Empower Boost just for fat? How about Triple Crown Omega Max? Or a combo with the rice bran? Oy, again.

For it to be an effective EPSM diet, you need at least 20% of the calories to come from fat. If you're only in the 10%+ range you are just providing extra calories. The muscles are still going to be using glycogen for fuel.

So, if I bring the fat up to that 20% range, it will basically change over from a bad thing to a good thing? Then I will start looking into a good combo to provide the 20% for them.

Where does the FeedXL analysis come in on fat %?

The E Balance is 30% fat while the boost is only 12%. Natures Essentials is lower still at 5%.

Triple Crown Omega Max is going to be just flax seed and is 34% fat. You will need to feed 3# of this product to get 1# of fat. It will break the bank. If you want flax, buy a 50# bag at the feed store. (I pay $35).

You are just going to have a hard time coming up with enough fat without the majority of it coming from oils. Hay is maybe 2%.

If she need 30 Mcals a day and 20% of it needs to come from fat, than she needs the equivalent of 6 Mcals of fat per day.

What signs is she exhibiting that make you want her on a high fat diet? Would she be better served by eliminating any obvious NSC (including testing hays) and go with a hay and RB or hay and vitamin/mineral blend only diet? I just don't see the #s of ESPM drafts out there that everyone claims there are.

I really have nothing showing me any signs of EPSM with her. She seems quite healthy. I was thinking that in order to keep her healthy and prevent EPSM, that I need to have her on a high fat diet. Is this not the case?

I haven't had hay tested because there are so many variables....I board, and they get a nice quality hay (at least it looks and smells wonderful) from a local feed store. Not sure where it actually comes from and how often it changes etc.

So, since they are VERY easy keepers I only have them fed the grass hay. They also have pasture a few hours a day while I'm out there. I try to balance the diet with the ration balancer. They are doing very well from what I see physically and mentally. Should I leave things alone then?