What is bran mash for horses?

Bran Mash is bran (which is a type of grain) mixed with warm water to create a mash. Horses love it as i guess it tastes good. I haven't heard of anything bad about it but i ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT!!!! It helps prevent colic believe it or not. And if you have a bellyacher (a horse that experience mild colic often) you can feed it and it will drastically help. You can feed it anytime but we train horses and feed it to all of them about three times a week to help. And you know what, after years and years of training and boarding we have NEVER had a horse colic. EVER. And the person who posted first had mentioned about how it made her horse poop a lot, it helps move the digestive system along, which helps in preventing colic. But i don't know if you feed it to a colicing horse, your not suppose to feed anything to a colicing horse because it makes it worse. So remember it is only used as a treat and a preventative.

Bran use to be fed on a regular basis but in recent years the use has dropped off a great deal. It is said by many that bran is an irritant to the horse's gut.

In racing stables in the UK it is common practise to feed a bran mash twice a week, oats and linseed (flax) is placed in a boiler with water and cooked overnight and the next morning. A large barrow is filled with bran and hot water and the cooked gruel os added. This is then covered and left for three or four hours to cook and cool and it is fed that evening of the day before the horses have their rest day and easy day.

Most horses love a mash.

Many people mistakenly give bran as a treat. I have never understood this. I would never allow my horses to be given any type of bran as it is not good for horses. Given on a rare occasion will not do any harm, but research has stated that no horse should be given bran on a daily basis as it is harmful. Bran does not prevent colic, which is another common incorrect belief. Too often people just follow along with what anyone else says and they do not check things out themselves relative to the actual truth of the facts. I understand that this has been done for ages, but it is still dangerous to horses and should not be used as a food source as it is unhealthy and will cause damage. And the younger the horse, the more severe the damage can be due to the life stage of the horse. You should make your own decisions and do not let these ignorant people influence the care of your horse. Your trainer is just another misinformed "professional". Sad.

Here it's made with wheat bran and molasses mixed in boiling water and then cooled enough to be palatable.

It used to be thought to have a laxative effect as it moved content effectively through the digestive tract, and that was why it was given.

But we know now that it has no laxative function, and that instead, it produces an undesirable disruption of hind gut bacteria, with acidosis and inflammation which is what actually produces the loose stools that we used to think were from the laxative effect.

The calcium to phosphorus ratio of wheat bran is off and also poses a problem if fed to horses on any regular basis, as it can lead to skeletal deformity.

So, while your barn staff meant well and fed the mash as a nice treat, it is not something that you should encourage. You can use senior feed pellets like Purina makes to make a healthy hot mash if you want to feed a mash.

its not bad for horses at all ive never heard of it being a treat for horses though. were we keep our horses at our house there is no grass in the pastures because we live on a hill so every month or two we give them a bran mash with mineral oil just to make sure that they dont colic fjrom too much sand. it just kind of cleans them out. its just bran you can buy at the feed store with a little warm water and mineral oil and then to make it taste a little better we put some maple syrup on top some horses like it and some dont

as quickly as each and every week won't harm his progression.fairly plenty any grain product we feed to horses ( as a single product ..as in you feed basically oats or basically corn) isn't a 'balanced' feed. for this reason horse feed is mostly a mix of many grains and likewise fortified pellets.Rice bran is greater fats yet in addition a 'cooler' feed as oats are greater in sugars and starches than the rice bran( those sugars and starches are what impact your horse so a approaches as making him excitable.If he's on candy feed you will desire to look right into a various feeding regimine and spot if it lowers his 'capacity point') you would be able to additionally feed him Beet Pulp shreds soaked in warm water as a heat manage,yet basically if he gets adequate hay that's what keeps a horse heat.whilst they digest hay the fermentation technique interior the hind intestine certainly produces the warmth they desire.Giving them a heat manage in all probability makes us experience greater appropriate than it does them ( yet Mine get heat Beet Pulp at dinner too)

i've given my horse bran..all it did was make him poo like three times.. which is what i was going for. but im not sure about it being a treat, i know it doesn't hurt though.