Bran Mash For Laminitis

Wheat bran mashes are good for overweight horses.

Bran mash for laminitis.

Hay feed approx. Millrun millmix bran rice or wheat pollard. Bran mash lots of carbohydrates. Modern horsemen may unknowingly be causing their horses distress when they feed bran sporadically as a weekly mash or as a constipation preventative just prior to traveling.

Many feeds that contain grain by products like millrun bran or pollard advertise themselves as being grain free. 1 5 2 bodyweight hay depending on whether weight loss is needed 1 5 or not 2 so 7 5 10 kg for a 500 kg horse 3 75 5 kg for a 250 kg pony soaked for at least 1 hour then drained to reduce sugars or analysed to show combined sugar starch no more than 10. Wheat bran and rice bran should be avoided. Emergency diet for a horse with endocrinopathic laminitis feed.

Supply fiber in the diet of all older horses as soft hay or even beet pulp an excellent fiber and energy source. Any form of steam flaked micronized or extruded grain. Certain grains corn oat wheat even a handful is a bad choice. Now equine nutritionists question the practice of occasional bran mashes for reasons that have nothing to do with mineral imbalances.

Horses with laminitis need high fiber low carbohydrate diets. Higher glycemic index than many grains. For the underweight horse it is critically important to provide safe calories usually in the form of fats or oils along with beet pulp or hay pellets. The small amount of bran needed for these horses may not upset the calcium phosphorus ratio though the entire diet should be evaluated to keep it balanced.

Founderguard is a proven preventative for feed induced laminitis. Bran mash is not recommended since it is too fibrous and bulky. Beet pulp soaked is easily chewed digestible and a good source of calcium. So read all labels and lists of ingredients carefully before buying a feed and remember it is buyer beware.

After a second bout of laminitis that same year which was again successfully treated with double cream my horse became sound and remained so for the next eight years. Horses with laminitis need high fiber low carbohydrate diets. The small amount of bran needed for these horses may not upset the calcium phosphorus ratio though the entire diet should be evaluated to keep it balanced. Even with significant laminitis present to be underweight horse can be fed up to a pound of rice bran or a cup of oil two or three times a day.

Founderguard may also cause drier than normal manure for the first week of treatment and a mild laxative bran mash diet is recommended in these cases for the first few days of supplementation. Tips for feeding the geriatric horse or toothless horse. These side effects were later alleviated by feeding the bran as a damp but not soggy mash and omitting the supplement. Then in spring 2012 he had a third attack the worst.