With the recent cold snap that hit South Texas, I decided to research and challenge an old wisdom that has been ingrained in me since an early age. At the barn where I rode at growing up, we always used warm bran mash for horses at signs of drastic weather changes. We also gave them at horse shows or when trailering a long distance. It was just what you did to help your horse deal with the stress and get their gut moving, thus minimizing the potential for colic. Right?
Well, maybe not.
Just because we did something one way for years does not mean that it is right. New research or technology can definitely challenge these old wisdoms. I have come to this realization that giving a bran mash for the reasons above is precisely one of these practices that need to be left in the past. I am not a vet, nor am I here to offer guidance to anyone reading this.
However, I want to share key points from my research that has led me to change my practices around bran mashes. I will also share what I did to prepare my horses to successfully get through the tragic deep freeze we recently saw in Texas. All my sources are listed below so that you can do your own research and work with your vet to make your own decisions.
What is a bran mash?
A bran mash for horses consists of wheat bran and hot water. The mash should be of a consistency where it clumps together but doesn’t bleed out water when squeezed. Bran mashes are fairly palatable for horses. That said, I found that in the past, Dolce and Oakley gave me a side-eye look when I fed it to them. Often people will add carrots or apple pieces to make it more interesting.
Why do people (me included past tense) think bran mash for horses is helpful?
- The conventional wisdom is that bran mashes get the gut moving. You can feed the mash and often see a looser stool and more stool volume.
- Bran mashes may also warm up the horse since you are feeding it with warm water.
- Bran mashes may also encourage your horses to drink more water, and managing water intake is critical to minimize colic in cold weather or stressful situations.
Why may bran mashes do more harm than good to horses?
1. Bran mashes upset the microbial environment in the hindgut.
We have all learned that changes to a horse’s diet should be made gradually over several days, so why would giving bran be any different? So, when you see the loose stool and more volume and think that is a good thing, it is not from the bran “cleansing the gut.” When the microbial load gets off balance, bacteria die off, releasing endotoxins and resulting in a loose stool. Also, the increased stool volume is directly tied to the fact that the fiber in wheat bran is not very digestible by horses, so this mass passes through the intestinal tract.
2. Bran mashes don’t warm up the horses.
Horses get better conversion of heat by eating hay. Feeding ample hay (free choice if possible) is the best solution to keeping your horse warm during frigid temperatures.
3. Bran mash for horses have an upside down Calcium to Phosphorus ratio and can lead to other nutrient imbalances.
The normal Calcium to Phosphorus ratio ranges from 1:1 to 2:1, while bran has a range of 1:10 to 1:12. Further, 90% of the Phosphorus in bran is in a form called Phytate, which interferes with calcium absorption and reduces the absorption of Copper, Zinc, and Manganese. Additionally, bran mashes are relatively high in vitamins such as Niacin, Thiamin, and Riboflavin but much lower in B vitamins.
Thus, using bran to displace everyday foods and associated nutrients can lead to other problems, including a metabolic condition known as Secondary Hyperparathyroidism (commonly known as Big Head). For this reason, there are several articles that do not recommend bran as a steady diet without discussing it with an equine nutritionist.
4. Wheat bran contains a considerable amount of soluble carbohydrates (about 30%).
As many of us have become concerned about high levels of starches and sugars in horse diets, adding wheat bran in large amounts can contribute to growth and metabolic disorders.
My cold weather strategy – note that bran mashes are NOT included
Water, hay and electrolytes
- Monitor water to encourage drinking. I have automatic waterers with meters to measure how much they are drinking. If I see drinking slow down, I add warmer water to encourage drinking. If you do not have warm water in your barn, consider having a plug-in water heater, coffee pot, or even crawfish boil pot to provide the warm water.
- Give free choice hay. Especially during cold temperatures, my horses have hay in front of them 24/7 to ensure they are always encouraged to eat.
- Give Electrolytes. I have electrolyte tubes on hand and give them if I see water intake reducing on any of the horses.
Activities
- Turnout. Even with it being frigid, getting them out and moving around certainly helps. If it is rainy or icy, I get them moving around my barn aisle. Otherwise, getting out for an hour or two does wonder.
- Monitor all night. Because we have to worry about exposed pipes in TX, when it hits single digits, I monitor the horses all night. I empty their waterers and let them refill so that I know the lines are not freezing. I also run all other faucets in the barn to make sure water is moving. Nothing made me happier when each time I came into the barn to clean waterers, I found a bunch of hay dripped into their water bowls, it was a mess, but it checked off two key points – the horses eating and drinking.
- Seal the barn tight. In normal operation with doors opening and closing, my barn holds temperature fairly well. Temperatures usually hold with a 15-20°F delta between outside and inside. For the recent freeze when we hit 5°F, I was able to maintain 35°F in the barn. That 30°F delta is from minimizing open doors and sealing all door jambs. I put towels and foam insulation into the junction where my sliding doors meet the barn. I also put towels around all garage door edges to keep temperatures higher in my garages and well room.
Planning
- Assume the vet cannot get to you. I bought additional electrolytes and made sure I had plenty of Banamine and Ulcergard on hand. If my horses were going to colic, I want to have meds to address problems immediately, because I assume vets may have other emergencies or roads may be impassable.
- Plan for the worst. Think through all the “what if’s” and have a plan to address them. For example, we had our generator ready at the barn because our well is located there. Before the storm, we had run all electrical cables to where we planned to connect the generator outside. We also went through our protocol to which circuit breakers we would turn on if we needed the generator. In the end, we did have it running for about 36 hours. Additionally, I had brought in one of my water troughs from outside and filled it in the barn. Although I didn’t need it, the horses had fun drinking from it when they got their aisle stroll when they couldn’t go out.
The storm that hit Texas was a once-in 125-year event, and it was not fun. Everyone I know in Texas was impacted in some way. Planning in advance and continuing to learn from your experiences will improve your ability to survive storms unscathed.
And, the moral of the story… stay open to new research and be willing to change the foundational principles of your horse care if it warrants.
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Resources / References:
- https://blog.smartpakequine.com/2014/02/ask-the-vet-is-bran-mash-good-for-horses/
- https://aaep.org/horsehealth/bran-mash
- https://thehorse.com/19261/risks-associated-with-feeding-horses-traditional-bran-mashes/
- https://www.triplecrownfeed.com/the-truth-behind-bran-mashs-use-as-an-equine-digestive-tract-stabilizer/
- https://www.succeed-equine.com/succeed-blog/2013/06/17/monday-myth-15-feed-bran-mash-to-prevent-colic/
- https://horse-canada.com/magazine/nutrition/the-dos-and-donts-of-feeding-horses-bran-mash/
- https://ker.com/equinews/bran-mash-whats-really-good/
- https://kppusa.com/2017/12/20/horse-people-feed-wheat-bran-mashes/
