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  Discussion on Wheat bran's viability
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Member:
hpyhaulr

Posted on Monday, Jan 22, 2007 - 7:36 pm:

Amanda and I have been trying to put some weight back on our Honey Bear. Since she is on stall rest, she has been getting a bit depressed. We are also questioning the quality of our Bermuda coastal hay lately and have been "peppering" it with alfalfa. It is making her too 'hot'. Walt had started mixing in alfalfa pellets (I ordered the cubes) and corn oil (per Holly's suggestion) and rice bran pellets. When Amanda tried to take her out for hand walks, she started rearing up and bucking and just generally acting like a stallion! We are thinking about cutting out the alfalfa hay and keep the pellets. We also found a bag of wheat bran which is several months old... don't remember why we got it and didn't use it. Does it break down or get rancid, and if it does how would we know? We will not use it until we get feedback on this post. It looks and smells fine, but we won't trust it til told to.

Current feed 2x daily=
1 part whole oats,
2 parts 12%/6% pellets (protein/fat),
1/2 #rice bran pellets
1/2# alfalfa pellets. 1/4 cup corn oil
Lunch is soaked beet pulp & molasses.
Free choice hay all day and she gavonnes it all. I suspect her weight loss is d/t fact that since Amanda is here, they are all working out more and were getting fed the same. Honey is not working out now, and has not been for a while, but is not gaining the weight back on. Wormed recently.
Tuffy is slimmed down and that is the good news. She was getting a bit "up there".
Mac, Sunshine & CJ are holding their own in the weight department.
Member:
hwood

Posted on Tuesday, Jan 23, 2007 - 12:24 am:

Glad to hear that Honey is feeling better . . . ahem . . .
How much is a "part?" A small coffee can? A large scoop? A soup can?
I'd lose the molasses at lunch time and might get rid of the oats and replace them with pellets depending on how big a "part" is.
I've never fed rice bran pellets, although I've fed rice bran to a couple of horses that needed extra weight and they wouldn't eat the oil . . . but I didn't notice them gaining much at all.
I am not a feed expert, so don't take this as gospel, but I think the pelleted feed is usually pretty well balanced, so doesn't need the oats, rice bran, wheat bran, etc. I use pelleted feed to completment my hay which isn't great quality. Last year, my horses were on bluestem prairie grass hay, and all of them lost weight, even though they had hay free choice. This year, the horses are getting about 2-3 lbs of pelleted feed per day in addition to the hay, and they are all keeping their weight well, and none of them is overweight.
As for the bran, unless meal worms or other bugs or rodents have gotten into it, I would think that it is okay to feed. It will have a rancid/fermented smell if it is turned. If it's been kept in a cool, dry storage area, it should be fine.
Member:
redalert

Posted on Tuesday, Jan 23, 2007 - 9:42 am:

Hey Cyndi
I think Hollywood has some good suggestions. And, I want to add that, even tho Alfalfa certainly can make some horses "hot", I bet Honey Bear might be acting silly not just because of her feed. She might be feeling "free and happy"(like a stallion) because of the stall rest... it is always a challenge for me to keep one quiet while on stall rest! Hand walking always becomes "hand jigging" at best. They always want to GET OUT of that stall! Does she have to stay on stall rest because of other issues that I might have missed?
At any rate, good luck with the weight gain issue. I bet you already know about beet pulp. There are feeds that already have beet pulp in them , or you could add beet pulp to any feed (I always add water, too, though there is debate about whether this is necessary). It is just I've had great results with it, for keeping weight on, and intestinal health!
Member:
redalert

Posted on Tuesday, Jan 23, 2007 - 9:44 am:

okay, I just read your post again, and you are already feeding beet pulp! Good for you. I might up the fat you are feeding to 8 or even 10%!
Member:
hpyhaulr

Posted on Tuesday, Jan 23, 2007 - 10:52 am:

Thank you Nancy...
The thread which introduced Honey to HA is "mare experiencing lameness". She is a high energy kind of girl anyway. Constant stall pacer. I feel she does better both mentally and physically in a larger environment. While our barn is a sheDrOw she NEVER has to feel boxed in and she has the end stall to minimize her opportunity to prove that she does not play nice with the other 'kids' ESPECIALLY other mares. When in the stall, we have to keep leg chains on her rear legs for the sake of her body as well as the stall, and her stall neighbor. When she has something to communicate with chains on she will use headbanging on her door/gate(is there a full face mask/helmet for obstreperous mares?) She can ride with the mares, but NEVER pasture or stall attached to a mare.
Problem child? LOL you betcha
But affectionate, compliant in the ring, a great, smooth ride and DrOp dead gorgeous. If the eyes truly are the gateway to the soul, she has freakin' Mother Theresa locked inside her. WAY DEEP INSIDE.
I wondered about raising the fat again to 10%. Next feed store pick up...

I have always opted to keep her in a larger outdoor pen whenever possible. I figure she is going to pace anyway. She just seems less stressed outside.
Amanda has been handwalking her as she is just too hot for me to handle right now. Yes, she is feeling a bit better, but that leg is still a little 'ouchy', and we have a good ways to go before yelling yippee.

Holly,
Thank you for point blank answering the viability issue.
Point well taken about the amounts. I use a large scoop to define the "part". When I get the oats and the horse pellets, I mix them according to the proportions listed. All the horses are on that mix except for the pony & minis who get straight oats (trying to reduce jelly bellies) and Bubba the donkey who gets straight pellets as he will pick out the oats and DrOp them on the ground (an amazing process).
The rest of Honey's feed is added into her bucket. I am concerned about Honey's feed on several different levels. I feel that the amount of feed is disproportionate to her hay intake and the founder worries me. My feed room is starting to look like a feed store with at least 7 different trash cans full of different feeds. Are we making this more complicated than it needs to be?
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Wednesday, Jan 24, 2007 - 7:58 am:

Absolutely too difficult Cyndy and in some cases not exactly the best choice. For instance if you are trying to reduce the weight of horses any supplementation to the hay should be a high protein so as to balance the low protein in the hay. We have articles on reducing weight that explain this in the nutrition section.

Since you feed a lower quality Coastal why not just stock a 16% protein balanced feed pellet and do away with the oats and the alfalfa? Be sure to weigh your current feeds so that you can replace them with equal amounts, by weight, if you switch them. In general I don't find minis and donkeys need much supplementation over their hay, and pony's are often this way to. But their body condition should guide your feeding decisions.
DrO
Member:
hpyhaulr

Posted on Thursday, Jan 25, 2007 - 10:45 am:

Thank you DR. O...
You confirmed my suspicions and we will make the transition over a 10 day course and with great pleasure. We just feed the minis, pony and donkey to keep "peace in the valley" so they don't feel left out when feeding the others. Are the minis better off with a handful of pellets rather than a handful of oats??? Thinking of putting them on the 10%/6% while moving the others to the 16%/10%. Will run out the rice bran pellets, adding the wheat bran to the beet pulp til it runs out. That will be easier. I forgot to mention that they all have mineral blocks in their stalls.
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Friday, Jan 26, 2007 - 6:31 am:

Considering it is just a handful, it does not make much difference but I would choose the one I thought most nutritious.
DrO
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