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Discussion on Confused about calcium balance with rice bran
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New Member:
nauset79
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Posted on Sunday, Jun 24, 2007 - 2:22 pm:
I just started my horse on rice bran to help build up his weight. He is currently still in the treatment phase of gastroguard and during this time he lost quite a bit of weight as I reduced his grain.
He is on 3/4 coffee can Ultium am and pm and 1/4 can for lunch. I have added 1/2 can rice bran to all three meals. He has free choice grass hay and eats about 3/4 of a bale per day.
Should I just add a calcium supplement to his meals? Also, is the rice bran negatively affecting his healing ulcers? This is a very hot horse and I am concerned about feeding him alfalfa as I feel it would give him excess energy.
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Member:
nisquy
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Posted on Sunday, Jun 24, 2007 - 2:50 pm:
I feed rice bran to my horse and love it. I've used several brands and all were stabilized and had added calcium. It should say on the packaging whether calcium is added. I am using EquiJewel at the present time because my feed store carries it and it comes in pellet form, which is easier to feed. Which brand did you buy?
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Member:
amara
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Posted on Sunday, Jun 24, 2007 - 2:51 pm:
i've fed rice bran to several horses with past ulcers and never had negative affects, but dot know if its par for the course or just luck...
as far as adding calcium the thing you need to do is do a nutritional analysis with all the feeds you are using, including the hay... i'm sure there's information on doing this in dr.O's nutritional articles... its not hard to do, but usually requires a calculator...
horses can tolerate excess calcium much better than they can tolerate excess phosphorous, depending on the age of the horse... (young growing horses need to have more appropriate ca:p balances...)
moorman's feed offers a balanced ca:p rice bran for those who worry...
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Sunday, Jun 24, 2007 - 3:41 pm:
Hello Nauset,
Rice bran is deficient in calcium but as other posters indicate above many commercial products balance the calcium. Calcium and phosphorous should be considered in light of the whole diet and for an introduction to mineral balance see the Overview on Nutrition article and then go on to the specific articles on minerals, calcium/phosphorus, and feeding bran. It should answer any questions you have but you will need the analysis of your feedstuffs and the weights, not the volumes of the amount you feed.
DrO
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New Member:
nauset79
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Posted on Thursday, Jun 28, 2007 - 4:03 pm:
I apologize for not posting again until now!
I purchased the rice bran that was at my local feedstore, it is by Triple Crown and looks almost like a powder. My horse is eating it but I would imagine that pellets would be much easier.
I am going to read Dr. O's nutrition article and see what I come up with.
Thanks!
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