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A Better Bran Mash? Avoid Digestive Upset With These Tips

Though many adults grew up feeding bran mashes to horses on cold winter nights, the tradition has faded from favor – for good reason.

Once believed beneficial as a laxative for horses that had worked hard in colder weather, wheat bran mashes were often fed once a week. This addition of a “new” feed to the horse's diet once a week goes against the guidelines horse owners are given to change a horse's feed safely: horses should have their feed changed gradually over multiple days to avoid stomach upset and gastrointestinal distress, reports The Horse.

Another issue is that wheat bran has a high phosphorous level; out of balance calcium-phosphorus levels can cause hyperparathyroidism, also called “big head” and “bran” disease. This disease can lead to lameness, painful movement, and difficulty breathing. Though unlikely that a horse would develop this condition being fed one bran mash a week, many wheat brans have been replaced by rice brans that are fortified with additional calcium carbonate.

Bran mashes were also used to entice picky eaters and ill horses to eat, but the same can be done by adding warm water to a horse's normal pelleted or textured feed to create a mash. If the horse doesn't get fed a grain diet, adding water to hay pellets can create a mash.

Adding salt or electrolytes to the warm concoction can make it even more valuable to a horse that has been exercising heavily. Adding a carrot or apple peels to the mash may entice a horse to eat.

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If feeding a bran mash is still desirable, it's worth a conversation with an equine nutritionist to make sure the horse is being fed a balanced mineral profile.

KENA At Spy Coast Farm: Minimizing Equine Impact On Water Quality

The Kentucky Horse Council announced the topic for the August Kentucky Equine Networking Association (KENA) dinner will be Equines and the Environment: Minimizing Impact on Water Quality. The dinner will be held on Tuesday, August 31, at Spy Coast Farm's Equine Education Center in Lexington. KENA is a dinner and educational series geared toward equine professionals, horse owners and riders, and other equine enthusiasts.

Schedule of the evening's events:

Tour of Spy Coast Farm 5:30 – 6:30 PM
Networking: 6:30 – 7 PM
Dinner and Presentation: 7 – 8 PM

Location: Spy Coast Farm Equine Education Center, 3700 Newtown Pike, Lexington, KY 40511

The guest speaker for the evening is Tammy Barnes, Cooperative Extension Associate for University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, Food and Environment. She will offer KENA attendees:

Insight into the best equine management practices for the preservation of water quality on horse farms and equine facilities.
Affordable, implementable steps to minimize the environmental impact of manure
Possible funding sources for these measures
Additional topics discussed will include riparian areas, heavy-use areas, water capture and composting

KENA provides an educational and social venue for equine professionals and horse enthusiasts from all breeds and disciplines. Organized by the Kentucky Horse Council, KENA provides the opportunity for attendees to share ideas, business strategies and knowledge; and to obtain up-to-date information on horse and farm management, as well as on issues affecting the equine industry. KENA is made possible by the generous support of Dinsmore Equine Law Group, WesBanco, Neogen, University of Louisville College of Business Equine Industry Program, KESMARC Kentucky and Equine Land Conservation Resource.

For details and reservations, visit https://kentuckyhorse.org/KENA. Tickets are $40.

The post KENA At Spy Coast Farm: Minimizing Equine Impact On Water Quality appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Chill Out: Researchers Compare Cooling Methods For Equine Athletes

Elite athletes like racehorses and three-day event horses sometimes exercise on hot, humid days, often resulting in high body temperatures that must be lowered quickly before heat-related stressors set in. While much research has been performed on effective cooling strategies, a new study compared several different cooling methods.^*

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Thoroughbreds were exercised on an inclined treadmill until the pulmonary artery temperature reached 107.6 degrees Fahrenheit. One of five cooling methods was then implemented. The methods included:

Walking on a treadmill with one commercial fan placed 6.5 feet in front of the horse set at low velocity to simulate the breeze that would occur if walked outside (control);
Walking on a treadmill with two fans placed 13 feet in front of the horse set at almost twice the airflow of the fans used in the control;
Cooling with intermittent application of cold water (4.2 gallons at 50 degrees Fahrenheit) every three minutes on its body behind the neck, scraping as much water as possible after dousing; two cycles of dousing performed with return to treadmill walking and two low-speed fans in the interim;
Cooling with intermittent application of cold water (16 liters; 50° F or 10° C) every three minutes on its body behind the neck with no scraping; two cycles performed with return to the treadmill and two low-speed fans in the interim; and
Showering continuously with tap water (78.8 degrees Fahrenheit) for 30 minutes with no return to the treadmill.

To determine the most effective cooling method, researchers measured the time necessary for the pulmonary artery temperature to return to 102.2 degrees Fahrenheit or lower, and recorded the rectal temperature at 30 minutes after onset of cooling.

The researchers concluded that showering the horse continuously with a large volume of tap water resulted in the most rapid decrease of both pulmonary artery and rectal temperatures, signifying its effectiveness as a way to achieve cooling in hot, humid conditions.

Sweat production goes hand-in-hand with exercise. Multiple factors determine how much sweat is lost doing any exercise bout (heat, humidity, and work intensity, for example). Light exercise with minimal sweating may induce a sweat loss of 1 quart to 1 gallon, while high-performance horses at the peak of exertion may have losses of 12.25 to 3 gallons.

Because large quantities of electrolytes are lost in sweat, electrolyte supplementation becomes a key factor in managing the diets of performance horses. Choose research-proven electrolytes formulated by specialists in equine nutrition and exercise physiology.

Electrolyte supplementation is not season-specific. Well-formulated electrolytes should be used whenever horses sweat on a daily or near daily basis, no matter the season.

^*Takahashi, Y., H. Ohmura, K. Mukai, T. Shiose, and T. Takahashi. 2020. A comparison of five cooling methods in hot and humid environments in Thoroughbred horses. Journal of Equine Veterinary Science 91:103130.

Study: Withholding Feed Affects Water Intake In Horses

Horses sometimes refuse to drink following competition. One study shows that decreased water intake may result from decreased feed consumption.*

Horses primarily drink water after eating. This behavior appears to be prompted by the large volumes of water that move into the large colon after a meal, drawing it out of circulation. As a result, horses feel dehydrated, essentially spiking thirst and driving them to drink.

“Owners withhold feed from their horses for a variety of reasons: before transport, prior to competition, or even by feeding 'meals' twice a day rather than allowing horses more continual access to feed,” advised Catherine Whitehouse, M.S., a Kentucky Equine Research nutrition advisor.

Feeding patterns and behaviors could therefore have a profound effect on a horse's water intake and overall hydration status, performance, and health.

To better understand patterns of voluntary water intake, the amount of water consumed by eight fed and fasted horses was measured for four days. When fed, horses were offered high-grain diets consisting of 4.5 pounds (2 kg) grain and 18 pounds (8 kg) Bermudagrass hay per day divided into two meals. All horses had access to 40 liters of fresh water throughout the study period. Various physical and laboratory data were collected and analyzed during the study.

Key findings included:

Feed deprivation did not cause any changes in vital signs or physical examination findings;
Horses remained alert and responsive to their environments. They did not have any behavior changes, such as eating bedding or splashing in the water;
Assessment of mucous membranes revealed no indication of dehydration;
Horses lost 7.2 percent of their body weight during the four-day study period;
Voluntary water intake was significantly lower when feed was deprived;
The decrease in water intake began within 12 hours of withholding feed;
Fecal and urine output appeared to decline based on direct observation;
Sodium was significantly reduced during the feed deprivation; and
Although still within normal limits, blood urea nitrogen and creatinine levels were significantly higher in feed-deprived horses, consistent with mild dehydration.

“Feed deprivation resulted in an immediate and consistent reduction in voluntary water consumption. Horses appeared to only become mildly dehydrated, likely because horses can draw water from their large colon to preserve water balance for a short period of time,” explained Whitehouse.

In sum, these results confirm that even short-term withdrawal of feed results in a substantial decrease in voluntary water consumption. Therefore, feed interruptions for horses being transported for competition, for example, can potentially negatively affect performance due to inadequate hydration levels.

“Horses with decreased feed consumption, either due to reduced appetite or management strategies, may be at risk for chronic mild or low-grade dehydration. This may be particularly salient for horses actively involved in competition. An electrolyte supplement offered with water in conjunction with a small meal may help tempt voluntary water intake,” advised Whitehouse.

*Freeman, D.E., A. Mooney, S. Giguère, J. Claire, C. Evetts, and P. Diskant. 2021. Effect of feed deprivation on daily water consumption in healthy horses. Equine Veterinary Journal. 53(1):117-124.