Horse Nutrition & Rice Bran

Rice bran is made from the brown layer that is removed from a rice seed to make white rice. It is full of nutrients and can be added to a horse's diet to help it gain or maintain weight. Always consult your veterinarian when changing your horse's diet as she may have an insight into how much rice bran your horse should get in addition to its regular feed.

  1. Significance

    • Some horses need a little extra help in their diet. These may be older horses that cannot keep on weight during the winter. It may be broodmares who are struggling to maintain their weight while nursing a foal. It may even be a performance horse that is going from show to show and needs the extra calories to keep fit. Regardless of the horse, the reason is the same: putting weight on.

    Features

    • Rice bran is high in calories, containing about 1,200 calories per lb. It also contains fiber, starch and protein. It has a high fat content, weighing in at 20 percent oil, which makes it ideal for putting on weight. There are two forms of rice bran: pellets and powder. While they are made of the same stuff, not all feed stores carry both kinds.

    Considerations

    • If the rice bran is not going to be used up within a week of buying it, make sure you are getting a stabilized version, which is preserved usually by adding vitamin E to keep it from going bad. Unstabilized rice bran can go rancid quickly and tends to lose nutrients faster than the stabilized version.

    Benefits

    • Due to the included amount of high fiber, rice bran is less likely to cause stomach problems than other high-calorie feeds with starch. It also contains gamma oryzanol, which is thought to help in the rebuilding of muscle.

    Warning

    • While feeding rice bran can help put weight back on your horse, it is not a complete feed. Do not think to forego a horse's regular food. Maintaining a horse's diet is as much a part of maintaining its weight as adding calories. Make sure it has plenty of forage, be it hay or pasture, and water in addition to the rice bran.