feeding oats, barley, sweet corn, bran mash

Question
hello, i am really new to equine nutrition. i am getting totally confused. why to feed oats, barley and sweet corn to horses and why to feed wheat bran mash?

Answer
Hi Rohit,

Thank you for your question.  Wheat bran is the outside coating of the wheat seed, removed in the processing of wheat.  It is fed to horses with the belief that it works like a laxative...and with the intention of preventing impaction colic.  As I suggested in my previous answers on wheat bran, it does not have the same laxative effect on horses that it will on people...but that is in fact why it is fed.  In fact, most wheat bran passes through the horse's digestive system unprocessed, and it bring practically no nutrients to the horse's diet.

Oats, barley and corn (grain or sweet) are fed to horses as an energy source.  Horses digest these starch filled cereal grains, and their bodies convert it to glucose that muscle uses for energy.  However, contrary to common feeding practices, horses don't utilize large quantities of starch very easily and feeding too much can cause severe digestive upsets.  Corn and barley (even if intensely processed) can be particularly troublesome for horses.  If you need to feed starch to your horse, stick with oats.  They are more digestible, include more fiber than barley or corn, and are higher in protein.  I'm fanatically against feeding unprocessed corn or barley to horses, and would only feed limited amounts of both if they have been steam flaked or extruded.

I hope that helps.

Thanks, Corlena