- Bran mashes do not have any medicinal benefit, but your horse may find them tasty. Photo © EQUUS Magazine
Although bran mashes were once popular winter fare, served to horses to prevent colic and tying up, modern research has shown that these mixtures do not have any particular medicinal powers. In fact, bran mashes can be detrimental to horses with insulin0 resistance or other dietary issues. But this doesn’t mean that you can’t treat most horses to a tasty warm mash occasionally this winter. Here are two recipes to try:
Sugar-free apple mash
2 cups unsweetened applesauce
6 to 10 cups bran or ground oatmeal
2 cups Cheerios
hot water
Directions: In a bucket, mix together the water
and bran or oatmeal. You can make the mash as
watery or dry as you like, so experiment to see
which your horse prefers. Add the applesauce and
allow the mash to cool before sprinkling with Cheerios and serving.
Sweet celery soup
8 to 10 cups bran or your horse’s
regular grain ration
cup molasses
2 stalks of celery, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
hot water
Directions: In a bucket, stir together the hot water and oats or grain. Stir in the molasses, then add the chopped celery and carrots. Let the “soup” cool before serving. Note: For the grain portion, use the same ration your horse gets on a daily basis, and if using bran, do not feed this mash more than twice a month
