Hi Dr. Getty,
My 14.2h QH mare, is fat AND a hot head. She is high energy with a temper. We only give her a handful of oats in the AM & PM and of course her daily hay rations. (4 flakes, 2AM & PM) She gets a hoof supp. in the AM. I want to give her SOMETHING but my trainer says oats are like caffeine for horses and that I should try a handful of rice bran in the AM & Pm instead. She tried to get me to cut out a handful of ANYTHING but agreed that my mare takes things personally and would get mad if she didn't get something. Also I need to mix the hoof supp w/something. Is it safe to feed her Rice Bran only? What do you recommend? I appreciate your help!

Where are you from? Kentucky

How did you locate this forum? Search Engine

Hi Melissa,

Some horses do respond negatively to grain (which is high in starch) because of the insulin response, and resulting low blood sugar levels. So, I agree with your trainer. Rice bran can be fed alone, as long as it is fortified with calcium, since rice bran is very high in phosphorus. Natural Glo stabilized rice bran is a good product. But, rice bran doesn’t offer much to chew, so I would suggest adding a handful of unsweetened beet pulp to the mixture. Make these changes gradually, of course.

One other thing that will help is Quiessence – this is a magnesium supplement that will help with her insulin resistance (since she is overweight) and also calm her nervous system.

Keep me posted!

All the best,

Dr. Getty

Hey there
Natural glo makes a rice bran nugget that is fortified with calcium and extra vitamin E. If you are trying to feed a bare minimum to mix your hoof suplement with you could use the nuggets and it would be good for chewability without having to feed anything else.

Hi Jamie,

Yes, Natural Glo does come in a nugget. So, that would be fine, as well.

Dr. Getty