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Ask the Nutritionist: Dr. Getty's Forum for Equine Nutrition

   Welcome to my forum. 

Here you will find more than 6 years of questions and my answers. It is searchable and offers a great deal of information. 

Currently, I am discontinuing new questions. This may change in the future, but in the meantime, please know that It has been a true pleasure serving you. 

Take a look at my Nutrition Library and Tips of the Month for a variety of answers on selected topics. Be sure to sign up for my monthly e-newsletter, Forage for Thought

I also have a growing number of recordings on "Teleseminars on Nutrition Topics that Concern You" as well as the new, Spotlight on Equine Nutrition Series -- printed versions of favorite teleseminars.

And finally, look for my articles in a variety of local publications and online newsletters, as well as the Horse Journal, where I am the Contributing Nutrition Editor.  

 

All the best,

 Dr. Getty 

 



Ask the Nutritionist: Dr. Getty's Forum for Equine Nutrition
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Re: Rice Bran HELP!

Hi Christina,

Why not forget about the rice bran and just give your TB more hay? Your horse is underweight because he is not getting enough to eat. It's as simple as that.

He needs to have both grass hay plus alfalfa hay all the time -- 24/7 -- all day and all night. If not, his stomach will sit empty of forage but not of acid -- acid is secreted even on an empty stomach. This leads to an ulcer which leads to weight loss. I like a 60/40 grass/alfala combination for TBs.

Feed him.

And give him a good supplement to add back the vitamins that are not in hay. Go with Glanzen Complete as my first choice -- 3 full scoops per day. Or go with High Point plus Nutra Flax.

Rice bran is very, very high in phosphorus and must be fed along with alfalfa to balance out with extra calcium. If you want to add it to his diet, give him 1/2 pound per day, divided between meals. You may want to consider getting a scale, if you don't already have one.

All the best,

Dr. Getty
Author of Feed Your Horse Like A Horse

Christina
Ok so my trainer recommended that I feed my underweight OTTB 13 y.o mare rice bran. I went to the feed store with little knowledge and picked up a bag of Grainland Select Rice Bran. It didn't come with any feeding instructions and just said "feed as directed by your Purina Mills nutritionist." yes because i have one of those! Ha! I tried looking it up online and there is absolutely no information about this brand whatsoever. I don't even know if it is stabilized. Basicly i was wondering if you could tell me if you have heard of this brand. If not thats alright. I really just need to know how much to feed my horse. Right now she gets 2 flakes of hay in the am and pm. With that she also gets a few scoops of stable mix pellets and she gets a flake of hay for lunch. I'm so confused and don't know if i should even feed this to my horse! I hear alot of mixed reviews, is it safe or a good idea to feed or would it be better to feed her some equine senior feed instead to help put on some extra pounds. Thank you!! =)

Where are you from? Waverly, Ohio