Question
If I took a Thoroughbred off the track, could I give him a bran mash for three weeks to flush his system? In the olden days, most stables fed mashes at night all year, but they stopped doing it because it made the manure a bit soft.
Answer
To my knowledge, there is no scientific reasoning that supports offering a bran mash as a “nutritional cleanse” or that any feedstuff works in this manner. Transitioning from life at the track can be challenging, and the best nutritional practices for these horses include ample access to fresh forage, meeting dietary energy (calorie) needs, and providing complete and balanced nutrition.
Offering a small bran mash in addition to a balanced diet is not harmful; however, care should be taken not to cause nutritional imbalances and disrupt digestive health. The perceived laxative effect of bran mashes has been disproved in recent years, though the commonly noted soft manure seen in horses fed bran mashes is believed to be the result of mild digestive upset and changes in hindgut microbial activity.
When selecting an appropriate diet for your off-the-track racehorse (whether Thoroughbred, Standardbred, Quarter Horse, or Arabian), it is important to assess its current weight and body condition, and select a forage and feed that will provide the appropriate amount of calories and nutrition to meet its new activity requirements. Selecting appropriate energy sources is also key in managing both mental energy (behavior, reactivity) and body weight.
The reduced activity level assumed by most retired race horses can be meet by free-choice access to good-quality forage and a commercial feed that has calories from fermentable fiber (beet pulp, soy hulls, alfalfa meal) and dietary fat (vegetable oil, stabilized rice bran, flax).
