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The Advantages of Rice Bran

Rice bran is a supplement that will provide horses with added fat, vitamin E, and energy. The makeup of this little known feed stuff is about 20 percent of fat, one percent of fiber, eight percent of protein, but 65 percent of starch, the remaining six percent are fillers.

Owners of performance horses like to look to rice bran for a supplementation of much needed fat since it will ensure that the animal will gain additional weight if needed. Show horses also benefit from the added fat for a sleek and healthy appearance. As a matter of fact, there is little in the ways of studies that show that some types of horses will not respond well to this kind of supplementation.

Horse owners who do use rice bran comment on the ease of handling and the fact that it is so much more palatable than adding simple vegetable oil or assorted

other supplements that many horses do not like to eat. In addition to the foregoing, the added vitamin E helps animals who undergo strenuous exercise and also relieves stress such as it is experienced while traveling. Keep in mind that an animal that receives an increase in fat also needs to receive an increase in vitamin E. With rice bran, these two substances are already rolled into one! No longer will you need to measure different ingredients, calculate fat to vitamin ratios, but instead you will be able to simply and succinctly decide how much supplementation is indicated for your animal.

For those who are not familiar with rice bran itself, it is noteworthy that it is a simple by-product of milling rice. As such, it oftentimes has some of the endosperm and also the germ protein of the actual rice kernel. Since it is cooked during processing, it has an increased shelf life, which is of importance with any substance that contains a good bit of fat. Care should be taken not to look to rice bran as a kind of super feed that eliminates the need for other feed. As a matter of fact, supplementing it as part of a balanced dietary regimen is a good idea, but feeding it on its own will cause your animal to experience calcium deficiencies. As a general rule of thumb, you may wish to consider adding about one to two pounds of this supplement to the animal’s diet on a daily basis.



Read the next horse nutrition article on Vitamin E Recommended by Equine Nutritionists.
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