Bran, except in the form of bran mash, is used for horses in England, almost exclusively as an adjunct to other foods. Muntz (Annates de l'Institut National A gronontique) has shown that it is highly digestible (p. 72), even in daily quantities of 16 1/2 lb. Its admixture in a dry state, with grains which, like barley and gram, give rise to a foul condition of the dung and more or less diarrhoea, helps to correct this form of digestive disturbance, and consequently improves their wholesomeness (p. 72). At the suggestion of Veterinary Colonel Anderson, late Inspecting Veterinary Surgeon of the Bombay Army, I frequently adopted in India the practice of feeding horses which were doing light work, on dry bran in daily quantities up to 12 lb., and found it a sustaining and very wholesome food. In countries like India, where the separation of the bran is effected in a primitive manner, the bran retains a considerable portion of flour. Owing to the highly economical method of milling in this country, English bran consists almost entirely of the four layers of husk, with a minimum of adhering flour. Dry bran by itself has an excellent effect on horses whose digestive organs have been upset by food of too stimulating a nature. Bran merits a more extended trial as a food for horses than it has received.

Given as an adjunct to grain, it serves the valuable purposes of obliging the animal to chew his food thoroughly, of diluting concentrated food (like wheat) and thus allowing the digestive juices to readily penetrate through it, and probably, of acting like fibre in preventing corn from passing through the alimentary canal too rapidly. Also, its inner layer possesses a ferment which aids in digestion (p. 69). Being rich in mineral matter, it is specially useful as a food for building up the bony structure of young animals; and for the same reason, it is a particularly valuable addition to the diet of horses which are fed on a large amount of grain, especially when the grain is highly nitrogenous (p. 122). In such cases, bran should of course be given dry. I would advise that more or less bran (say from 2 to 4 lb.) be given with the food of all kinds of horses. In the form of mash, bran is a laxative, owing to the presence of the contained water.

It appears from the experiments of Shepperd in America (see Feeds and Feeding) that a mixture of equal quantities by weight of bran and "shorts" has about the same feeding value as oats for hard-working horses. According to Henry, shorts are simply re-ground bran. What are known as "sharps" and "middlings" in England, are the finely-ground intermediate product between flour and bran. They are of higher nutritive value than bran.

As bran is very absorbent of moisture and gases, it suffers rapid deterioration in quality, and should consequently be used only in a fresh state.

It is a pretty general custom to give a bran mash every Saturday night, or oftener as the case may demand. A horse which from want of habit shows a reluctance to eat a bran mash, may be got to do so by mixing a little corn through it. Instead of a simple bran mash, one to which linseed has been added, in the manner described on the next page, is usually preferable for horses that are out of condition.

We may make a bran mash as follows: After scalding a stable bucket with boiling water, put into it about 3 lbs. of bran with an ounce of salt, and pour in as much boiling water as the bran will take up, the weight of which will be about equal to that of the bran, calculating a gallon of water to weigh 10 lbs. After the bran has been well stirred up with a stick, it should be covered over so as to keep in the steam, and should be left to stand for a quarter of an hour or twenty minutes before being used. A regular supply of carrots or green food is much better for horses than bran mashes.