Mashy Mash

I was listening to a great podcast from Standlee “Beyond the Barn” today and they were talking about ways to minimize colic in horses, including making sure that they drink enough water. We live in a dry, windy, high-desert kind of climate and water is always a key concern and we pay attention to it. There is a reason why water is one of the main nutrients for horses: it minimizes chances of impaction colic by facilitating digestive action, is important for thermoregulation & exercise recovery, and is necessary for biochemical reactions and organ system function in the horse. It is necessary that we always maintain high quality, accessible, and close to ambient temperature water sources for our horses. One convenient and effective way to get more water into your horse is by soaking their feed pellets or bucket ration with cool or warm water, otherwise known as making a mash.

Traditionally, “mashes” for horses consisted of wheat bran that horsemen gave their hard-working (actually working for a living) horses or those recovering from illness, purporting that the grain functioned as a laxative to facilitate digestion and prevent colic. However, recent research has shown that wheat bran itself is not responsible for easy digestion, but rather it may cause temporary digestive upset as a “new feed” for the horse, resulting in looser manure. Furthermore, consisting of more than a 10 to 1 ratio of phosphorus to calcium, wheat bran may cause developmental problems in horses and should be used discriminately. However, you can still make a mash for your horse and supplement their water needs by pre-soaking your horse’s hay pellets, complete feed, and/or ration balancer. The water softens the dehydrated feed meal in the pellets, dissolves any electolytes or powders such as loose salt, and is a great option for horses with dental issues (i.e., easier chewing). Make sure that any feeds you use to make a mash are part of your horse’s existing ration, nutritionally balanced, and introduced gradually to prevent digestive upset.

I feed each of my horses a ration balancer with a source of Omega 3’s (ground flaxseed), measured table salt, supplements, and 1-2 pounds of alfalfa pellets daily in addition to their hay & pasture. In winter when it’s sideways snow and rain, I bring hot water from the house and while the horses are turned out I will soak the pellets so they have a warm mash waiting for them when they come in. My boy horse, who tends towards bolting his feed, tends to slow down his eating if the mash is a bit “slurpy”, and the softer pellets are easier for my senior mare to eat. My horses love their mashes, and will often come galloping in to their pens so that I don’t have to hike to the bottom of the pasture to bring them in. Win-win!