THAT'S WHY WE DON'T USE ANY MILL BY-PRODUCTS!
When choosing feed, its composition should always be checked for high-quality ingredients. Important are raw materials that are adapted to the horse's organism, support it in the best possible way and are not a burden on the body. The results are willingness to perform, well-being and a good physical condition of the horse.Since the latter is always in the eye of the beholder and is not necessarily a suitable measure of the quality of a feed, no horse owner can avoid dealing with the basic principles of horse feeding.
Grain undergoes many processing steps in the food industry before it can be used as flour. What remains are so-called mill byproducts, which have very different nutritional values. The use of mill by-products in the production of horse feed is an attractive, but contentious, way for the grain industry to process them. Probably the best known representative of mill by-products is bran (wheat bran, oat hull bran, etc.). Bran consists mainly of hull fractions and the residual grain from which the main part of the endosperm (starch) has already been removed. They are rich in phosphorus and phytic acid. Both make it difficult to absorb minerals such as calcium, magnesium and iron by forming poorly soluble chelates with the elements mentioned, which can only be cleaved by special phytases (plant enzymes).
Due to this fact, mill by-products should not be used in horse feed production! Even the argument to increase the fiber content of the feed with the help of mentioned products cannot mitigate the negative effects of phosphorus and phytin - especially since the fiber requirement should always be supplied via high-quality as well as sufficient amounts of hay and not via bran!
As a final food for thought, it should be noted that the hull portions of unharvested grain in particular store heavy metals and pesticides. Exactly these proportions can be found in mill by-products!
Due to this fact, mill by-products should not be used in horse feed production! Even the argument to increase the fiber content of the feed with the help of mentioned products cannot mitigate the negative effects of phosphorus and phytin - especially since the fiber requirement should always be supplied via high-quality as well as sufficient amounts of hay and not via bran!
As a final food for thought, it should be noted that the hull portions of unharvested grain in particular store heavy metals and pesticides. Exactly these proportions can be found in mill by-products!