Re: Rice Bran

[Tivers@aol.com]

In a message dated 98-06-12 17:40:11 EDT, rainbow@montana.com writes:

<< Recently I had two of my friends tell me that rice bran is now a no no for
 feeding to the endurance horse . They both said that they had a vet tell
 them that any type of bran draws the calcium out of the bones . I had not
 heard of this before and was wondering what was your guys thoughts on this
 ?I have been feeding a small amount of Natural Glo rice bran . Thanks guys
  >>

The reason for feeding rice bran is that it contains gamma oryzanol, know to
build lean muscle mass, encourage appetitie and exert somewhat of a calming
effect.

Brans limit absorption of some nutrients from the gut and are probably not a
good idea, in general. However, I've never heard of brans "drawing" calcium
from bones. On the other hand, calcium is used throughout the body and if
intake is reduced, then bone will be resorbed in order to provide calcium for
other organs.

ti