Spent grain would it be good for horses?

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mgable

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I am doing a partial mash and was wondering what I could do with the spent grains other than just tossing them out. My sister has horses as was wondering if the geains are o.k. or good to give to horses?
 
No. It's whiskey for my men... BEER for my horses.

Not spent grains, beer. I think the spent grains are for your compost heap or something, but I'm positive that the horses are supposed to get beer. :cross:
 
Spent grain is probably fine in small doses, mixed with regular feed. I know some farmers use quite a bit of spent grain as cow and pig feed. However, if I owned horses, I'd be careful about giving them too much of something that isn't normally in their diet. Horse stomachs can be very sensitive, and their gastric ailments can be tough (and expensive) to treat and even fatal.
 
I know that Coors processes their spent grains and it is sold for cattle feed. I don't know about horses. I'd make sure first before feeding it to them.
 
budbo said:
No Idea about horses, My spent grains go to the lawn.. They are an awesome fertilizer and don't stink like cow Poop!

interesting. do you compost first? do the residual sugars attract pests?
 
I just put mine on rocks in the front yard. It"s gone by morning and replaced with little pellets of fertilizer.

MoreSpentGrains.jpg
 
mgable said:
I am doing a partial mash and was wondering what I could do with the spent grains other than just tossing them out. My sister has horses as was wondering if the geains are o.k. or good to give to horses?
Absolutely. I give my spent grains to my buddy's horses every time I brew. When we have our annual Brewout on New Year's Day, all of the grains go next door to the horses by the wheel-barrow full.

They'll love you for it.

Tip: Dry out the grain or give it to the horses right away before mold sets in.

Wild
 
From what it sounds like, it might be a safe idea. I have horses yet don't feed them my spent grains. Horses can have fickle stomachs and I figure it's not worth the risk. However, we have made them horse treats out of bran and grain which turned out great with no after effects. They'll devour it. Just be smart about it.
 
interesting. do you compost first? do the residual sugars attract pests?
No I don't, I'm too lazy for that, I use a strainer spoon and just spread them out over the yard, they usually dry out fast in the summer and get worked in next time I mow, In winter they are gone after the first good rain/snow.

They loosen the soil and decompose to fertilizer.. The grass was in fact greener where the grains went.

Never had pest issues, when you spread them try to spread like fertilizer not clumps
 
These spent grain threads always seem to interest me. I have never had horses. I can't imagine that feeding them spent grains would hurt a bit. However once again I don't know.
I do know they act like fuel for the compost heap. I recently tilled in all the summers compost (grass clippings, some leaves, & spent grains) to my garden soil. Mixed in with the manure I added last year the soil looks very black and rich (pretty impressive considering the sandy soil we have in FL). I will let you guys how that goes with my tomatoes this summer.
I really like the idea of using them as fertilizer for the yard. Next time I will put them in the spreader and see how that goes.
 
Brewer's grain is a common ingredient in many animal feeds. It should be higher in fiber and sugar than regular grain so should be good when mixed with their regular feed to sweeten it some. The biggest caution is to make sure it doesn't start to spoil before you feed the horses. Wet, spent grain will spoil rapidly, like over night, so you either need to dry it quickly or feed immediately.
I wouldn't recommend feeding a large quantity to one animal all at once but in moderation there is nothing in the unspoiled grain that should be a problem.

Craig
 
Does anyone have a thought on drying?

I'd love to spread mine out on the lawn, but wet grain doesn't work well in a spreader, and hand dispensing almost 20lb of wet grain by hand doesn't sound feasible either.
 
my wife is in vet school and they dont recommend giving them to horses but they are alright for pigs and cows However if you mix them with carrots and beets it is the best Deer Bait ever.
 
I'd love to spread mine out on the lawn, but wet grain doesn't work well in a spreader, and hand dispensing almost 20lb of wet grain by hand doesn't sound feasible either.
My batches average 8-12# of grain, I usually start right after I start the boil and am finished with Mashtun cleaned and put away in 15 min.. Once I got my technique down it takes under 10 min to spread 12#
 
budbo said:
My batches average 8-12# of grain, I usually start right after I start the boil and am finished with Mashtun cleaned and put away in 15 min.. Once I got my technique down it takes under 10 min to spread 12#


Well do tell, whats your tech? Do you just scoop it out and shake it out? Do you use a spreader?
 
I would think that the livestock would probably eat it, but they won't be getting much nutritional value from it cause you are extracting the carbohydrates, (the calories) from it.

Maybe you could market a low carbohydrate, high fiber livestock food for the obese American pets?

Rick
 
rfidd said:
I would think that the livestock would probably eat it, but they won't be getting much nutritional value from it cause you are extracting the carbohydrates, (the calories) from it.

Maybe you could market a low carbohydrate, high fiber livestock food for the obese American pets?

Rick
Like I said. Coors processes it for cattle feed. There must be something left in it that is nutritional. If you were a cow wouldn't you like to eat spent grain from Coors lite? :mug:
 
Well do tell, whats your tech? Do you just scoop it out and shake it out? Do you use a spreader?
Slotted spoon, heaping spoonfull once it drains fling it like throwing a slider, it fans out on the lawn and separates pretty well. Where it does clump I blast it with a spray nozzel. No spreader don't really need to, I'm not concerned about making it even, the mower spreads it further after it dries.
 
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