There's been a great deal of debate on bran mashes. Many people feed them weekly, some just because they like spoiling their horses, others claim benefits for colic prone horses, still others say bran mashes are at best unnecessary and at worst potentially harmful.
Personally I would tend to agree with all of the above in part. Bran mashes should never be fed to young horses or pregnant/nursing mares. The phosphorus content is far too high and could potentially cause skeletal issues. But for all other horses a weekly mash is far from dangerous. Current research has dis-proven bran mashes having any laxative effect on horses, however they are an excellent way to get additional fluid into a horse, which may be beneficial to a horse who tends to colic and certainly won't hurt anything. In addition, I don't know about you, but I love to spoil and pamper horses, and most clearly love mashes.
That said, my favorite way to make bran mash:
1 1/2 Pound Bran (Approximately 3 Quarts)
1/2 Pound Rolled Oats (Approximately 1 Quart)
1 Pound Crimped Corn (Approximately 1 Quart)
1/2 Cup Olive Oil
1 Cup Molasses
1 Tablespoon Sea Salt
1 Teaspoon Lite Salt (Potassium Based)
1 Teaspoon Epsom Salt (Magnesium Based)
2 Carrots Grated/Chopped
1 Apple Grated/Chopped
Boiling Water
Mix all ingredients other than the apple and carrots together with just enough hot water to make a dough like consistency. Mix in apple and carrots once other ingredients and well mixed. If your horse gets a daily grain ration you will need to decrease your horse's normal grain ration by approximately 1-3 pounds on the day this mash is fed depending upon how rich his normal ration is.
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