How do you feed beet pulp to horses? I bought beet pulp shreds and I read that you should soak it.?

I use shredded every day...

I had one horse that wouldn't touch it at first. He had never eaten 'wet' food before. So, I started with adding a cup of DRY shredded beetpulp to his alfalfa/rice bran pellet mixture. That amount WILL NOT cause any problems.

After a couple of days...I added ONE cup of water to the ONE cup of beet, and mixed that in his feed. I used hot water...it soaks faster...and by the time I actually feed them...about 20 minutes, it's ready.

Once he started eating it, I began increasing the amount of beet in his grain. Within a week, I increased to a coffee can of beet, and I use 1 1/2 coffee cans of water. And just throw the pellet mixture in with it.

It only 'soaks' from the time I put the water in...until I get out to feed them. I mix it in the house...and walk to the pasture. So, about 20 minutes. I have NEVER had trouble with doing it this way.

This is using hot water...and SHREDDED pulp...it soaks faster. My gelding is about 1250 pounds, and my mare around a 1000. They get this mixture once a day with a couple flakes of hay at night, and pasture during the day.

I understand pelleted beet takes longer...so I don't use it. And I never pour out the extra water...if there is any. My horses slurp it up too.

You must soak beet pulp before feeding or your horse can choke. It expands alot when it's soaked. I put about a (small) coffee can full of beet pulp in a bucket with about a gallon of water - and I soak for 24 hours. Drain the excess water if there is any before feeding. If there is no excess water, use a bit more next time. Depending on how his teeth are, there are also beet pulp pellets which give your horse less to chew with the same nutrition.

Soaking anything for horses overnight is not an option. Here in Florida, the probability of souring is not something I'm willing to risk. My horses have beet pulp as part of their daily diet, soaked for half hour before feeding. Actually, their whole feed mix is soaked at both feedings. I like to give them every opportunity to remain well hydrated.

You want to soak it until its good and soft/damp . I would put just enough water in your bucket to just about cover it , then let it set there until you realy dont see water any longer. This is soo good for Senior horses, it has lots of digestible fiber.

If an Horse does not have teeth Hay can get stuck in the back of the mouth , and they can gag and be unconfortable. If you can feed more senior compleat and add the beet pulp in . If you can you can buy hay that is already chipped up , like Cubes and soak them also till soft so your old man can actualy eat them and his tummy process it easier.

I have heard of Breeders that give there old horses cooked Bran , they make it like oatmeal for them , and there horses live a long time.

Good luck !! And give that ole boy a good rub :)

I am so glad someone else is doing this now...I have a 30 year old Arabian mare that I'm trying to get weight on and I'm going to get beet pulp this week. I would imagine there are suggested feeding instructions on the container, but perhaps not. You're supposed to soak it atleast overnight, I believe, to make it easier for the horse to chew and so it will expand.

you dont soak it over night because it can spoil. I worked at a lot of big barns that fed it to their warmbloods. They wouldnt let me soak it until about 30mins- 1hr before feed time. It will soak up all the water in that time. There may be a little left but it is ok to give it to the horse as long as all of the beet pulp is soaked. It is great stuff to feed. I am going to put my horses on it as well.

*in this article it says to let it soak atleast 30 mins. It also explains about beet pulp itself.

You should definitely soak it with water at least overnight. Probably about 1/2 scoop would be fine. :] The reason for soaking the beet pulp that long is because it will//can expand in their stomach if you don't. It can be very fatal if you don't soak it long enough.

Hope this Helps! =]

I used to soak overnight, but in a bind, hot water and about 1 hr you should be good to go.

Start the horse in small quantities and work up, they may not like the taste of it immediately. Mix it with equine senior and only feed like a cup *1/4 dry* of wet pulp to start with and just work your way up. If you horse is a choke risk, add more water to his senior feed also.

we prepare ours the night before. Our TB was on 3 scoops (about 1 coffee can) of pulp a day and 6 scoops (so about 2 coffee cans) of traditional pelets. Put it in a bucket, run water over the top of it, it doesn't have to be a soup, just enough to dampen all of the food, and let it set long enough to absorb all of the water (which is why we do overnight)

fill your bucket till it's about 3 or 4 inches above the beet pulp and let sit for 24 hours. It's good to be safe because if there are peices that havent expanded yet and your horse eats it. It will expand in your horses stomach and make them bloated or there stomache bursts.