Beet Pulp Question New At Feeding It?

We feed beet pulp to our horses, and what you plan to do sounds fine. As long as you soak it thoroughly before you feed it, it's safe to feed- and right now, our horses each get about a quart of it per feeding ( we use a one quart scoop to feed it), along with varying amounts of Legends grain mixed with alfalfa pellets. Legends is made by Southern States, and it is a wonderful low sugar, low starch, higher fat feed which our horses do really well on. The beet pulp we use is the shreds, because we have found that this holds up better when wet than the pellets do, and it's less likely to expand to the point where it can cause colic. Our horses also get a salt/mineral mix added to their beet pulp, because we cannot use salt blocks.( We have one horse, a gelding, who EATS salt blocks as if they were candy- and then gives himself HORRIBLE diarrhea because of it, so we have learned NOT to use them, and give all the horses salt in their pulp as a result.) In addition to this, we feed a special type of high protein grass hay called Teff, which is native to South America. Teff is not well known here in the US, and very few people plant it as of yet. We were lucky to find a local farmer near us who does.

I would ignore what Galloppa has said for the moment, because I HAVE NEVER SEEN ANY of the so called " studies" she has quoted or referred to which state that beet pulp doesn't require soaking- and when I first started to use it years ago, I was given MANY WARNINGS about how dangerous beet pulp can be if it's fed dry, some of which came from the vets I knew. It can cause choke, yes, but the big danger comes from the fact that it draws water OUT OF THE GUT- which can lead to life threatening colics in some horses.You're right that beet pulp expands a lot- and one dry quart is equivalent to about 2 or 2 and a half quarts wet, depending on how much water you add to it. We normally soak our pulp overnight or all day during the day- generally about 8 hours at a stretch before we feed it- and we have never had any problems with it. ( I put tonight's pulp to soak this morning after I got through feeding, and it will be ready when I get home tonight after work.) You should feed your mare according to the work she does- and since it sounds like she's not working a lot right now, I would think that 1 full scoop ( using a dry quart measure like we do) would be fine at each feeding, and you can mix in the Senior feed as needed ( but I would limit that to no more than a quart or so per feeding too, because Senior is very high in fat and sugar, and it may make your horse hard to handle or "hot" when she's ridden) Feeding hay free choice is a good idea too, especially if the mare doesn't get outside or have access to pasture at all.

One last thing to think about before I end- you mentioned that your mare is up to date on her shots, and parasite control program, but have you had your vet pull blood to check her thyroid and pituitary functions, per chance? A horse with an overactive thyroid is going to be impossible to keep weight on, regardless of how much you feed her, and mares are much more vulnerable to this type of problem than stallions and geldings. Ditto for the pituitary hormones, especially ACTH and some of the sex hormones. If those levels are out of whack, that too can cause the mare to have weight issues. When was the last time your mare saw the dentist? That's yet another thing I'd look into, especially if it's been a while. A horse which can't chew comfortably is not going to get the full benefit from whatever she's being fed, regardless of how much or how little it is, or what kind of food it is, and will always be vulnerable to not only weight issues, but colic and digestive problems.

Good luck- I hope this helps you out. You sound like you are doing the right thing.

I started feeding beet pulp pellets, soaked, to my very old horse. He got to be 36, needing soaked pellets and new lawn for the last three years. Start with maybe a cup of soaked pellets twice a day for three to seven days to see how your horse responds. You could add a TBSP of corn oil for calories. Watch to make sure that there is no diarrhea or constipation. If you are sure that your horse's teeth are good and she chews well, then the problems would be either more calories or add probiotics. The feed store usually will sell probiotics in a tube and you can give a bit to your horse every day to make sure she can digest well. Oil, beet pulp and other feed should plump her up. Some horses just stay thin. If you give them too much feed they get nervous, spooky or mean. As long as she's wormed and her teeth are good, she'll be OK.

Beet pulp is fine to add to the diet, but to put weight on, I would recommend a high fat feed like Moorman's Moorglo, or Nutrena's Empower. It's not really like a grain, as those are both extremely low in starch. It's better than adding oil to the feed, because that doesn't absorb as well. Your horse also needs balanced minerals for the roughage she is getting. A salt block really isn't adequate. I would recommend Moorman's minerals or Red Cal.

I would definitely soak the beet pulp - 3 to 1 ratio for at least 12 hours. It will make the horse's poo really smelly - be prepared for that.

Check out this website about feeding fat and minerals to your horse.

http://www.admani.com/AllianceEquine/

To answer your original question, most people I know who feed beet pulp fill a 5 gallon bucket about 1/5 full with beet pulp and add water slightly below the 1/2 bucket mark. The next day the bucket will be completely full of expanded beet pulp.

You don't have to soak the beet pulp.....study after study has proven that. The only reason to soak it is to make it more palatable to the horse, or if your horse has a tendency to choke. I feed my hard keeper hay and equine senior, and in winter to keep weight up I add stabilized rice bran for the high fat content. It is easy and just added to the feed. I only feed one cup a day.

With beet pulp, I would start with a half cup at each feeding and go up to a cup after a couple weeks. I would try that for awhile and see if it is enough and go from there.

Here is a good article on feeding beet pulp.........

http://www.thehorse.com/Print.aspx?ID=314

I hope it is helpful.

Here are some more links on beet pulp...............

http://www.shady-acres.com/susan/beetpulp.shtml

http://www.understanding-horse-nutrition.com/beet-...

http://www.horsequest.com/journal/health/beetp.htm

http://www.horseadvice.com/horse/messages/3/21279....

Note that soaking beet pulp for more than 2 hours is not recommended by many sources as it may begin to ferment, especially in hot weather. Also note that I am not saying it is a bad idea to soak your beet pulp, but only that research has shown that it is not necessary.

Gaaaa!! Sounds like a ridiculous shortcut to colic, to me. I know folk in the US do a lot differently ... but to feed something which must be soaked without soaking it isn't "different", it's bloody negligent. My neighbour's horse is still recovering from eating a bucket of dry sugar beet three months ago. He was in the large animal hospital for a long time; he seemed a lot sicker than my pony was when he had his gut perforate last year. That's the only case I know of (in person) of a horse eating dry sugar beet.

Although there have been some studies done that "suggest" that you don't have to soak the beet pulp pellets, why chance it, soak them a little anyways. They are very very hard in the pellet form...it doesn't take very long to do it...so why not be safe and just soak it. They are processed the same way as alfalfa pellets and I know my horses appreciate it when I soak them a bit.

I'm in California and if I have a horse who's starting to look a bit "ribby" or I've purchased some rack of bones, I go out and buy a 50LB sack of A&M (Ground alfafa and molasses) (In the mid west they use beet pulp BUT I've been informed that you HAVE to add water to it or it will swell in a horse's belly causing colic soak at least 2-3 hours before feeding and start off with a LB of the beetpulp), dump it into a tub or feeder in the horse's stall, then top it with some rolled barley corn that is mixed with corn oil and apple cider vinegar. (I feed a 3LB coffee can of the barley corn mixture once a day.) The horse will normally devour the first couple of bags of A&M, but then they will slack off as they get used to it (Never had an issue with colic or founder)...

I haven't fed oats or any mixed feed in decades, basically because I've had running horses and TBs I'm trying to keep quiet, so I feed the rolled barley corn mixture to them for weight, NOT heat.

I also give my horses a hot bran mash twice a week with a 1/2 CUP of apple cider vinegar and corn oil (I can mix the barleycorn into it.). I feed 1/2 a 3 LB coffee can of red wheat flakey bran and add enough water to it so that it looks like oatmeal in consistancy.

I make sure that they get 2 flakes of alfafa hay per feeding.

When you refer to pellets, it sounds very much like the stuff in the UK which is marketed as "Alfabeet". If that is the case it is essential to soak it for three hours before feeding it. I have used this product and started by giving the horses 1 scoop eqch of the soaked stuff and increased it to 2, morning and night, alongside their normal feed. It worked very well in keeping weight on my elderly mare. The only reason I don't still use it is that you can't get it here in France.

we feed our horses only 2/3 a cup in the morning and in the night and we feed it dry so for your horse i'd say start at 1/2 and work your way up to either 2/3 or 1 cup

With any new food you should introduce it slowly. Start with half a cup, then increase to no more than two cups.

ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS soak the pulp for 12-24hrs before feeding.