Soaking/Feeding Beet Pulp?

You don't have to soak it at all, but some horses find it more palatable when it's soaked. The myths of it expanding and rupturing the stomach are scientifically unsound based on what is known of the functional anatomy of the equine stomach and other digestive organs, and this has been well researched and verified in numerous clinical studies with dozens of horses being fed dry beet pulp under varied conditions over many years. It is also no more likely to produce choke than feeding any other dry feed is. I'm posting an article for you on beet pulp that is very informative and that addresses these myths as well.

The reason for disposing of the water is because it is considered to be contaminated organic waste similar to sewage. After only ten minutes of soaking the beet pulp, though, it is highly unlikely to be any problem, but if you are concerned at all, it is considered safest to just dispose of it.

Here is the article...............

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

A short soak time is fine, and it's not necessary to squeeze out extra water by hand (which sounds extremely messy). In that situation, I'd just tilt the bucket and block the end so most of the water could drain out but the beet pulp would stay in. If you have hot water available, it will soak in faster. My old guy gets beet pulp without molasses, and it soaks up almost all of the water in 20 minutes when I use hot water. It takes longer with cold.

I soak my beet pulp for 8? hours. Whenever i feed it i soak it. I also use the pellets. a scoop of beet pulp+half a bucket filled with water. There is no need to squeeze out the water. It is just water. It should be soaked though. And it doesnt go bad. (unless maybe if it's VERY hot.) So when you feed it to her in the AM just soak it then for the PM. It won't do anything,

Good, I do not know what your contract is, however most commonly there is a change between full care board and pasture board, with simplest the horses with stalls or person turnout being fed grain. It is inconceivable to feed grain or other concentrated feed to a herd with out bringing each horse in individually. The bolting of feed and fighting over the grain leads to accidents, and some horses get an excessive amount of even as others get little or none. I truely would not decide upon beet pulp to your aunt's trouble both. There are better choices to add energy and accommodate the boarding drawback. If your aunt is planning to carry a concentrated feed to furnish when she is there, then a good senior pelleted feed like Purina Senior is what I propose. It is vitally good digested and utilized and used mostly to preserve weight on rough keepers. It's also a low starch feed with a low glycemic index so feeding it sporadically won't rationale hormonal fluctuations, or hind intestine disruption from starch overloads. She will be able to conveniently top dress that with either stabilized and mineral balanced rice bran pellets or powder to add extra fat. Up to two kilos of rice bran can be fed along with the Senior feed. If nothing else, just feeding two kilos of rice bran on my own will furnish 2400 calories. It is a higher source of dense energy than beet pulp anyway. Beet pulp is more of a hay expander, and provides calories better than straight hay, however isn't a exceptionally high fat feed. Fats are the satisfactory, safest supply of brought calories. She would additionally add corn oil over the pellets for more riskless energy, but i doubt she desires to maintain the messiness of feeding oils. A fecal egg count to investigate for parasites and floating the enamel are principal to be definite something fed is being chewed well, absorbed, and utilized.

with the shredded beet pulp its not as necessary to soak it for that long. You soak it because it does absorb water and expand, and this can happen in the horses stomach which can lead to overfeeding, bloating and sometimes colic. Shredded beet pulp is different from the pelleted beet pulp. It does not need to be soaked as long as it does not absorb as much water and expand as much. Soaking shredded pulp for 20 min should be fine, but if you ever feed pelleted pulp you want to soak it for at least an hour if not 2. I would recommend leaving the water in it. Once you feed it often enough you will be able to figure out just how much water it will absorb after the 20 min or so you let it soak. Its not a bad thing to get a bit more water in your horse! I have been feeding pelleted beet pulp to my horse for years and it is great for keeping weight on. I get it ready before I go on a ride and let it soak the whole time I'm working with him. By the time I'm done and he is put away it has been about 1-2 hours and it is ready for him to eat. You can also soak it overnight if you do not have enough time during the day, but just be careful that it is not starting to ferment or go moldy.

Soaking is NOTHING more than personal preference:

Myths:

Myth #1: Unsoaked, it will expand inside my horse’s stomach and explode.

This is not true. Yes, it hugely expands when soaked in water. However, the inside of a horse’s stomach is filled with acid, not water. The instant beet pulp reaches the stomach, the process of breaking it down begins.

Myth #2: Unsoaked, it causes choke.

Also not true. Unsoaked beet pulp is no more likely to cause choke than any other feed. Choke is caused by a horse bolting his feed and it getting caught in the esophagus. If a horse has choked before, or is a bolter, ALL feeds should be soaked, not just beet pulp.

Myth #3: It is high in sugar.

Not only is this one not true, its actually the opposite. The sugar beet industry is the industry responsible for making table sugar...so they take the sugar out of the sugar beets and leave everything else, EXCEPT the sugar.

In fact, most feed companies add a small amount of molasses to beet pulp to make it more palatable to horses and to reduce dust due to the lack of sugar. However, even with this added molasses, beet pulp is still lower in sugar than most other components of your horse’s diet.

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

I have been doing just about the same thing for an older mare of mine that needed some extra weight... soak it for about 20 mins, and then mix with feed (and her supplements..) I have not seen any negative effects of soaking it like that, and leaving the water in there... :)

i have never seen anybody ever soak it for two hours o=0 . anyway sounds about right especially since it's working

i used to use speedy beet, soaked it in water until no hard bits or poor boiling water ver it, you dont wanna give it to them half hard cos the rest will expand in their guts