Beet pulp is a byproduct of sugar beets after the sugar has been extracted. It's use in equine nutrition has been on the rise for the past 20 years because it offers several advantages over some other horse feeds:

• low soluble carbohydrates
• high fiber much of which is digestible making its energy content considerably higher than most forages
• easy mastication
• reasonable cost
• ease of storage
• a lack of mold spores as is found in field cured hay.

These advantages make it useful in the diets of horses with metabolic disorders related to sugar metabolism, difficult keepers, older horses with teeth problems, and horses with hay mold allergies (heaves, COPD, or recurrent airway disease). However beet pulp does have some nutritional profile problems with its use that must be addressed. Beet pulp is usually available in several forms including chips, ground, or premixed in with balanced equine rations.

This article discusses the nutritional profile of beet pulp, its effect on horse metabolism in health and disease, and practical ways to include it in the horse's diet.

Beet pulp should be viewed as a forage with a relatively high energy content and maybe just barely adequate protein. Crude fiber is about 20% and highly digestible compared with other forages. The digestible energy of about 1 mega-cal per lb puts it well above most grass based forages and close to high quality alfalfa. Protein may be slightly deficient with a protein content often listed at 10% but is considered poorly digestible. It is moderately high in calcium but has a low phosphorous content. Beet pulp is deficient in the oil soluble vitamins A, D, and E.

Beet Pulp	Dry Matter % of total wgt	Dig. Energy: MCal/lb DM	Crude Protein % of total wgt	Crude Fiber % of total wgt	Acid Detergent Fiber % of total wgt	Calcium % of total wgt	Phosphorus % of total wgt
dehydrated	91	1.2	10	20	27.5	0.7	0.1
Note: Very low to no vitamins. Contains adequate to good amounts of some but not all macro and micro minerals. Selenium content 0.1 ppm.

Note: Very low to no vitamins. Contains adequate to good amounts of some but not all macro and micro minerals. Selenium content 0.1 ppm.
Nutrient:	Dry Basis:	As Fed:
Dry Matter	nbsp;	91.50 %
Moisture	nbsp;	8.50 %
Protein Crude	9.21	8.42 %
TDN	74.78	67.78 %
Fiber Crude	18.17	16.62 %
ADF (Acid Detergent Fiber)	22.71	20.78 %
NDF (Neutral Detergent Fiber)	44.15	40.40 %
NEL (Net Energy Lactation)	77.04	70.49 Mcal/lb
NEG (Net Energy Gain)	51.79	47.38 Mcal/lb
NEM (Net Energy Maintenance)	80.00	73.20 Mcal/lb
Total Sugars	9.56	8.75 %
Fat	0.70	0.64 %
Ash	6.22	5.69 %
Calcium	1.72	1.57 %
Phosphorus	0.08	0.07 %
Magnesium	0.33	0.30 %
Potassium	0.36	0.33 %
Sulfur	0.38	0.35 %
Boron	45.00	41.17 ppm
Manganese	86.00	78.70 ppm
Zinc	21.00	19.21 ppm
Copper	16.00	14.64 ppm
Iron	308.00	218.82 ppm
Aluminum	259.00	236.98 ppm
Sodium	911.00	833.56 ppm