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Discussion on Feeding beet pulp
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Member:
Clover35
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Posted on Tuesday, Mar 16, 2004 - 4:25 pm:
I'm not sure why this isn't working so I apologize for posting over and over again...
I am not very familiar with feeding beet pulp, I have read the other posts that I have found and that is about all I know. I have an 8 year old TB gelding who was very thin when i got him about a year ago... he has since put on a lot of weight. He seems to have had diahrrea for the past couple months however. He was still gaining weight on Nutrina Quick and Respond. We have moved him to a new boarding stable where he's on a different pelet and sweet feed mixed grain... he has lost a little bit of weight but not a drastic amount. I am wondering if I should feed him beet pulp and how much (he's a little over 1000 pounds) because I have heard it can soak up excess water... realieving him of the loose stool and helping him to gain the weight back. Any suggestions would be a lot og help!
Thanks,
Kelly
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Member:
Kthorse
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Posted on Tuesday, Mar 16, 2004 - 5:40 pm:
Hi i give 1 1b dry and add 1/4 1b wheat bran to balance calcium /phospherous ratio soaked for 12 hours. I feed it twice a day with a 1/4 cup oil in each feedings. It helps keep weight on without extra grain. He gets free choice hay as well. He also gets 1 pound of 12% pellets twice a day. I am not sure what the recomended amount is . You have to look at the total diet, maybe someone else can help.
Katrina
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Member:
Liliana
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Posted on Tuesday, Mar 16, 2004 - 6:05 pm:
Kelly,
Sugar beet has to be soaked before feeding it to the horse/pony it soaks about twice or even three times it´s dry weight, I am metric so I guess your horse must be around 15hh so he would take around ¼ of a kilo. (1 kilo is about 2 pounds)
Please be very careful, beet can be very dangerous if not soaked to a semi soft watery consistency! if it has not absorbed enough water it will increase in size once your horse swallows it and it will choke and could die. I have seen it happen before.
I would advice you to check the contents of the new feed he will receive in the new yard, remember that any change in food has to be done gradually.
we normally only used beet in winter to maintain the weight and would stop using it in summer. Being of sugar content it will create energy that if not used will turn into fat.
One thing is for sure it will not stop your horse´s loose stools, that is a digestive problem, it could be due to poor quality food, or stale grain, even not enough hay, etc.
All the best
Liliana
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Member:
Paix
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Posted on Tuesday, Mar 16, 2004 - 11:54 pm:
Hi there,
All my horses get beet pulp. Amount depends on horse age and weight.
I give it to my young ones and my one older fella (24). They really like it!
Just a side note on my experience with soaking:
Being in hot weather most of the time here in Southern Cal, I find if its soaked too long it will go rancid.
This is something you CAN smell and my horses turn their noses up at it (thats how I learned of it going rancid in the first place) - I think it would be hard to elude you if it became rancid.
I soak it until its ready. Ive experimented a lot with soaking times. When I used to soak it overnite, I got used to the look, smell & feeling of the "soaked" product.
Ive learned, at least in our weather, it usually only need soak abt an hour. I use an equal (eye measured) amt of water as I always have (as if soaking overnite). It soaks up the water the same, gets to the same consistency as over nite and I dont have a problem with it going bad or stale anymore.
In our brief winter season, it can soak longer.
Ive fed beet pulp in this fashion for about 7 yrs now and my horses have all done great on it.
Ive read a lot abt Beet Pulp and some veiws are that it doesnt need to be soaked at all. Maybe for "bolters," but on the average, it can be fed dry.
Ive never fed it dry, just doesnt seem to be worth the chance that one of my horses would NOT be the average.
I would have a loose stool checked (maybe you already have?), if its gone this long without clearing up with attention to food, water, supps, weather and the like.
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Wednesday, Mar 17, 2004 - 6:52 am:
Several studies involving large numbers of horses and personal experience has shown it is not true that beet pulp has to soaked to be fed. We discuss this and other aspects of feeding beet pulp in, Care for Horses > Nutrition > Forages for Horses, an Overview.
DrO
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Member:
Liliana
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Posted on Wednesday, Mar 17, 2004 - 1:15 pm:
Dr.O
Now that makes me feel really old, I know I had been away from the horse industry for some 8 years before I got into it again two years ago, but, either the way beet is manufactured in the US is different or horses have changed, as one of the worst fears of any horse owner/care taker in England is giving dry beet to a horse. Who knows maybe it is manufactured differently.
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Member:
Kthorse
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Posted on Wednesday, Mar 17, 2004 - 1:36 pm:
My Vet says 100% soak beet pulp. She had 2 severe cases a few months back from choke from dried beet pulp. Some horses I guess eat too fast. I would not take the risk especially after hearing how often it occours from my vet. This is just my choice though.
Katrina
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Member:
Nonie
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Posted on Wednesday, Mar 17, 2004 - 3:44 pm:
I bring a little kettle to the barn and boil up a quart of water. I add this to a quart of beet pulp and it speeds up the soaking time immensely--it is completely soft and ready to eat in about ten to fifteen minutes. I add two ounces of a rice bran weight-gain product to each quart of dry beet pulp. My horse's only complaint is that sometimes her "treat" is a little HOT. LOL.
If you board like I do and don't have a lot of time at the barn, this is a good solution.
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Member:
Alden
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Posted on Wednesday, Mar 17, 2004 - 5:20 pm:
This is a little off topic, but.
Horses choke on many things, carrots being a big culprit. You seldom hear anyone say "don't feed them carrots" or "soak that hay, I seen a horse choke once on it served dry"
But, let a couple horses choke on dry beet pulp and the 'sky will fall' if it isn't soaked. Maybe those horses would have choked that day, soaked or not, beet pulp or hay? Never mind the studies.
Curious
Good day, Alden
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Member:
Liliana
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Posted on Wednesday, Mar 17, 2004 - 5:51 pm:
With all due respect horses choke because human´s carelessness most of the time, carrots cut in circles instead of longwise can choke a horse, giving a horse a hay net when wearing a bit can choke. In all my years with and around horses whenever a horse gets colic or chokes and really most accidents are due to human’s carelessness. Some times common sense is the horse´s worse enemy wouldn’t your agree.
Most people read the instruction book of a new microwave or a 54” TV but, when it comes to buying a horse, the mere fact of handing the money over makes you an expert on the matter. Aren’t we funny creatures!
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Member:
Sross
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Posted on Wednesday, Mar 17, 2004 - 7:52 pm:
We had a gelding at the boarding barn where my horse lives who had loose stools and was underweight. According to his owners, he'd always been that way. Beet pulp was added to his feed, and before too long, he was in good flesh,and the stools were a more normal consistency.
I've never used it myself, but it sure made a difference for that horse.
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Member:
Lmiller1
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Posted on Wednesday, Mar 17, 2004 - 8:30 pm:
I feed all my horses dry beet pulp and have for years. I mix my feeds by hand with about three cups of beat pulp added to each feeding. This is of course moved up or down according to the horses personal needs but on average it is 3 cups which works out about a half a scoop twice a day. I have never to date had a problem with them choking or colicing due to serving it dry. Maybe because I don't serve a whole lot of it at one time but I guess I am lucky with it. The only time I did serve it wet was the first time and soaked it for an hour and none of the horses would eat it at all so I ended up wasting an enormous amount of feed that day. I read up on the pros and cons of dry feeding and decided that the risks were very low for any problems so I tried it and they loved it and have been feeding it ever since as part of my program. I would say that as long as it is working well and you are having no problems then feed it as you would like.
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Member:
Kthorse
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Posted on Wednesday, Mar 17, 2004 - 8:31 pm:
Alden, I agree, but I am not taking a chance with my horse.
Katrina
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Member:
Dres
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Posted on Wednesday, Mar 17, 2004 - 8:44 pm:
question.. what kind of beet pulp are you feeding dry.. the pellet kind or shredded...
Ann
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Thursday, Mar 18, 2004 - 6:17 am:
If I didn't feed any foodstuff which has caused choke, even twice, there would be nothing I could feed horses, including fresh cut grass.
DrO
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Member:
Clover35
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Posted on Thursday, Mar 18, 2004 - 5:42 pm:
My horse is about 16 hands tall and is worked about every other day. He gets one of those scoops you buy in magazines I would say its about 2 1/2- 3 coffee cans of a mix between seet feed and pelleted grain... pretty much free choice of hay. Along with this I should give him about how much beet pulp if you measure it before soaking it? DrO have you heard of this soaking up water from loose stool? It isn't extremely loose jut sometimes a little watery. Thanks for everyone's help so far!
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Friday, Mar 19, 2004 - 6:17 am:
I don't think the mechanism is soaking up water from the bowel but others have had horses with diarrhea who firmed up following the use of beet pulp. See the article on Diarrhea Overview for more on this.
DrO
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Member:
Jrisch
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Posted on Monday, Apr 5, 2004 - 10:46 am:
Dr. O - I recently purchased beet pulp in pellet form. On the label, it says, "beet pulp pellets must be soaked prior to feeding" Ingredients: "beet pulp, dried and plain). I noticed that you mentioned beet pulp doesn't have to be soaked, but I didn't see anything specifically about the pellets. Do you believe it is necessary to soak the pellets?
Thanks!
Jennifer
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Member:
Tangoh
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Posted on Monday, Apr 5, 2004 - 11:07 am:
We have fed our horses dry beet pulp pellets for about 6 years now without incident.
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Monday, Apr 5, 2004 - 12:27 pm:
I have not seen any research on it Jennifer but I know folks who feed BP pellets dry without problems, I do not know why there would be a problem.
DrO
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New Member:
Classy
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Posted on Saturday, Feb 26, 2005 - 8:59 pm:
What is the main advantage to feeding beet pulp? Just what does it do for the horse? Is it used as a hay replacement? Thanks for the info!
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Sunday, Feb 27, 2005 - 8:33 am:
Hello Lynn,
We go over both the advantages and disadvantages of using beet pulp in the article, Care for Horses » Nutrition » Forages for Horses, an Overview.
DrO
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New Member:
Golden
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Posted on Wednesday, May 18, 2005 - 2:12 am:
I bought a 20 year old mare 14.3hh and she was fine in the weight. But through winter she got chronic diaheria and we almost lost her.she also had her teeth done and back teeth pulled last summer and floated.
We feed her good quality hay, an ice cream pale of milled oats,flax ground up with vita B,and I let her out to the pasture for 4 hours a day.
She lost hair on her spine and it is now growing back and we have tried nutrena senior,morglo(rice bran for 1 month and she didn't inprove.
But since I have put her on grass she is stopping diaheria ,not as bad.
Beet pulp I need to know how much I should feed her a day,and i soak it,also how much oats.Can you please help my horse gain weight back.I need to know how much measurements for an 14.3hh standard bred/qh cross.She is ribby and no muscle at all,sunken rear and loves to eat anything,
We don't want to loose her , she has touched our hearts and she is one of those horses that will love and forget.} slprentice@sasktel.net is our email we need help, we have an vet here that does not work with horses much.
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Wednesday, May 18, 2005 - 7:09 am:
Hello Lisa,
There is not enough specific information on your feeding practices to make specific recommendations. I would like you to read Care for Horses » Nutrition » Equine Nutrition an Overview of Feeding Horses. There is a section in the article on difficult keepers that outlines feeding plans for them but first review your current program.
DrO
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