Been feeding the horses soaked beet pulp and grain and they are looking better. I am more so using the soaked beet pulp to kind of slow them down so the younger horses are able to get more, and to help out with the weight. I just have a large trough that I put their feed in, and there is 4 horses.
What are the positive points to feeding soaked beet pulp?
Whats the negative points to feeding soaked beet pulp?
Beet pulp is a good fiber source, it has some decent protein, and it's a "cool" feed (if it doesn't have any molasses). Soaking is good for horses that are prone to choke, and it adds some water in their diet, which is good if you have one that's not drinking enough.
The only negative is that it can go rancid if it sits out longer than 2 hours before feeding it. And some horses don't like it soaked.
i feed my mare beet pulp: she loves it. i let it soak for about 10 minutes before giving it to her.
oh luvs2ride- i didn't know that you could feed beet pulp unsoaked...i was told that if it wasn't soaked, it would expand in the horse's stomach, and cause them to colic. (which is the reason for soaking in the first place i suppose)
No, you do not need to soak it. The acids in a horse's stomach begin to break down the beet pulp before it can expand. The only reason it could be dangerous is if the horse gulps his/her food and is prone to choke. Otherwise, it's just fine to feed dry, even the pelleted kind.
My horses love beet pulp. I feed it dry unless I am using it to hide medicine in, then I put water on it but not soak it. Its really helped my TB fill out.
Beet pulp is an excellent source of fat for horses, and it digests in the hind gut rather than the secum. This means that you can feed it at a high volume without the worry of it upsetting the pH of the hind gut, which other feeds (grains, complete feeds, etc) will do if they are fed at high volumes because they are digested in the secum, but if that overfills it will spill into the hind gut and disrupt it. When the hind gut pH is disrupted, you end up with founder, colic and in severe cases complete kidney failure.
So, yay beet pulp! As long as you are building up the amount slowly, you can end up giving them as much as they need for weight building and it is great for young horses along with 30-50% Alfalfa hay to keep the protein and calcium intake up. For young horses, nursing and pregnant horses and horses in work it is also a good idea to be adding a "multi-vitamin" that is balanced for your area and hay.
I love to feed beet pulp, but I've never fed it dry. The expansion thing is what I heard, and it's a reasonable assumption, so I'm definitely going to stick with soaking it. I've also had soaked beet pulp on hand for three days and it never went bad.
Anywho, it's great fiber, helps keep their poo in tidy "little" droppings. =] I typically only use it in the winter to keep my horse fat without going through a bunch of extra hay and grain. It's also really cheap, and lasts a ridiculously long time. Well, I have an easy keeper, so it might not last as long with a hard keeper.
It is high in fiber and calories, but very low in fat.
BP is also low in Phosphorus, so if you're feeding more than 1-2 lbs (dry weight) a day, you should pair it with a high calcium feed like Alfalfa (pellets, hay, cubes, etc.) or add a supplement that is high in calcium and low in phosphorus.
It is high in fiber and calories, but very low in fat.
BP is also low in Phosphorus, so if you're feeding more than 1-2 lbs (dry weight) a day, you should pair it with a high calcium feed like Alfalfa (pellets, hay, cubes, etc.) or add a supplement that is high in calcium and low in phosphorus.
5.5 lbs of soaked shreaded beet pulp (I dont remember what it was dry, I think like 3 lbs)
4.5 lbs of complete pelleted feed
1.5 lbs of alfalfa pellets
1.5 lbs of cracked corn
As I said before there are 4 horses in there,
10 year old mare with 2 month old filly at her side, a yearling,
and a small 3 year old.
I plan to up the feed some more but doing it slowly.
Hey there...
I have never fed beet pulp that i remember but my friend feeds it to her older Arab mare for 7 days straight once a month...She said it helps to carry out a lot of the sand that gets into the horses system...
Now my horse is on a very small amount of Alfalfa and Grass hay and then he gets a once a week turn out for a few hours into a nice green pasture...
Somtimes I have fed him Weat bran mash but not very often....
My friend keeps hounding me to feed him beet pulp...
he also gets safe choice. What do you guys think...does he need it....
I do not think he is under weight but certainly needs more muscle tone....
But as we work on the foot issues we are only doing light work....
I am dying to ride ....maybe not my horse but someone elses....
What do you guys think? Should I give him the beet Pulp? How often do you all give the beet pulp? My horse is in a bit sandier enviroment then he was....a few months ago...but he is a pretty easy guy...he will eat anything..including meds or anything else....
He does eat every single morsel of food he is given....
PM me or i can always check back here....this has been a topic that I see discussed here a lot...I think I remember only giveing this years ago to older horses...
HP
You don't need the corn. It's high in sugar/starch and low in nutrient value. When you run out, I'd stop. Instead of corn, increase your alfalfa pellets to 2.5-3 lbs. That will be enough to counter-balance the phosphorus in the beet pulp.
You don't need the corn. It's high in sugar/starch and low in nutrient value. When you run out, I'd stop. Instead of corn, increase your alfalfa pellets to 2.5-3 lbs. That will be enough to counter-balance the phosphorus in the beet pulp.
Copperhorse, you may also want to add in some type of roughage to your program, like Bermuda grass, which is low in calcium and protein, but higher than Alfalfa in other trace minerals and nutrients (all things like soil and environmental conditions being equal). Bermuda will also not have the digestible energy that alfalfa of similar quality will have, so you can pretty much 'free-feed' it without worrying that your horse will become jacked-up and hot. Bermuda added to your current program would be beneficial, because horses need daily roughage, as their digestive tract is not designed to live on a pelleted, processed feed diet.
Oh no, they also get their daily hay rations. The beet pulp and complete grain and alfalfa is an extra to get extra weight on a few of them, and to add a better nutrition to their diet because this last batch of hay is not the best.
i bought a horse two months ago and she was pastured with 6 FAT geldings and she was this skinny little mop and looked terrible, i had her on unlimited hay and soaked beet pulp twice a day and the results were amazing, plus i heard it helps prevent colic (which is always a plus, because i haev never seen a horse colic yet, but one of my friends did it a couple times last year and it seems pretty scarey to say the least)
i can't figure out the pic attachment thing so check my pics, she is the chesnut and i am pretty sure they are on there.....if you want to see what it can do.........
I have used it with little success, but this mare is very hard to put weight on. I use it dry, but I have heard only great things about its use through rescues.
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