Beet pulp vs. SafeChoice

Hi all,

I looked up a similar thread to this one, but did not find one directly addressing my question. Hopefully, its okay I started a new thread about this.

I might be buying a 17 year old warmblood in the coming month or two. He is trained to PSG and will be showing a lot, and working 3-5 days a week, depending on my homework load, if and when, I do buy him. I knew him last summer, and he was on SafeChoice to keep up his weight (when he first came he was quite underweight) and due to his workload, which would be very similar to the one that he would have with me, he stayed on it to keep his weight.

I am wondering your preferences/experiences with either SafeChoice or beet pulp, and if you guys use anything else. I don't really want to put him on senior because he can get quite hot on it.

Thanks!

Using both is a good combination. I feed my eventer 3 lbs SafeChoice and 3 lbs Standlee beet pulp twice a day.
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I never thought of that, to be honest!

Do you soak them together? Or feed them separately?

You could do it either way. It usually depends on the horse. If I fed mine just soaked feed, she wouldn't eat it. Soaking the beet pulp and then adding dry SafeChoice makes all the difference.
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They are 2 products with 2 very different purposes. BP is more of a forage replacement/extender. It is high in fermentable fibers with decent calories but low in nutrients and vitamins. The SC is more of a protein/vitamin/mineral extra calorie feed designed to fill the nutrient gaps in the diet.

Just an FYI that beet pulp does not provide a balanced diet of vitamins & minerals.

There should be no choice between beet pulp and something like "Safe Choice" that does provide those things

Beet pulp is a good "in addition to---" to put added weight on a horse without amping them up.

The link below will help you understand that

http://www.livestocktrail.illinois.e.../beet_pulp.pdf

Most "need weight, hard keepers, yadda yadda, either don't have grass , have worms, or bad teeth.
People swear they have wormed them but all they do is give them ivermectin over and over, which doesnt kill tapeworms.
Before I played the add this that and the other game, Id make dang sure to use the right full wormewr rotation, got his teeth checked and made sure he had 24/7 access to decent grass and hay.

^^ some of our horses don't have as much access to food [hay] in the winter as they need. Which is when BP is a really good choice to be fed with grain.

That is YOUR choice. Round bales can be in front of a horse 24/7.

Thanks for the responses guys.

I do understand the nutritional difference, and I think that my question was somewhat poorly stated. The hay at the place I board is really great quality and he has access to salt and minerals 24/7, so as far as nutritional value is concerned, I think that I have covered my bases. My question is more is it worth feeding SafeChoice as a means of keeping weight, or is that a waste of money, and BP will be sufficient?