So I am switching my mare, who is currently on oats, to beet pulp, for a few reasons. First of all, my mare is...
* just under 1,000 lbs
* 14.1 hh QH who is built stocky and a very easy keeper
* very active (we Event, and she is ridden 5x/week with 1-2 of those being jumping lessons)
* turned out daily in a pasture with *some* grass but mainly just the hay they put out -- Timothy mix
* she is allergic to both soybean and molasses, so there seem to be NO commercial feeds she can have that don't contain at least ONE of those, or a by product or soy bean oil/hulls.
...SOOO I have her on plain old crimped oats, with a vitamin supplement from SmartPak (EZ Keeper grass).
But she also eats her hay VERY fast and my Barn manager doesn't want to feed her more (nor does my vet) because she's going to get a hay belly according to them. I don't know whether I believe that or not, but they won't feed her more soooo...
I heard that beet pulp is more digestible than oats are, especially if the horse finishes her hay quickly and won't have any for 10-12 hours each night (she is done with it by like 7pm and they won't feed again until 5 or 6 in the morning).
So I'm going to go get some beet pulp from the feed store tonight, and I know you have to soak it BUT...
1. How long do I need to soak it/with how much water?
2. How much should I be feeding her (twice daily), knowing what you know above?
Here are some photos of her from this weekend by the way, just to give you an idea of her size/build (keep in mind that I make her look larger than she is haha! I'm only 5'1" and 115 lbs)
* just under 1,000 lbs
* 14.1 hh QH who is built stocky and a very easy keeper
* very active (we Event, and she is ridden 5x/week with 1-2 of those being jumping lessons)
* turned out daily in a pasture with *some* grass but mainly just the hay they put out -- Timothy mix
* she is allergic to both soybean and molasses, so there seem to be NO commercial feeds she can have that don't contain at least ONE of those, or a by product or soy bean oil/hulls.
...SOOO I have her on plain old crimped oats, with a vitamin supplement from SmartPak (EZ Keeper grass).
But she also eats her hay VERY fast and my Barn manager doesn't want to feed her more (nor does my vet) because she's going to get a hay belly according to them. I don't know whether I believe that or not, but they won't feed her more soooo...
I heard that beet pulp is more digestible than oats are, especially if the horse finishes her hay quickly and won't have any for 10-12 hours each night (she is done with it by like 7pm and they won't feed again until 5 or 6 in the morning).
So I'm going to go get some beet pulp from the feed store tonight, and I know you have to soak it BUT...
1. How long do I need to soak it/with how much water?
2. How much should I be feeding her (twice daily), knowing what you know above?
Here are some photos of her from this weekend by the way, just to give you an idea of her size/build (keep in mind that I make her look larger than she is haha! I'm only 5'1" and 115 lbs)