Beet Pulp

[tuffsmom]

More questions from the newbie!

I've seen people talk about feeding beet pulp to their minis, and something about soaking it overnight? Well, we're boarding some horses here at the house, and a lady brought a 50lb bag of beet pulp shavings? What is this? Is this what you soak overnight, or is that fresh beets? I am so confused! Does my little guy need to be eating this, also?

 

[rabbitsfizz]

Beet Pulp is WONDERFUL- well, mine think it is, anyway!!! I feed it to add bulk, not energy to the diet- so I soak it in lots of water and strain off the water and then add a bit more to make it soupy. This is their "potatoes and gravy"

You can feed a little as a treat or a lot as an easily digestible part of the diet. In winter I feed it soaked for half an hour in boiling water- it fluffs up beautifully and makes the whole feed smell lovely. There is no need to soak the shreds at all- you can feed them dry, I feed the pellets and they are really too hard to feed dry- well, I think they are, so I soak them. If your weather is hot you will not want to leave them overnight- just a couple of hours will do- NEVER use any that is left over form yesterday- tip it out, it goes Yukky really quickly.

There is an article written on beet pulp that is absolutely hilarious- I've lost the link, perhaps someone else will post it??

 

[Robin_C]

Beet pulp is a byproduct of the sugar beet industry and represents a palatable and highly digestible form of fiber in many commercial feeds. It can also be fed along with any feed you are currently given. There are many benefits to soaking it, not the least of which is getting additional water into your horse. However, the shredded variety you have can be soaked for 5 minutes or soaked for 5 hours. The longer it soaks the more it expands from its dehdyrated state. It will reach its maximum rehydration point at about 1-2 hours in cold water. Soaking it longer than that really has no benefit. It contains about as many calories (by weight) as oats, but contains a safer form of carbohydrate than grains. It is considered a "slow release" energy food, and thus is used a lot by endurance riders rather than filling the horse up with hay and grains.

One of the most comprehensive articles available on beet pulp is written by Dr. Susan Garlinghouse and can be found at this link:

Myths and Realities of Beet Pulp

Robin C

 

[tuffsmom]

So can you feed one too much beet pulp? Would it be a good treat in the evenings? I haven't found any treats that he likes (except for nacho cheese bugles...probably not good for him).

 

[littlehorse2]

[SIZE=14pt]I started to feed our new mare beet pulp in with hergrain and she loves it. She's gained some more weight in the 2 1/2 weeks we've had her. I started my other 2 on it last night and they loved it. I'm going to give them more beet pulp and a little less hay since they have hay bellies right now. I've never fed it before, but I think it's wonderful. I let it saok any where from 15 minutes to 45 minutes, and that does just fine by them.[/SIZE]

Christy

 

[justaboutgeese]

I feed beet pulp starting in late fall as soon the ground is covered with snow. There is nothing for them to pick at outside and if it were not for the beet pulp they would gorge themselves on hay and again be bored. By feeding the beet pulp then the grain they can eat the hay at a leisurely pace and stave off the boredom. The added water is a big benefit as well. When the temperatures drop so does their water intake. That in itself would make beet pulp worth feeding. I feed it three times a day at about eight hour intervals. That timing might not work well for some people but fits in well with our daily life here.

 

["City Slicker"]

beet pulp,LOL I tried to give this to my guy, and he took a mouth full, looked right at me as if to say"what the heck is this" and threw it at me (little begger)

. so I gave up trying it. I guess some like it, some don't.

 

[justaboutgeese]

None of my animals ate it the first time it was offered to them. The first day one took a taste then walked away. Day two one cup soaked was fed to the four of them, the first horse ate all that was in front of him and horse two thought his was worth a taste. By the end of day four you would have thought it was sweet feed with extra molassis and applesauce. It is a major part of my feeding program. Quality hay, sweet feed and beet pulp.

 

[Heidi]

A word of caution...

My filly choked on shredded beet pulp a few months ago. It was my fault.

I usually put her scoop of pellets in the feeder first, then I put the scoop of (dry) shredded beet pulp. She'd use her nose to mix it up, getting through the pulp to the pellets. That particular day, the scoop was in the beet pulp so I put that scoop in first with the pellets on top.

Well, it appears she ate the pellets first and since she didn't use her nose to mix the two, she ate the beet pulp all at once and it got stuck in her throat. I noticed it within 10 minutes of her 'choking' and called my vet, who came out right away. Probably 35 minutes from choke to vet arrival.

We had to use a tube up Q's nose to pump in water and flush the water/pulps back out the tube. Poor Q was compacted pretty good, vet felt it was blocked from about lower-mid neck to nearly her stomach.

Good news:

Vet said there was so little blood from the tubing and we treated her so quickly that she didn't think any damage had been done.

Then she checked out Q's stable and feeding arrangements...

My vet advised me to raise Q's pellet-feeder to at least chest height. It was on the floor and with Q's head down and dry pulps trying to go up...it was a recipe for disaster...

She asked about Q's feeding habits, and Q does take big 'bites' of the feed, so vet suggested I break a salt brick in half and toss that in her feeder to have to eat around.

Vet also said I could wet the feed, but if I was sure to mix the pulps with her pellets that she shouldn't have any problems. I did put in about 12 oz of water with the pellets/pulps for the first week after the choke episode at the vet's suggestion, then she said I could cut back the water and see how she did with it dry, and she did fine.

Certainly this won't happen with every horse fed shredded beet pulp, but it is what happened to me. I like the feed because of its high digestibility and carbohydrate makeup. Q's choke episode hasn't scared me off of beet pulp, but it has made me more aware of how I feed it to her.

Heidi

 

[rabbitsfizz]

I NEVER feed any feed dry!!! I never have, all my life, it is just second nature now to add water before feeding, whether or not feeding Beet Pulp. As to not eating the stuff-it's so long since I started I can't remember- I always mix my feed up myself- never leave it unmixed either- so maybe because the Pulp was all mixed in the horses just ate it along with all the rest- I've certainly never had a horse turn down any sort of feed!!

 

[mizbeth]

Hi

Back to your original question. I guess you mean shredded beet pulp rather than beet pulp shavings? I wonder if their is a difference? What did she tell you to do with it? What does the bag say?

I use shredded beet pulp for my horses, summer and winter. I ALWAYS soak it. I use the shredded and it is ready to add/mix with feed in just a few minutes.

Beth

 

[tuffsmom]

Hi

Back to your original question.  I guess you mean shredded beet pulp rather than beet pulp shavings?  I wonder if their is a difference?  What did she tell you to do with it?  What does the bag say?

I use shredded beet pulp for my horses, summer and winter. I ALWAYS soak it. I use the shredded and it is ready to add/mix with feed in just a few minutes.

Beth

471931[/snapback]

​

Well, she told my husband to mix it in with her feed in for her evening meal. He, of course, did not ask questions (he figures, "her horse...her rules") The bag is a 50lb brown bag with pictures of goats, horses, llamas, etc.. on the front, "Beet Pulp with molasses". I tried to call this lady, but her mare is here because she is on vacation, so no luck. We fed her mare as she had instructed, and there were no problems. It's a 25 year old mare, and we fed it dry, but I guess she's probably used to eating it dry.

 

[Bess Kelly]

I keep both shreds & pellets. If you have a horse(s) who tend to bolt their feed then thn pellets CAN be hung up in their throat and cause choke, pellets more often than shredded. BUT, I always feed mixed with their feed if fed dry as I feel this helps. Then, moisture makes it expend and whammo...big bulk in the throat. I did have a filly choke about a month ago and it was FIRST animal to ever choke on anything in over 25 years of horses. She was eating (pelleted pulp/pelleted feed..dry) when another "charged toward the feeder" and she jumped to get away, almost immediately, she choked. Then me

($173 vet bill and I took her to him)

Like most, winters with warm water pulp is the ticket here. They love it! It does put weight on them if you do not reduce some other feeds. AND, it can be a wonderful supplement for elders to keep weight ON....plus easy to digest.

Used to get it for $8.50 a bag. So popular now that it costs $10.50-$11.75 a bag! Still, if you can cut your hay by 30-40%, it's worth it. I just need to buy discounted! We need a "BP Co-OP"