Beet Pulp

[cat_in_the_hat72]

I bought my first bag of beet pulp today. I decided this would work for both my mini and my big horse to balance out the oats my boarding barn provides. Now I open the bag and can't beleive how hard and tough this stuff is. It is the shredded kind. Now I know the biggest concern with feeding it dry is choke and neither one bolts their food. Guess I'd like to hear from others who feed it dry and reassure me it won't kill them.

Thanks

 

[Becky]

I'm probably in the minority here, but I feed it dry. I've not had any problem doing that. The horses tend to chew it thoroughly before swallowing and I've never had one choke at all. I always make sure they have plenty of water available.

 

[cat_in_the_hat72]

Anyone else? Does anyone feed oats with it? What ratio of oats to beet pulp should I use to make sure they are balanced? And should I measure by weight or volume. Maybe I got in over my head with this, it's a bit confusing.

 

[Danielle_E.]

I don't find the shreeded stuff tough and hard. Are you SURE you didn't buy the pellet form? Mine is so finally shredded that my horses, big and small have absolutely no problem with it being fed dry. I do however like to feed it wet in the cold and dead of winter as it gives them added water since I find my horses don't drink enough in winter. I also like to once a week make it a hot mash type with carrots, apples and believe it or not pieces of bananas. All my horses go NUTS for bananas.

 

[cat_in_the_hat72]

Yeah I'm sure it's shredded or at least that's what the bag says. It's pretty fine but there are some bigger peices, nothing huge by any means. Most of it is smaller than the pelleted feed I have been using. Guess never having seen beet pulp before just took me by suprise what it really looked like. Definatly tougher than I guess I expected it to be. I board so soaking it really isn't and option. I figure I'll start out with just a small amount and see how they do with it. I can't imagine I'll have to feed much as I had been feeding my big horse only 1 pound of Strategy and she barely needs that much. My mini has only been getting a handful of oats but does need to put on a bit more weight. I mainly grain them so they have something besides hay to munch on and so they don't feel left out when everyone else gets grain.

 

[Robin_C]

Anyone else? Does anyone feed oats with it? What ratio of oats to beet pulp should I use to make sure they are balanced? And should I measure by weight or volume. Maybe I got in over my head with this, it's a bit confusing. 

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Always measure feed by weight and never by volume. A measuring cup or small coffee can of oats weighs much more than beet pulp in the same volume. A cup of my whole race horse oats weighs about 5 oz (different grades of oats may weigh differently, but it should be THAT much different than 5 oz) and a cup of my shredded beet pulp (Agri-Suppliers) weighs a little over 2 oz. A 50:50 mixture (by dry weight) of oats and beet pulp is pretty balanced for calciumhosphorus ratio and supplies a decent amount of protein and micronutrients for a healthy, adult horse. That's about 2 cups of dry beet pulp to 1 cup of oats.

Robin C

 

[Danielle_E.]

Soaking shredded beet pulp is super quick compared to the pelleted kind. You can pour water on the shredded and within 2 or 3 minutes it can be fed and it will be mush.

 

[Baptism]

The Veterinary Department at the University of Minnesota told me NEVER feed dry beet pulp. "The horse could stroke out."

 

[lyn_j]

[SIZE=14pt]I have always fed dry beet pulp shreds.[/SIZE]

Lyn

 

[Robin_C]

If you are feeding any commercial feed with beet pulp included on the ingredient list (almost all Senior Feeds, plus many, many others), you are feeding dry beet pulp.

I agree with soaking when possible, just as much for the benefits of extra hydration as anything, but I've fed it right from the bag in a pinch without problem. Caution should be exercised with horses that bolt down their feed, have had any previous episodes of choke (due to the possibility of scarring in the esophagus), very small horses (foals, dwarves or tiny minis) -- just the basic common sense type of thing. A horse can choke on ANY food under the right circumstances.

Robin C

 

[tagalong]

The Veterinary Department at the University of Minnesota told me NEVER feed dry beet pulp. "The horse could stroke out."

Stroke out?? What does that mean??

You can feed beet pulp dry with the usual restrictions for any dry feed choke or bloat-wise as others have noted above. It will NOT (contrary to popular myth) swell up in the horse's digestive system.... as it is broken down and moves along the system instead of sitting in a great lump.

If you do soak it, that's fine, too. During the winter I often soak some as the base of the evening feed - and add oats etc. in....

 

[cat_in_the_hat72]

Well I took a couple handfulls out to the horses today to see if they would even eat the stuff. Both of them were more than eager to eat it up and chewed it very carefully. I definatly don't think I'll have too much to worry about feeding it dry.

 

[Bella Alba]

Wish we could find a brand of shredded beet pulp that didn't have larger pieces in it - some of them, when soaked, look like a piece of old shoe leather and are just as tough. So I pick through it, dry, then look again after soaking.

 

[Danielle_E.]

The Veterinary Department at the University of Minnesota told me NEVER feed dry beet pulp.  "The horse could stroke out."

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Yes that is correct but they are talking about the pelleted form not the shredded. I would never feed dry beetpulp pellets!!!

 

[tracerace]

I used to feed BP shreds dry when I was in a pinch occasionally (behind or late) until 2 weeks ago. I experienced choke for the very first time in my life - and it was the first time I've fed dry BP to my TB. I won't do that again. He's not a wolfer either - in fact he's the slowest eater in the barn. He recovered, but it was hard to watch! It says right on the bag not to feed it dry too

. Anyway, I used to only soak for a few minutes and now I soak a full 2 hours like the bag says...just because it makes me feel better!

 

[Lewella]

Guess never having seen beet pulp before just took me by suprise what it really looked like.

LOL That reminds me of the first time my sister opened a bag of Sr. feed with shredded beet pulp in it. Her reaction was "What is this stuff in here that looks like dried snot?" Kinda gross, but an accurate description!

 

[DunPainted]

Perhaps I'm a simple, unenlightened horse owner, but isn't the purpose of feeding shredded beet pulp (SOAKED) is to keep the horse hydrated?

We had a filly suffer a bout of impaction colic in our barn with heated buckets two winters ago (we live in NE Wisconsin). Since we started giving warm beet pulp twice daily, no problems for either the minis or "bigs".

Just a thought.

 

[ThreeCFarm]

and now I soak a full 2 hours like the bag says

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I find the differences in beet pulp labeling interesting! My bags say you can soak for as little as 15 minutes, and that you can even feed it dry. We do soak it, but for probably 15-20 minutes, while we're getting ready to go down to the barn and putting out the other feed, then we drain the beet pulp and give it to those that eat it.

 

[rabbitsfizz]

Over here all the bags say the BP must be soaked for a minimum of 12 hours. They used to say 24 hours. I think this is to cover them, maybe they got sued over a choke incidence?? Anyhoo...... I soak overnight as it suits me and as this gives maximum swell and water uptake. Someone has come up with the idea of "instant" BP- instead of simply informing horse owners they do not need to soak, lets make a HUGE amount of money out of them, instead (

) If I forget to soak, I use boiling water, which makes even the pellets (which is what I use) into mush in 10mins- and makes the feed smell EDIBLE (In fact I have to hide it from the dogs.)

 

[DunPainted]

Fizz, that's interesting that the labeling says to soak it for 12 hours....wouldn't it get a bit rancid, especially in hot weather?

I'm very fortunate to have a hot water spiggot in our garage that I insisted on when we built the house. During cold winter months, I keep the hose inside a box with a 15 watt bulb so it doesn't freeze. Anyway, I mix the grain AND beet pulp together while dry....then add hot water. By the time I'm done with chores (30 minutes), the mixture is ready to go!

No, I'm not the type of person who measures out everything for each horse, unless one has a special circumstance. I have TWO, 5-Gallon buckets that are mixed up and dragged along the "GRAIN FENCE" and each gets approximately four cups, TWICE a day. Ohhh, and do they have energy! No more standing around the hay feeders all day.