Found it! Now I have a question....

[New_Image]

I bought a bag of shredded beet pulp and soaked 2 cups for the horses to sample.

They didnt like it plain so I threw in a half a cup of sweet feed and they all wanted more! Guess they just thought it needed a little spiceing up.

Ok my question... How much should I feed Molly? I searched back threw previous posts and found most are giving minis 1 cup AM and 1 cup PM but what would you feed a 14.3HH 18 year old nurseing mother of 1 large soon to be weaned foal?

She is currently eating 2 flakes of grass hay AM, 1 flake around 3PM, 1 flake around 5PM and 3 flakes at 9PM along with 8 pounds of grain spred through out 3 meals, the grain is a senior, mare and foal, and oats mix. (I dont know if you need to know all this..) Shes also getting sand clear, source, corta-flex, mare plus, and weight builder.

What happened to the good old days when 3 flakes and a cup of sweet feed kept her OVER WEIGHT? Sigh.

Do you think 2 cups (Measureing it while its dry) 3 times dailey along with her grain would add a little weight to her?

 

[kaykay]

hi nicole

i believe in keepign feeding as simple as possible. Is there a reason you think she needs beet pulp?? keep in mind beet pulp normally replaces some of the hay you are feeding. Since she is already getting a good amount of feed and her foal is going to be weaned soon i would question giving her yet another feed unless shes low on weight.

 

[New_Image]

Hi Kaykay,

A few people here suggested I try her on beet pulp. She is not skinney for some horses but for Molly she is skinney. Baby pulled her down quite a bit I couldnt even feel ribs before let alone see them or her back bone. When the vet did a exam on her a few years back he couldnt find her hips - so this tells me shes lost quite a bit of weight form the baby and going into winter in Northern MI id like her as close to where she was as I can put her.

Plus I was hopeing if she went on beet pulp I could cut back on grain, I am not a big grain fan and never in my dreams did I think Id be feeding any horse of mine 8 pounds of grain dailey to keep the weight up.

I was just wondering how much beet pulp for a big horse?

EDIT - Also my mom was wondering if her big belly not going any where is from all they hay or just from being 18 and giving birth to a small car? She told me to ask...

 

[JMS Miniatures]

When I had my big horse and he was skinny I started giving him 5 cups of sweet grain, 5 cups of beet pulp, and 5 cups of alfalfa cubes with pasture grass 24/7. He was starting to look really good just need a little bit more belly.

The beet pulp IMO helps if you feel that they need to fill in a little more.

 

[hobbyhorse23]

My Spyderman was getting very thin for awhile there and it was really bugging me. My new job finally gave me enough spare cash to have an equine dentist out when more than doubling his senior feed didn't put any weight back on him, and it turns out the poor horse is missing all sorts of teeth and what's left are too short for him to chew well with.

Combine that with the pellet choke he got several times and he went on soaked beet pulp served like soup with soggy senior feed.

He is 14.3 hands and has always been an easy keeper. He used to get 3 large flakes of grass hay a day (until he proved he couldn't chew it anymore, now he doesn't get much more than the mini just to keep him happy) and before the senior, some COB with vitamin supplements.

FOR THIS HORSE: We started him out on 1 dry-volume cup twice a day and quickly moved him up to two cups twice a day. His poop got solid again and he stopped losing weight, but I wasn't happy still seeing ribs this close to winter so I just upped him to three cups twice a day and he's FINALLY putting on some padding over his ribs and hips. Not much, but he's only been getting that much for two weeks along with about 2-3 lbs of Senior feed daily and enough hay to chew on.

So just one person's experience! My vet said she knows TB's who get something like 12 cups a day and are fine. You're just supposed to be careful to slowly up the amount instead of suddenly throwing them the final amount right away.

Leia

 

[Miniv]

Yes, I can see that you have some ridges beginning to show on your girl......

It's not drastic yet, so she may bounce back quickly once her foal is weaned. If not, I would be inclined to give her 2 to 4 times what a mini would get (wet ration). But cut her back again once the foal is weaned off of her....just MO.

We have given our minis anywhere from 1 to 4 cups soaked beet pulp per feeding, depending on their needs.

MA

 

[beaminewbie]

We feed beet pulp to our 24 yr old broodmare, and she gets as much as she wants to eat to keep the weight on her. I give her a scoop of it wet with her grain twice a day and then during the day I will give her a couple of scoops with no grain. She loves it and it really helps her, during the cold Michigan winters!! She eats like its going out of style!!

 

[Robin_C]

My old gal, a 15h QH who is 20, gets LOTS of beet pulp. I, too, am not a fan of high grain diets, preferring plenty of forage. However, these old gals, and especially since yours has a foal at her side, find it hard to keep their weight. The extra calories in the beet pulp will help them do that, and it is much safer than upping their grain. Also by adding the beet pulp you can cut down on the hay a bit if you'd like. My old girl (who weighs between 1000-1100 lbs) gets a mix of a locally grown grass hay (about 10 lbs per day), some straight alfalfa (about 5 lbs per day), 8-10 cups of beet pulp (wet) once per day plus a vitamin/mineral supplement, some sunnies, flax seed, MSM and CortaFlx with HA for her arthritis. She looks and acts like a much younger horse, holds her weight and has a hair coat to die for! I wet all of her meals because she is a little dentally challenged -- definitely something to watch out for as our horses age. BTW -- one of the main differences between senior feeds and "regular" feeds is the amount of protein and fiber (and some of the micronutrient ratios are arranged differently). Older horses have a higher requirement for fiber AND protein than the average adult horse, part of the reason why many senior feeds are beet-pulp based.

This is Sarah at age 19 on summer pasture -- almost TOO heavy!

Robin C

 

[Kim]

We have a whole bunch of old horses (our oldest is a 38 year old QH) and keeping the weight on them is always an issue. Over the years we've found that alfalfa as opposed to grass hay helps keep the weight on better--you could try giving her some soaked alfalfa cubes in addition to her grass hay. Also, we have recently switched from beet pulp to rice bran and it is making a huge difference--the 38 year old is even a bit plump now. We do use Sr. Feed (mixed w/ crushed oats) for grain--the brand we use is Manna Pro, and it is fantastic. We also add canola oil to their feed as well sometimes. Oh, one more question--have her teeth been done recently? If not, that will be a hinderance to her putting on weight, too. If her teeth are not great, I recommend soaking her feed.

 

[Marty]

Hey Kid, I'm feeding Sonny 2 cups measured out dry of beet pulp. Then I make is soupy and let it sit a while. That's almost too much for him too. Sometimes, he gets a bit less.

Listen that stuff stinks to high heavens and some just don't like the smell of it. It's an aquired taste I think. But go ahead and let them get used to the stuff without feed. They're all pigs and they will eat it eventually plain. I do use chopped carrots sometimes too mixed in.

Sonny also gets purina senior am and pm and almost a half a bail of hay right now. We're freezing. I put his blanket on tonite and I was all cuddled up in it with him. It was a Kodak moment but alas, no one to take a picture.

Don't worry about her belly now either while the baby is still on her. I still have mine.

Love ya Kid.

 

[minicount]

Best thing for the mare is wean the foal. Best way we've gotten for our old girls to bounce back.

 

[Boss Mare]

My 14.0 hh. 7 year old Quarterhorse is getting 1 8 qt. bucket of soaked beet pulp twice a day. I fill the 8 qt. bucket about half way with dry shredded beet pulp and let it soak. Once soaked it fills a bucket. I've never measured the exact amount, even though I should.... He's also getting 4 lbs. of 11% protein/6% fat sweet feed. A few handfuls of soaked alfalfa cubes twice a day and a half of bale of grass hay a day. He's a gelding, not being worked and is really an easy keeper and is quite fleshy.

My friend has a 15.3 hh. Appaloosa gelding who's a very hard keeper and he's getting a full 5 gallon bucket of soaked beet pulp a day in addition to 11 lbs. of grain and free choice of pasture plus a bale plus of hay a day and he still needs weight.

So .... don't be afraid to add more beet pulp than 2 cups since virtually you could feed A LOT without any related complications.

 

[chandab]

Hey Kid, I'm feeding Sonny 2 cups measured out dry of beet pulp. Then I make is soupy and let it sit a while. That's almost too much for him too. Sometimes, he gets a bit less. Sonny also gets purina senior am and pm and almost a half a bail of hay right now. We're freezing.  I put his blanket on tonite and I was all cuddled up in it with him. It was a Kodak moment but alas, no one to take a picture.

Marty,

Glad to see your response. I have a senior full-size gelding and was wondering how much beet pulp to feed him. He looks really good for 22 and has always been an easy keeper, but with winter upon us, I wanted to add soaked beet pulp for the bit of water it would add and he really doesn't need extra grain.

I think I'll give 2 cups a try for Cheddar; might start out making two cups to split between him and the three minis and then up it, so he still gets 2 cups.

 

[New_Image]

Oh, one more question--have her teeth been done recently?

Well, guilty I suppose there, I had her teeth floated late spring of 2004... It had been 3 years since her last float at that time and he said he wanted to see her every 6-12 months because of some wave or groove or something. He said to have him out right after she foaled this year so Im only 5 months late but Ive been procrastinating (sp?) because she was sore and some what off feed for about a month last time he did her teeth and right now, I see no problem dropping grain or feel any sharp points when I stick my finger in there but I really should get them done. For money reasons Ive been hopeing to hold off until this comming spring.

Thanks for all the advice and input every one!

I started her out today and am going to see what she does with 2 cups AM and 2 cups PM. Maybe I will lower her hay a bit and increase her beet pulp little by little and see if I can get less belly and more on her back and ribs.

And seeing as Image is 5 months old now I am going to start seperating him for day time and putting them back together for nights with in a week or so I guess so that should help her too.