Anyone using beet pulp pellets and/or have an opinion on beet pulp pellets?

Thanks, deranger

I feed beet pulp regularly and was wondering if anybody else did and why?

The reason I feed it is there is some nutrition in it, adds fiber, puts water in their gut in the winter time, is a good way to get rid of sand in their gut.

Just looking for other opions?

deranger

I start a new batch of beet pulp pellets soaking as soon as I'm finsihed feeding, whether it's morning or night.  I've found that hot water lessens the soak time, but you have to be careful of them spoiling?  I did a cost comparison a while back and the pellets were a lot more cost effective, but require soaking and takes a little more time.  For the same weight bag, whether it's shredded of pellets, you get a lot more with pellets.  When I tried the shredded, they didn't gain that much in volumn.  Four quarts of pellets makes five gallons of beet pulp mash.  I usually start the batch off with the water about half full in the bucket, then about an hour before I'm ready to feed, I finish it off with steaming hot water.  It's makes a hot mash mixed with sweet feed, a little oil and one of the horses gets some rice bran.  They slurp it up!  One of my mares doesn't care for it as much as the others, so I don't give her as much beet pulp.

deranger

beet pulp comes with or without molasses. For horses with laminitis or insulin conditions, it should be the without stuff.

This past growing season, Nebraska and some other areas suffered flooding and lost  huge crops of sugar beets - which has created a shortage in the US. The other problem is that US growers and producers made commitments to foreign buyers that have to be met; thereby leaving a shortage in the US.

10 -15 years ago, BP was hardly used as feed. It was given away free from sugar plants in this area of Michigan. Then it was discovered to be a great feed additive for cattle and from there, to horse feed.

The pellets can be very hard to chew. Soaking it is not absolutely necessary - but recommended. During the summer, it will go bad (ferment) when soaked if not fed and eaten right away. Some vets and feed dealers recommend washing feed buckets out between feedings in areas with high temps.

BP pulp (beep) can be a big help in stretching hay. But be sure to evaluate it $ per pound.  Feed your horses by the pound. and avoid feeding too much "grain/mush" at any one feeding. The horse's stomach only holds about 3 gallons. If you exceed that, you are simply pushing the contents into the small intestine before it is adequately digested by the acid in the stomach.

I've been feeding beet pulp for years.  it's great for endur. horses at the vet checks- I'd have shredded  bp mixed w/ carrots and apples in  a small bucket and add water as soon as we came into the checks-  my picky horse would slurp it up much more readily than  he'd eat hay. 

 this time of year I use the pellets- much more cost effective.  I soak them in a little water overnite then add hot water and grain right before feeding.  when it's hot they get shredded bp mixed w/ grain and water.  as others have said you can feed the shredded dry but most horses prefer it wet plus you have the benefit of getting more water into them

My grandfather fed pelleted beet pulp as part of his feed to cattle on his feed lot back in the 1960's  So I've seen the product around the farm for 50 years.

I have fed it to my horses for the past 15 years. Not as a daily part of their feed.. Like deranger I like to use it during very cold weather to add water to my horses daily intake.  I also use it as a delivery feed to get my horses to eat electrolytes and other medicine than won't eat by itself. So I give it to my horses often enough for them to know what it is and for them to develop a taste to like the product. The first time you feed it, most horses will turn their nose up at it. But if it is feed often enough they learn to love it and mine go immediately for the beet pulp even when I put it out with alfalfa at the same time.

I don't add supplement or grain to my horses daily diet. I feed straight hay. So in my mind adding some beet pulp is a way to diversify their diet.  If the hay happens to be deficient in a given mineral or vitamin, maybe by broadening their forage intake I can compensate for that deficiency.

As mention beet pulp will ferment if left standing too long. I add enough hot water to cover, let stand 5-10 minutes, add more hot water and then go feed. I never let it sit for more than 15-20 minutes. I buy the Pelleted version. It's more compact, takes less space to store and is generally more available in my area. I've never had a problem feeding dry pellets, but as I mention my main reason for feeding beet pulp is to add water to my horses in the cold or before an extended ride, so most of the time I soak it.

There is a great article about beet pulp on the internet posted by a Equine Nutritionist at:

http://shady-acres.com/susan/beetpulp.shtml

I suggest you read that as part of your research into the product.

DeRanger - I have fed soaked beet pulp every day for years. I soak a cup of dry beet pulp in about a gallon of water, per horse.  The next day I prepare a mash by adding 2 cups of dry cob (corn, oats, barely) a cup of horse kwik, cup of oil, vitamins and about 1/2 cup apple cider vinager.  Mix it all up and it makes a great way to keep weight on the horse in winter. In winter I add hot water just before feeding to make a hot mash.  I ride endurance and most of the people I ride with also use soaked beet pulp.  I use pellets but others use the shredded.  I guess it depends on how quickly you want it to be ready.  I start mine soaking the night before I use it.  My horses love it!!  I am careful not to leave it soaking in summer when it is warmer outside though... it can ferment if left out in warm weather but that is not an issue in winter.

I agree with your recipe and mine is not as complicated as yours, but my horses are not working as hard as your do.  Be careful with the vinegar, I've been told that vinegar does not promote digestion and is acutally an innert substance. 

My neighbor got me turned on to beet pulp a few years ago and she has a refridgerator in her tack room/feed room.  She ALWAYS put her beet pulp mix in the fridge winter or summer.  Her horses still slurped it up, but I thought it was like an icy oatmeal mash.  So I do what you do and that is to mix it about half done for 12 hours and then finish it with really hot water before I take it to the barn.  I can mix vitamins, medicine, rice bran or just about anything in the mash I make for my horses and they still slurp it down.

deranger

http://www.applevinegar.com/

Horse Health

Thursday, April 24, 2003
APPLE VINEGAR BENEFITS YOUR HORSES

Wow!  I had no idea that ACV was such a valuable thing to have in the barn?!?!?! 

Cowgirl, can you give me some more info on ACV?  How much to use compared to size and weight of the horse?  How often and any other particulars that you might know about the use of ACV?  I'm always looking for ways to keep my horses healthier, happier, looking better and feeling better.  I have an older arab gelding in the barn and he's the best horse I have in the barn and never thought I'd own an arab!  He's getting up in his years and I'm always seaching for ways to make life more enjoyable for him at his age and so far his health is really good for 24!  I want to keep him around for a long time and anything I can do to promote that would be a big help.

deranger

here's one site that helps get you started.

http://www.apple-cider-vinegar-benefits.com/

The "mother" ACV is much better. I've bought it in health food stores. Use less.

this is the brand that I've purchased

http://www.bragg.com/products/vinegarHorse.html

I have not heard of the "mother" ACV...  that's funny.  I pour about 1/4 cup on my horse's mash every night.  He's a 10 year old Arab gelding, about 900 lbs tops.  I started the ACV when I heard other folks talking about it's benefits.  I am very careful what my horse eats and how he is feeling.  He has Headshaking Syndrome which he developed a year ago after being over-vaccinated by accident.  I have read everything I can get my hands on about it and the general consensus is that there is no cure.  If you are lucky you find something that works for your horse, at least for a while.  I found that riding with a nosenet, which I added little weights to along the bottom edge, allow my horse to be ridden.  Without this he cannot ridden.  If you google it you can read more but it varies with each horse and can be mild to extreme. I am careful how I handle him and have to watch his symptoms all the time.  Anyway, to add a natural healing ingredient like ACV for him seemed like something I could try without negative effects.   There is also ACV in the Hilton Herbs herbal supplement I give him for allergies to help with his symptoms. 

Can you provide some links to info about these conditions caused by ACV? I want to know more about it. I'm concerned about amounts.  I've not read anything about osteoporosis occuring in horses. I'm sure it could - or were you referring to people drinking ACV?  Again - I would like to know what the "danger" amounts are.

I know there are some that do not advise adding acid to the horse's stomach - but there is acid there already. Different type I'm sure.

And... dewormer paste is a poison ... so think about that too. ; )  When given in appropriate amounts at appropriate times, it does a great deal of good.  Kind of like vaccines.

One of the horses in my barn is allergic to hay.  Go figure, he gets a runny nose in the fall when we start feeding hay and it doesn't go away until spring and the grass comes up.  Took a while to figure that one out, but had a good vet finally come up with the reason he gets a runny nose in the winter time.  haha

deranger