If you cover the bucket with a towel or old feed bag, it will help maintain the heat in the bucket while the beet pulp soaks (think of it like a lid on a pot of oatmeal). While beet pulp doesnt have to be fed soaked, soaking it is a very good idea and an excellent way to get your horse to consume more water, which is an added bonus in cold climates where water consumption might be challenging. Beet pulp with. I add it as an extra feeding, about 1/4 quart beet pulp with 1/4 quart alfalfa pellets (also soaked). Grabber, J. Ralph, C.M.G.C. This might still be too much time to take soaking your evening beet pulp, especially if your horse is boarded and you dont spend a couple of hours at the barn at night. In fact, you can feed beet pulp as up to almost half a horses daily forage intake. Beet pulp has an earthy, sweet flavor, but it can be quite dry and difficult to eat without some preparation. It is also important to use a ratio of one part beet pulp to two parts water. Here is my Fergus clock, telling me what time I poured in the proper amounts of hot water onto each sample. Low in sugars and starches, which makes beet pulp good for horses with metabolic issues. Is there a maximum recommended soaking time for beet pulp? Gradually introduce beet pulp into the diet during a 7-10 day period. Thats what the sugar industry wants, and they just pass along the rest to us., In fact, molasses is often added to beet pulp to make it more palatable to horses. Pulp Shreds Sales: Tylor Wilbourn (415) 259-2623 To properly soak beet pulp, place it in a bucket or other container and add two times more water than beet pulp by volume. This past winter I started feeding my senior horse soaked beet pulp to supplement his hay, and hes done well on it. Allow the beet pulp to soak for at least 30 minutes before feeding if using warm water, and 60 minutes if using cold water. Beet Pulp Fact and Fiction - EQUINE Ink A 1000-pound horse needs 1 to 2 percent of its body weight each day in forage, or 10 to 20 pounds. It depends on the type of beet pulp you are using and the temperature of the water you use. Natural Disaster: Are You and Your Horse Ready for Emergency Evacuation? A. I soaked the pulp overnight, and it was perfectly soft and ready to use in the morning. I soak it overnight for the following morning and then through the day for his evening feeding. Its a common and traditional practice to soak beet pulp. Without a source of roughage, a horses digestive system cant function properly. If you pop some in your mouth expecting it to be, youre going to be disappointed. For me, beet pulp is really inexpensive, keeps the weight on, is palatable and my horses love it. September 20, 2022 0 0 How Do You Soak Beet Pulp See what feeding Beet Pulp does to your horse Start with a clean bucket. Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features. Generally, its best to use 2 parts water to 1 part beet pulp, though this ratio can be adjusted to suit your own preferences. It's much more easily digested, so it . How long should you soak beet pulp for horses? - Quora However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent. Beet pulp is a byproduct from the processing of sugar beet which is used as fodder for horses and other livestock. It can be very beneficial for older horses whose teeth or digestive tracts cant handle other types of fiber, says Coverdale. Subscribe to Equinews and get the latest equine nutrition and health news delivered to your inbox. The pellets can still be okay after 12 hours, if it's cold enough. The Benefits of Eating Beets: Is This Root Vegetable a Natural Diuretic? Beet is widely available in pelleted form, shreds, and micronized flakes. Most horses will eat soaked beet pulp by itself, but it can also be mixed into your horses grain ration. With a little experimentation you will find out what works best for your climate. Before feeding to horses, beet pulp is usually soaked in water, at a ratio of one part pulp to about four parts water. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. The Surprising Link Between Beets and Diarrhea: What You Need to Know, A Step-by-Step Guide to Perfectly Slicing Beets, Best Time to Plant Beets in Colorado: A Guide. Stay up-to-date on the latest news about your horse's health with FREE newsletters from TheHorse.com. So when your horse has to make a transition in diet or location, he is going to be better able to adapt digestively. We have found it helpful to put the beet pulp inside a mesh nosebag feeder, put that in the bucket, then add the water. Some companies add a touch of dried molasses to improve its palatability and energy content. The only downside is that in very cold weather, like 10-15 degrees Farenheit, the pellets will refreeze after about 20-30 minutes of being in a feed bucket. It isn't a grain but is excellent fiber for your horse without the sugar or grain issues. When the weather is cold and, thus, the water used is very cold, it can take considerably longer to soak regardless of whether youre using shreds or pellets. In fact, many of the senior feeds that are formulated as complete feedmeaning they include fiberare beet pulp based.. As a veterinarian the worst cases of choke I have dealt with have been when horses have got access to, or accidentally been fed, unsoaked beet pulp. https://americansugarbeet.org/who-we-are/what-is-a-sugarbeet/, 2023 Standlee Premium Products, LLC All Rights Reserved. Posted by Clair Thunes, PhD | Jan 31, 2022 | Commentary, Farm and Barn, Horse Care, Horse Nutrition Commentary Series, Nutrition, Older Horse Care Concerns. She works as a consultant with owners/trainers and veterinarians across the United States and globally to take the guesswork out of feeding horses and provides services to select companies. I use it to keep my older horses/ponies topline and to hide their supplements. It is best to make up soaked beet pulp in small batches, just enough for a single feeding, especially in summer when high temperatures can cause it to ferment. No, it is not safe for your horse to eat beet pulp that has not been soaked. You can buy dehydrated beet pulp in either a shredded or a pelleted format; either way, its grayish-brown in color and has a slight but distinctive odor youll come to recognize. The wet beet pulp will also ferment a little which creates some heat, (particularly in warmer months). By Martin W. Adams, PhD, PAS - Equine Nutritionist for Cargill Animal Nutrition, Hot Blood, Warm Blood, Cold Blood in Horses, Possible Link Between Selenium and Cribbing in Horses, Steamed Hay for Horses: Protein Content Examined, Strangles in Horses: Survival of Causative Bacterium on Equipment, Fixtures, Laminitic Horses and Stress Hormone Profiles. Infographic | Bathe Your Horse Like a Pro. 4 Is beet pulp good for Laminitic horses? I think there are plenty of people out there who dont realize they are already feeding beet pulp. However, this may not be easy for some of you. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. If you are looking for a quick-soaking pulp, then you may want to choose a ground or fine-milled beet pulp. Due to its high calcium content, limit the amount of beet pulp fed to avoid developmental problems in young horses, enteroliths in mature horses, and renal calculi in older horses. Once it's been soaked, beet pulp will usually last for up to 24 hours in cold climates. Pellets take longer than shreds to fully reconstitute, and its easy to tell when theyre completely soaked, because the pellets are no longer distinguishable. You might even be able to make a couple of days worth this way and keep it refrigerated. We have witnessed no problems with either of our horses, but want to know if fermented water may be an issue? The digestible energy content of beet pulp is greater than most hay and less than most grain ingredients, making its reputation as a weight building feed supplement well deserved. [1] Among other nutrients, it contains 10 percent protein, 0.8 percent calcium and 0.5 percent phosphorus. Soaking beet pulp overnight definitely gives you the best results and is worth the extra effort. Hopefully one of these suggestions will work for you and allow you to keep feeding soaked beet pulp through the warmer summer months. This helps to release more of the beneficial nutrients, which can be beneficial for your soil. recently tried soaking beet pulp for a recipe I was making and it worked out great! However, if you soak it for too long, you may actually end up damaging the soil, so there is a balance to strike. Remember that this is a byproduct of the sugar industry. Born in England, she earned her undergraduate degree at Edinburgh University, in Scotland, and her masters and doctorate in nutrition at the University of California, Davis. Beet pulp is the fibrous material that remains after most of the sugar is removed from sugar beets. With these simple steps, your plants will be able to enjoy the benefits of beet pulp in no time. Feeding Beet Pulp To Horses: The Good And The Bad - Horse Racing Sense But the beet pulp fiber is not the same as the fiber in hay. Easy to eat! Pros and Cons of Feeding Horses Beet Pulp - The Horse BEET PULP IN THE EQUINE DIET | The Equine Nutrition Nerd Last edited on 10 September 2022, at 17:04, Warren, Lori K. "Horse Feeding Myths and Misconceptions, "Beet Pulp: What Is It and How Can It Benefit My Horse? The main role of beet pulp in a horses diet is fiber, just as with hay, says Pennsylvania State University equine nutritionist Burt Staniar, PhD. Equine Nutrition FAQ Series Sponsored by Purina Animal Nutrition. Is it okay to soak it at one meal to feed at the next, which is about 12 hours? Adding water to beet pulp is also a great way to increase your horses water intake. The Horsesexperts answer your questions during a monthly live audio event. It is also fed to poultry, pigs and rabbits. To test this hypothesis, two pints of water were added to both one pint of Standlee Premium Products Beet Pulp pellets and one pint of beet pulp shreds. The Impact of Eating Beets on Kidney Stones: What You Need to Know, Unraveling the Mystery of Man-Made Beets: A Look Into the History of Human Intervention. That's great to hear! Just check the label. Feeding a wet feed can increase the risk of digestive conditions such as Diarrhoea, Ulcers and Colic. It is a highly digestible feedstuff that helps meet a horses fiber requirement. The sugar content of unmolassed Beet Pulp can range from 6% to 12% but is usually less than 10%. A supplement containing protein, vitamins, and minerals will help the horse heal damaged tissues. I have researched it but I have gotten loads of different answers on how long to soak beet pulp pellets. To properly soak beet pulp, place it in a bucket or other container and add two times more water than beet pulp by volume. One brands packaging states that the flakes soak in 10 minutes. No matter what type of beet pulp is chosen, it is important to always soak it in warm water for the amount of time specified. Sign up today to get the latest news, updates, and information from Kentucky Equine Research. More on information on beet pulp can be found in this article:Beet Pulp: The Ultimate Fibre for Horses. However, Id be cautious of keeping it for more than 48 hours after soaking, as it may go moldy. Most companies selling beet as a fibre source recommend soaking before feeding, especially if the products are in pellet or flake form. Beet pulp by itself is a favorite among most horses. Beet pulp is a quality source of forage for horses and it can even help stretch your hay when you are running low. Benefits of beet pulp for horses and livestock - Standlee Premium Products But preparing beet pulp for soaking requires a few special instructions to ensure that your plants get the most benefit out of the product. Your email address will not be published. Another idea would be to soak it in an insulated cooler with a lid that shuts well. When it comes to soaking beet pulp, the amount of water you use can drastically affect the end result. How much water should be used when soaking beet pulp? Hopefully one of these suggestions saves you a little time and helps your horse gain some weight back soon. Fact 1: Beet pulp provides a type of fiber that offers unique nutritional advantages. Click image to learn about this incredible colic cure - and use your coupon for $10 off! Equine Nutrition FAQ Series Sponsored by Purina Animal Nutrition. Straight from the Horse's Mouth Its a common and traditional practice to soak beet pulp. Sources: Does the type of beet pulp used affect the soaking time? It takes longer in warmer climates for beets to grow, but they can do it in soil temperatures as low as 40. Coverdale adds that the scratch factor of beet pulp may not be high enough to safely replace all the hay in a horses diet. In fact, it is low enough to be safe for horses with insulin resistance (IR) or polysaccharide storage myopathy (PSSM) as long as it does not have any added molasses. Ask the Vet: Feeding Beet Pulp to Horses - Horse Illustrated I say "dry" beet pulp because you should weigh . But even then, the amount of sugar isnt enough to worry about unless your horse has a specific sensitivity to sugars. ], Plain beet pulp is very, very low in sugar; it isnt sweet at all, says Coverdale. Wagner cautions against trying to eyeball the correct amount of beet pulp to feed a horse.