Organic Feed for Horses: Beet Pulp
In recent years, specialized nutrition for horses has experienced a market growth that is approximately equivalent to the explosion of vitamins, supplements, and special dietary foods of their human counterparts. It seems that everyone was seeking a mystical feed that would be cheaper than grain, more palatable than hay, and offered special benefits that were not available in traditional horse feeds. While many specialized horse feeds have come and gone that did not fill these particular desires, there is one that has remained and is growing more popular with horse owners every year: beet pulp.
Beet pulp for horses is the fibrous material that remains after sugar beets have been processed to produce table sugar. While finding Organic beets pulp shredded may be a challenge, beet pulp will still be good as a wholesome addition to horse feed. Because of its relatively recent appearance on the horse feed market, there are a great number of myths and pieces of misinformation concerning beet pulp that cause equestrians to hesitate when considering this food source. However, it can be stated with almost absolute certainty that none of these myths and speculations about beet pulp are founded in reality. This has been well established, as the last decade has produced numerous studies on nearly every facet of beet pulp for horses, and in practically every case, the studies entirely dispelled the myths.
Beet pulp does come as pelleted or shredded horse feed, and should be considered as a forage type food source when added to a horse’s diet. Its inclusion as part of the horse’s forage diet is as a result of its 10% crude protein content, and 18% crude fiber content. While not a high calorie feed, the energy derived from beet pulp is from both insoluble and soluble fiber, which releases energy more slowly through the body than other horse feeds such as grain, and therefore beet pulp can be fed in greater amounts.
Beet pulp included as part of horse feed diet causes little to no increase in blood sugar levels, and thus can be fed more safely than corn-based horse feeds, which are high in starch and often lead to nutrition-related illnesses and conditions. This lack of increase in blood sugar levels will typically result in a horse that is less “hot,” and so should be considered when planning the diet of young, energetic horses or testosterone-laden stallions. (It should be noted that some beet pulp manufacturers add molasses or other sugars in order to increase palatability and to reduce feed dust, so care should be taken to read horse feed labels in order to determine sugar content.) Other benefits such as the 1% calcium and .5% phosphorus content make beet pulp an excellent feed for a horse of any age. However, due to its high calcium levels, care should be taken when using beet pulp to supplement the diet of horses with calcium-related diseases or conditions. Horse owners considering beet pulp should also be aware that it does not contain vitamin A, and as a result supplements may be necessary if sufficient vitamin A is not included in the rest of the animal’s diet.
Beet pulp horse feed can be used to replace 50% of the forage in a horse’s rations, or 25% of the total diet. However, a mature, well-exercised horse should not be fed more than 6 pounds of beet pulp per day. Care should be taken with horses that bolt or wolf their feed, as dry pellets that are consumed very quickly can pose a choking hazard, as is the case with any type of feed. If beet pulp is fed in the form of dry pellets, the choking hazard caused by horses that bolt or wolf their feed can be reduced by placing several large rocks in the animal’s feed bucket, and ensuring that the horse has access to plenty of fresh water.
Many horsemen refuse to feed beet pulp to their horses due to the popular misconception that beet pulp must be soaked prior to feeding. However, this is not true- dry pellets or dried shredded beet pulp can be fed to just about any horse with no difficulties. In fact, some cases may require that a horse be fed dry pellets, such as cold winter climates where soaked beet pulp may freeze before the horse can eat it all. In any case, soaking beet pulp prior to feeding is a good but not essential practice. Beet pulp for horses can be soaked in warm or cold water, with the ratio being one part feed and two parts water. Soaking time typically needs to be about 60 minutes, but this time can be reduced if warm water is used. Care should be taken during hot and humid weather, as any uneaten beet pulp can quickly ferment in the heat. Because of this, beet pulp should only be soaked on a per-meal basis. However, during the summer months, many horse owners find that the water used to soak beet pulp is quite high in electrolytes, and can be offered to horses almost as if it were Gatorade.
One of the most common myths that cause many horse owners reluctance in offering beet pulp as a food source is that the pellets or shredded pulp greatly increases in volume in the stomach, and can lead to eruptions of the stomach walls or gastrointestinal torsion. This myth is quickly dispelled by a simple understanding of the mechanisms of a horse’s stomach. In simple terms, a horse’s stomach can only hold about 2-4 gallons of material. When this maximum is reached, a hormone in the body automatically causes the stomach to empty into the large intestines, where as much as 40 gallons of material can be efficiently processed. Therefore, there is absolutely no concern that beet pulp would ever cause any of the stomach troubles believed by popular myths.
Beet pulp for horses is typically quite inexpensive, and this fact coupled with all of its benefits make it very appealing to most horse owners in concept. Finding Organic beet pulp will be more expensive and very hard to find. However, as with any new feed source, education on the part of the consumer is essential for understanding how and when to feed a horse beet pulp. Additionally, introducing a horse to beet pulp for the first time should occur in gradual stages over a period of about one week. While horses may initially be suspicious of the new feed, chances are great that, once they try it, they’ll be clamoring for it just as much as they do for their grain and hay!
