Beet Pulp - Debunking Some of The Myth Surrounding It

Beet pulp is the fibre left over from the sugar extraction processing of sugar beets.  It is very high in fibre, low in sugar and extremely digestible for horses because it is very low in lignans.  It is an inexpensive forage alternative and is a great feed for elderly or ill horses who have trouble chewing their hay.

If you've been around horses for any length of time, I am sure that you have heard all sorts of interesting stories on beet pulp or sugar beet.  

"It's full of sugar"

"It can blow up in my horse's gut"

"I've heard of horses colicking on it"

http://www.thehorse.com/articles/10295/feeding-beet-pulp

The above link contains great information.  It's not for everyone but I always feel that knowledge is power.

I have fed my horses beet pulp  since the mid-1990's.  It started when I had two underweight standardbreds that I wanted to fatten up.  I have never had any issues with it and have very successfully fed beet pulp to all ages, breeds, shapes and sizes of horses.

A former boarder out at our facility had an elderly standardbred who had very little in the way of teeth, making consumption of hay difficult at best.  We fed the old boy a mixture of soaked hay cubes and beet pulp for many, many years, successfully keeping his weight on. We gave him a flake of hay per feed just to give him that chewing time that horses need but he received his nutrition from his mash.   I know some people would choose bran over beet pulp but honestly from what I understand, beet pulp is nutritionally superior and when soaked it is lighter and fluffier than bran, giving your horse less of a chance of impaction.

If your horse has dietary issues, then you are better off to not feed them anything out of the ordinary, except what your vet recommends, but if you have an underweight or elderly horse beet pulp is a highly digestible, forage supplement or alternative.  It is relatively inexpensive and I like that you can hide medicines in it that some fussy horses won't eat.

I also like it especially in the winter because it also helps to hydrate your horse, who is more reluctant to drink enough water when the weather is cold.  I feed it to my entire herd and they always look forward to slurping it up.  I mix some grain and minerals in it and what I have noticed is that their coats seem extra shiny if I feed it regularly enough. 

A couple of things that I have noticed is if you plan to soak it the night before use plenty of cold water and it will be nice and fluffy and fresh in 24 hours and ready for use.  If you want to soak it quickly, use warm to hot water and the pellets will absorb the moisture far more quickly.  The down side is that if you have leftovers the beet pulp soaked in warm water will go sour rather quickly and you will need to discard it.   

How you feed is definitely a personal choice but I always say knowledge is power and I get discouraged by the number of horse people who will dismiss something without actually having the proper information.