Jan
--- In askavet@yahoogroups.com, forever.bunny <no_reply@...> wrote:
>
> Okay, so I'm definately no expert on this subject, although I have read a considerable amount of things on nutrition (which, for the most part, confused the crap out of me and went way over my head). But just in case it might help, here's my spin on the whole beet pulp thing:
>
> Beet pulp is usually fed to horses that have trouble keeping weight on them and aren't really used much. Like rescue horses recovering from starvation, old horses that can't chew their feed, etc.Now don't get me wrong- beet pulp can be great stuff. But it shouldn't be fed to performance horses or horses used regularly. Some people are ignorant enough to think that just because it keeps on weight, it's nutritious. It's not. It's extremely sugary with minimal nutrients. Basically, it's just a bunch of junk with calories.
>
> To keep weight on performance horses, I suggest feeding either alfalfa or other richer hays. It's rich in nutrients and good-stuff for your horses. It's not necessarily high in fat, but has sugar and calories which should help keep weight on your horses through out the winter. After switching barns several times and switching from $20/bale Eastern timothy, my horse started to lose weight. I fed her one flake of alfalfa along with her grass hay and viola- she didn't only return to a healthy weight, she also performed a lot better.
>
> Now, I must also caution you to make SURE your horses need the extra calories in the winter- they might not, and if you feed them too much they might gain too much weight (which can actually be worse than losing weight), founder, become unnecessarily hyper, etc. And in the case of an older horse soaked beet pulp may be the better choice to avoid choke and digestion problems from hay.
>
> --- In askavet@yahoogroups.com, Stacey <stacey46750@> wrote:
> >
> > HI, everyone!
> > I have been doing research on switching my horse from Safe Choice to another feed. After much thought and reading, I am going to leave him and the pony on it and maybe even start feeding it to my show goats. The other feeds I was looking at either had not much fat or I would have to feed up to twice as much to keep weight on him. Anyway, I am thinking he lost weight last winter because we didn't bump his feed up soon enough.
> > My question is, will adding soaked beet pulp to the pellets do him any help this winter? Why exactly do some people add this? The only shredded beet pulp we have has molasses added to it. We did feed it to the pigs this year right before fair, we just added it dry to their feed...didn't know why, just did what I was told...doesn't happen often!! ; ) Jus wanted to know what it does exactly and whether to start him on it to maintain weight as it gets colder. Thanks!
> >
> > Stacey
> > NE Indiana
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
> >
>
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