I seem to one of the few voices against using sugar beet pulp as a feed for horses. Beet pulp, the waste product left over from extracting table sugar, is touted as a great feed because it is only about 10 percent protein and provides more calories than hay but less than grain. And it is cheap. Perfect!
But I have my doubts. I don’t remember reading about horses eating cooked beets out in the wild. Horses may have eaten the occasional root vegetable while foraging but their digestive tracts were never designed to survive on them. For optimal health, animals should eat diets that approximate what they ate in nature. Every time we “improve” on Mother Nature’s perfect design - something is lost. Mom knows best and I do my best to follow her advice.
There are two schools of thought on how beet pulp should be fed - wet or dry. Most believe in pre-soaking it for 8 - 12 hours as it expands greatly when water is added. However, this can lead to problems because by the time it has soaked properly here in warm climates it has started to ferment and go sour. In northern climes it may freeze before the horse will finish dinner. So articles began to come out about feeding beet pulp dry.
Now my horse doesn’t seem to understand the concept of “take a bite, chew, drink some water, repeat”. Mine tend to hurry through whatever is in the feed bucket with their vitamins and then walk over for a long drink of water. What happens when the beet pulp has made it into the intestinal tract before a big drink of water comes along? This is a recipe for impaction.
Beet pulp is recognized to cause “choke”. Choke occurs when a bolus of food becomes lodged in the esophagus, a truly painful and potentially fatal condition. I have one friend that went through this and saved the horse only through luck and determination - the vet had gone home with advice to call the backhoe in the morning. Choke is more likely to happen with greedy eaters that take huge bites and don’t bother to chew - but that describes most the horses on my place.
Proponents say water intake in horses is proportional to fiber intake. The more fiber consumed, the more water consumed. They also assert that horses fed beet pulp drink more water than horses on a lower-fiber diet. This may be true - but I never advocate a low fiber diet for horses. Although much of the extra sugar in beet pulp has been extracted, there is still enough to give the horse a sugar buzz and require more water for the pancreas to process the extra sugar.
Most commercial feeds are an excuse to sell us agri-waste. Sugar beet pulp is yet another example of this trend. I will stick to hay and tested chemical-free grains in my barn.
This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, or cure any person or animal. The opinions given are my own and not intended to replace the advise of your veterinarian. I am not a veterinarian but a Bio- Nutritional Therapist specializing in alternative approaches toward animal health and well being.
