RE: RC: beet pulp

["Susan E. Garlinghouse" <suendavid@worldnet.att.net> (by way of DreamWeaver <karen@chaton.gardnerville.nv.us>)]

Pass this message on to RC for me, will you?

Cheryl is correct in that there are little or no simple sugars left in beet
pulp after processing.  It's highly unlikely that there were any additives
for ruminants in it, either.  Beet pulp gets processed at the sugar
refinery plant, not at another feed mill where ruminant feeds might be
formulated, and they wouldn't just light-heartedly put rumensin or whatever
into a bag of beet pulp---that stuff is way expensive and they tend to keep
tight tabs on where it's going.  And even if it had accidentally gotten
into a bag of beet pulp, it wouldn't affect a horse the way Cheryl
described.

As to what caused her horse to behave that way, I don't know, but I'd bet
the farm it wasn't beet pulp.  Last year I had someone ask for help with
her horse's diet because, just as Cheryl described, after feeding her horse
a particular ration, they refused to load into her trailer and panicked
getting anywhere near it.  Must be the grain, right?  I went over to take a
look at the trailer where it was parked in the sun near some boulders and
lo and behold, there were about a half dozen rattlesnakes underneath it
hanging out in the shade.  We cleared them out and by golly if that horse's
grain-induced problems go away.

Anyway, your problems weren't caused by beet pulp.  Keep looking.  There's
probably something else frightening your horse.

Good luck,
Susan Garlinghouse




 > >Several winters ago I fed my horses pelleted beet pulp. They loved it
and I
 > >didn't have any problems. The next year since they had enjoyed it so
much,
 > >always ate it first, I decided to feed beet pulp again. I'd been feeding
it
 > >for about a week, when I wanted to go have their teeth floated. Got one
 > >horse in the trailer, he got very excited, jumping around trying to
rear,
 > >basically freaked out as soon as I closed the partition. After 1/2 hour
he
 > >came out of the trailer totally drenched with sweat. I never gave them
beet
 > >pulp again. He'd never acted like that before or since. At the time I
 > >thought it was the sugar in the beet pulp, but now I know there's little
 > >sugar left in it.
 > >
 > >What could have caused him to act like this, could it have been the beet
 > >pulp or just a coincidence? I've always wondered if when proccessed it
could
 > >have been contaminated with some of the stuff they put in cow feed that
is
 > >deadly for horses. Could that have caused this behavior? I want to start
 > >feeding beet pulp again in anticipation of doing my first distance ride
this
 > >year but have to say I'm a bit nervous.
 > >
 > >Any advice? Are there brands/packagers of beet pulp that are
recommended?
 > >I'm in Idaho.
 > >
 > >Cheryl
 > >
 > >
 > >
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