Re: Beet Pulp...How much?

["Susan Garlinghouse" <suendavid@worldnet.att.net>]

> Katey heart@magiclink.com
> Can anyone give me some ideas on how much beet pulp would be appropriate
> to feed a horse who is being ridden about 50 miles per week.  I have
> poured over the article on Susan G's website...thanks to Susan and to all
> who got me the address!  The only question I have is how much to feed.
> Thanks!

You can feed up to about half the hay ration---that is, if a horse normally
eats 20 pounds of hay per day, you can slowly replace ten pounds of it with
beet pulp dryweight.  However, that's a bunch of beet pulp and assuming
you're feeding it wet, you have to watch out it doesn't start to sour before
the horse can eat it all.  My old broodmare used to eat 12-14 pounds a day
in three feedings (she basically lived in her bucket) and I thought she held
the record til her piglet son Dakota broke her record at 15-16 pounds a day
PLUS hay (I had casually told Karen he could have 'all he wants' and she
took me at my word).

Worth mentioning that of course you'd wanna take some time to introduce any
new feed and work up to higher amounts---one nice lady said she was going to
start feeding beet pulp, then emailed me back two weeks later and was
wondering if it was normal for her horse to be farting like that.  She was
so enthusiastic about it (the beet pulp, not the farting), she'd put the
horse right onto ten pounds a day and the horse was turning into a methane
factory.  But by golly, did he have great gut motility or WHAT. <g>

Anyway, introduce it gradually like you would anything else.  Most horses
seem to do fine getting 5-8 pounds a day, depending on what your goals are,
weight gain or whatever.

Good luck. :-)

Susan G
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