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[RC] misc replies re beet pulp - Susan E. Garlinghouse, D.V.M.Forgive the late arrival to the dance and assorted comments below out of context...seemed more efficient than lots of individual responses... From Jennifer Adam: *First - how much water am I supposed to soak it in? There's a lot of variability in how much water beet pulp will soak up, depending on humidity, processing (pellets vs shreds), apparently just individual variations between batches...and it's not critical either way. I dump it into a five gallon bucket, add enough water to double the initial fill line and ignore for awhile. If it seems like pellets haven't completely fallen apart, then I add some more water to that batch or the next. If it's too soupy, I'll add less next time. If I'm feeding a horse where I'm concerned about the residue sugar content (ie, a laminitic geriatric), then I top up the bucket, soak the bejesus out of it, pour off the excess water and rinse it a few more times before it's fed. *Second - how do I check the quality? What does "good" beet pulp *look like and how will I know if it's "bad"? IME, bad beet pulp that has gone moldy at some point comes out in petrified chunks. If that appears, chuck the whole bag. One of the reasons I prefer pellets, easier to spot that sort of thing, a chunk of moldy shreds breaks up again easier and so may go unnoticed. The incident of cows getting botulism or whatever---as commented elsewhere, dairy/feedlot operators buy beet pulp as a commodity by the semi truckload, and then dump it into silage bins where they aren't well protected from moisture, dog poo, or much of anything else. It isn't nearly as critical an issue for ruminants as it is for horses. Beet pulp processed for sale in 50 lb bags is generally much better protected from moisture, and so the risks are significantly less. From Bruce Weary: *First, the horse carries 150 -200 pounds of hay inside *him at any given time. So there's plenty of fiber on board, and hay has the *long stem fiber (beet pulp does not) that is important for keeping the gut *distended and rolling along. So, a few pounds of beet pulp at a time isn't *going to change the gut contents drastically. No, although we're assuming the beet pulp is being fed prior to a ride, not just during a ride, and it's important to differentiate preparatory nutrition from race-day nutrition. Two, there's good data that feeding a combination of hay and beet pulp increases the fluid reservoirs available in the hind gut, more so than do feeding either hay *or* beet pulp alone (and soluble carbs not at all). A few extra gallons of water available from the hind gut equals the difference between a horse that is mildly dehydrated and one in need of critical attention. Three, more good data that while hay provides long stem fiber, it's gastric fill that triggers the release of motilin and enhances hind gut peristalsis, regardless of the source of stretch. So if you want a fiber source that produces maximum gastric stretch (and thus max release of motilin), then beet pulp well soaked and plumped up with water is probably the superior source---horses will eat hay, and then get a drink before or after (which is all good), but pre-hay water sluices right on through (thus minimal stretch), and post-hay water may or may not provide equivalent stretch. There are lots of variables that could swing it either way, but in no way should beet pulp be discounted as not providing significant gastric distension and peristalsis. *Secondly, beet pulp has an extremely low glycemic index, which means it has *very little effect on blood glucose levels. True, unless there's a large sugar residue, but as Heidi pointed out, a low glycemic index doesn't reduce its value. A cup of fat has zero glycemic index, but it's still damn handy at times used properly. In some cases, a low glycemic index makes beet pulp almost the only thing some horses *can* eat. In the case of endurance horses, again, what you can and should feed on race day *safely* is a lot different from what can be safely fed day in and day out. Beet pulp provides a lot of calories safely, and that equates to better body condition including better pre-race glycogen stores. The same calories provided by grain can cause all kinds of problems, drastically increases likelihood of colic and gastric ulceration. *So, I would recommend that if you feed beet pulp, use it as an ingredient *in your mash to carry water, but feed it with grain during a ride to keep *the horse's energy levels up. We all know that we should eat (even when we *aren't hungry) at a ride to keep our energy stores up. I don't have a problem with this, although I worry about keeping priorities straight. Maintaining energy levels isn't the most important thing at a ride, maintaining hydration and gut motility is. Additional sources of glucose helps with the former a *little*, but not a helluva lot. Doesn't help with the latter much either, unless the horse is incredibly critically hypoglycemic, which really doesn't happen all that much---if it does, the vets aren't worrying about getting glucose back into the horse, they're falling all over themselves restoring fluids and electrolytes. So my recommendation is maintain hydration and gut motility with truckloads of fiber first and foremost, and consider energy balance as a distant third. You can cover a lot of miles with a well-hydrated horse with a happy gut, but no miles at all with a dried-out colicky horse, regardless of how much rocket fuel you have on board. *And when an overstressed horse requires treatment at a ride, they often *give it fluids with glucose--to revive the nervous system and get the other *body systems (that have shut down to preserve any remaining glucose for the *the most important system--the nervous system) up and running again. The dextrose in the fluids is an afterthought, not even close to being the primary treatment. Almost always, the critical issue is a lack of hydration and/or gut motility. A little extra sugar doesn't hurt, but it's fluid the body needs to kickstart primary systems again---not glucose. If I have to treat a crashing horse, I won't waste time spiking the fluids with glucose until somewhere after the first ten or fifteen liters are in, though other vets may do it differently. *Oil or beet pulp wouldn't help here. Nope, but used properly, might have prevented the crash in the first place. Bruce, most of these sound bytes are from your posts. Correct me if I've taken things out of context. More later. Gotta deliver some ribs and brisket to my dad. Susan Garlinghouse, DVM, MS =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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