Re: Re: beet pulp

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

> Dear Susan,
> Just curious . . . from my understanding Beet Pulp is the by product of
sugar
> cane?

No, it's the pulp left over after the sugar is removed from sugar beets.


> How then would this be a nutritious staple to the horse's diet?

It's high in soluble fibers, which are very well digested by horses (and
other critters).  It's digested in a similar fashion to other fibers, NOT as
a simple carbohydrate (such as grain), therefore can safley be fed in larger
amounts that you could reasonably do with grains or other starches.

 Do horse's
> get a sugar high from this stuff or am I way off base?

No, because the sucrose (sugar) has been very efficiently removed during
processing.  The pulp is just a fiber, that's all.

I know the calcium
> ratio is really on the high side. . . way higher than even Alfalfa hay.

If you're talking about straight calcium content, then nope, beet pulp is
considerably lower than alfalfa.  Beet pulp has about half the calcium
content that alfalfa does, and as beet pulp also has a pretty hefty oxalate
content, the calcium may not even be as bioavailable as that in alfalfa.  If
you're talking about calcium-phosphorus ratios, then both beet pulp and
alfalfa are almost exactly the same, around 6.75 to 1.


 I
> read your article in this month's EN about helping horse's to gain weight.
> You said Beet Pulp can be fed up to 50% dry 2 weight of the ration.  I
have
> always been leery of Beet Pulp for my above concerns (perhaps I just do
not
> know what I do not know). I would much appreciate it if you wouldn't mind
> clearing up these concerns before I start feeding it to my mare to help
her
> gain weight.

Try this article for excruciating details:
http://www.shady-acres.com/susan/beetpulp.shtml  :-)

susan g