Re: Beet pulp for broodmares?

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

> So, I plan to use beet pulp as another source of roughage for the
broodmares
> while I search for another source of high quality brome that I can trust.
> How much can I feed to them without worrying about it?  Can I safely put
out
> soaked beet pulp in as large a quantity as the two broodmares are willing
to
> consume?

You can, but not all at once.  Beet pulp is highly fermentable and while it
won't cause laminitis like too much grain might, it does produce more gas
during fermentation and that can cause some gas cramping or colic if
overdone.  So, you can SLOWLY work them up to half of their forage ration in
the form of beet pulp (dry weight).  That is, if they get 20 lbs of hay
normally, you can replace 10 lbs of the hay with dry beet pulp (and then go
ahead and soak the beet pulp).  Start them at just a pound or two a day and
add another half pound a day until you're up to the final quantity you want.
One very good nutritionist I know says you can feed them beet pulp as the
sole source of forage, but Skip Hintz at Cornell suggests 50% as the max
amount, and I'm happier with that (50%), especially for broodmares.

BTW, nows a good time to get them on a good broodmare pellet as well.
They'll need the extra energy during lactation, and late pregnancy is when
the fetus is storing minerals like copper and iron in his own liver, so make
sure the mare's ration is a good one.

Susan G


> That's basically what I'm doing with my retirees who >cannot eat hay
> at all, but they're used to it, and I don't want to colic the broodmares.