Home Current News News Archive Shop/Advertise Ridecamp Classified Events Learn/AERC
Endurance.Net Home Ridecamp Archives
ridecamp@endurance.net
[Archives Index]   [Date Index]   [Thread Index]   [Author Index]   [Subject Index]

Re: [RC] [gr] sugar in beet pulp and laminitis issues - Cora

Do you need more samples? I have one that supposed to have no molasses...can send you some and a label..Cora
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Monday, April 19, 2004 7:03 PM
Subject: [gr] sugar in beet pulp and laminitis issues

Hi all,

When I first started goofing around with beet pulp years ago, I had a number of samples analyzed for simple sugars, all of which came back very low.  However, I was recently forwarded a copy of an analysis of some beet pulp (admittedly, only one sample) in which simple sugars ran incredibly high, over 30%---which for a seriously insulin resistant and/or Cushinoid horse with laminitis issues, could potentially be catastrophic.

In addition, it might also be an explanation for the occasional rider who reports they can't feed their horse beet pulp because they get whacked out on even the molasses-free stuff---which never made sense to me, given that there aren't supposed to be simple sugars in beet pulp (and weren't, given the lab reports I had).

Whether this one sample was a random event, or possibly a current trend towards sloppier refining practices, I don't know.  I guess the important issue is that there seems to possibly be wide variation in the residual sugar content in commodity beet pulp (as versus the commercially processed beet pulp in proprietary brands such as Unbeetable or Complete Advantage).

In any event, and strictly FWIW, I'm changing my recommendations regarding feeding beet pulp to horses with even a hint of insulin or laminitis issues.  I still think beet pulp is a very valuable feed, but I now strongly recommend that it be fed only after soaking in wildly generous amounts of water **and** then pouring off the water and rinsing the beet pulp with fresh water to remove the water soluble simple sugars.  It won't remove the pectins and soluble fibers that make beet pulp such a useful feed, but will just remove any excess sugars---and if there are no excess sugars there, then no harm done. 

In the meantime, I'm rounding up some more samples of beet pulp from sources around the country for analysis and will see how they come back.  Stay tuned.  :-))

Susan Garlinghouse, DVM, MS
SUSAN E. GARLINGHOUSE, DVM, MS
Michael S. Peralez, DVM & Associates
1005 North Santa Anita Drive
Arcadia, California 91006
(626) 446-8911
http://www.shady-acres.com/susan

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]


Yahoo! Groups Sponsor
ADVERTISEMENT
click here


Yahoo! Groups Links


Replies
[RC] sugar in beet pulp and laminitis issues, Susan E. Garlinghouse, DVM