RE: [RC] beet pulp and mineral absorption - Susan E. Garlinghouse, DVM
>I understand that the
problem isn't with calcium mal absorbsion, but with cleation of magnesium
and selium, specifically.
The study cited used beet pulp as a fiber source, but I don’t
believe the effects are specific only to beet pulp. I haven’t seen
anything in the literature about a beet-pulp-specific issue with magnesium or
selenium---beet pulp does have a higher calcium content than some other feeds,
so calcium-magnesium ratios have to be balanced (as they do in any diet,
regardless of the components utilized). That would also apply to other
feeds or rations with a significant calcium content, regardless of the
source. I don’t think selenium is much of an issue for endurance
horses (as related to beet pulp), because the recommendations have tripled from
earlier published works, and IMO, any endurance horse should be getting
supplemented with selenium, and serum levels checked, unless living in an area
where selenium is likely to be at toxic levels. Even my dressage horse
gets supplemented with 5 mg of selenium a day, and his serum levels are just
middling normal range (and, now that I think of it, his requirements to
maintain those levels haven’t changed between when he was getting no beet
pulp at all in his ration versus when he was eating up to 16 pounds a
day). His endurance baby sister gets 6 mg a day, and she’s also in
normal ranges, and eats a couple pounds of a beet-pulp-based commercial ration
a day.
Anyway, if anyone has seen specific references regarding beet
pulp and selenium, and can forward them to me, I’d sure like to read
them.
Soooooo….again, I guess I’m not seeing a problem
here for beet pulp that doesn’t also exist for every single other feed
commodity out there. There’s no such thing as a single feed that
doesn’t have some inherent strengths and weaknesses, whether it’s
to do with minerals, vitamins, carbs, protein content, etc, etc, etc. That’s
why rations have to be balanced, and if you’re not in a position to do
that, then that’s also why feeding a commercial ration where someone else
has already done that for you, is a pretty sensible thing to do.
> The beet pulp is
soooo >hypotonic.
Hmmm. Well, the term hypotonic generally refers to an
intracellular solution that causes water to travel inward across the cell
membrane, and I’m not sure how that applies to beet pulp. Unless
you’re referring to “tonic” as it applies to tension, which I
assume you’re not. Either way, I’m confused what aspect of
beet pulp you’re describing.
> My horses do
not do well on a high beet pulp diet (they require lots more mineral
supplementation). I do feed it when they need it.
I certainly agree that beet pulp all by its lonesome doesn’t
come close to providing an adequate and balanced mineral profile. Few
feeds do. Great grass hay is about the only one that really fills the
bill of being one-stop shopping, and even that not 100% of the time.
