Dear Dr. Getty - Thanks for your guidance. I've talked to several people who feed beet pulp and here are their concerns: (1) If you have a horse that tends to gain weight too easily, it may put weight on him really fast; (2) If you feed it dry, without soaking it in water that actually almost covers the dry beet pulp for at least 15 or 20 minutes - most of my friends soak it for several hours - you might have problems with choke and it is theorized that it may remove lots of fluid from the gut to digest it; and (3) it's hard to find without some amount of molasses, so if you are worried about added sugars this could be a factor to consider. Generally, except for those who have easy keepers in danger of getting too heavy, my friends who feed it love it. It cuts down substantially on the hay requirement because it makes the horses feel full; it helps put weight on horses that are hard to maintain; amd is relatively inexpensive. I have found some hay that I have not seen yet, but from the buyer am told it is reported to be of very good quality. It's being shipped in from Georgia. It's already sold and reserved (I did manage to get in on it). We're buying it sight unseen and without a price quote (!) because the original buyer does not even know what it is going to cost her. Therefore, I will not have to rely on my complete feed only. I will follow your guidelines if hay continues to be in short supply and with La Nina in effect, it may. Thanks again, and best wishes to everyone dealing with this hay shortage!

Where are you from? Wimberley, TX

How did you locate this forum? Google

Hi Jean,

Here's the scoop on beet pulp, one concern at a time:

(1) If you have a horse that tends to gain weight too easily, it may put weight on him really fast

Beet pulp has fewer calories than oats. Oats provide 2.85 Mcals/kg and Beet pulp provides 2.33 Mcals/kg. But, it is slightly higher than alfalfa (2.24 Mcals/kg). So, the goal is to not overfeed. It doesn't put weight on any more than any other feed -- the key is quantity.

(2) If you feed it dry, without soaking it in water that actually almost covers the dry beet pulp for at least 15 or 20 minutes - most of my friends soak it for several hours - you might have problems with choke and it is theorized that it may remove lots of fluid from the gut to digest it.

This is a myth that has been around for a long time and hence, the practice of soaking it. Horses are no more likely to choke on beet pulp as they would on pellets. In fact, they spend more time chewing beet pulp than pellets, making it actually safer to feed.

Soaking is a good idea if you have a horse that is not drinking enough water, so you can add more water to their diet by feeding it soaked.

(3) it's hard to find without some amount of molasses, so if you are worried about added sugars this could be a factor to consider.

The sugar level in sweetened beet pulp is extremely low. It only has 2.5% sugar in 5 pounds of beet pulp -- that translates into about 40 grams of simple sugar -- the same amount as found in a two apples. And, very few people even feed 5 pounds of beet pulp -- that's a lot to feed. So, I am not generally concerned about offering it sweetened, especially since the beet pulp itself has a very low glycemic index.

Having said that, if I have a horse who has metabolic syndrome or Cushings, I would suggest finding unsweetened beet pulp or soaking it first to remove the sugar.

So, there you have it! It is an excellent feed for the above reasons plus the ones you've mentioned.

Good luck with your hay -- I hope it's not too terribly expensive. But, who ever said owning horses was cheap?!

All the best,

Dr. Getty