Hello Dr Getty,

I am a big fan of beet pulp. But I have a couple of questions.

First, does beet pulp act like a pre-biotic creating a flourishing environment for the growth of fermenting bacteria;
2) and if true, does this increased in bacteria create the same type problems as increases in starch related lactic acid, thus causing problems when the food source rounds out and the bacteria begin to die off.

Where are you from? North Florida

Correction: Food source runs out, not rounds out.

Where are you from? North Florida

Hi Billy,

No, beet pulp is not considered a pre-biotic because it doesn't "feed" the existing microbes. Instead, it is fermented by the bacteria into useful volatile fatty acids. These VFAs are absorbed into the bloodstream, where they can be used for energy.

Starch is supposed to be digested in the small intestine by digestive enzymes that the horse, itself produces. But, if starch were overfed to where it reaches the hindgut, the bacteria can ferment it into lactic acid, which ends up destroying those bacteria, leading to lamintis caused by endotoxins in the blood.

So bottom line... beet pulp does not result in hindgut microbial destruction. And its benefit is to provide an energy source (VFAs) without the insulin response that starch creates.

Thanks for asking!

All the best,

Dr. Getty
Author of Feed Your Horse Like A Horse

Where are you from? Bayfield, CO