Equine Nutrition: Myths vs. Facts

[texasreb]

Here is a link to a website that addressed many of the feeding suggestions/advice I see on this website.

Without resorting to pulling quotes from recent posts, some of the myths I want to address are:

"Beet pulp must be soaked."
"Alfalfa can't be fed as the sole source of forage."
"Corn makes a horse hyper/hot."
"Protein makes a horse hyper/hot."

Etc, etc...Of course I paraphrased these, but the message is straight from recent posts.

Read please:

http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$department/deptdocs.nsf/all/hrs3243

 

[Rare Feathers Farm]

Cool--and good info. I can say that too much corn can cause founder/colic and horses can get very smelly pee & protein bumps from alalfa. LOL

 

[texasreb]

That's a great resource, isn't it?

There are valid reasons to feed or not to feed every foodstuff listed in that article, but common misconceptions as to why or why not feed any particular item abound.

Take for instance, beet pulp. The common myth is that it will expand and explode the gut if it isn't soaked. I have never in my life seen an exploded horse from dry beet pulp! Now soaking it does have it's advantages especially if your horse is prone to choke, in which case all feedstuffs should be soaked.

Another common myth is that beet pulp is loaded with sugar because it is made from sugar beets. True enough, it comes from sugar beets, but it is the by-product of sugar making. The sugar has been removed! What's left is an excellent source of fiber and nutrients.

 

[helmstead]

Quote:
They ADD molasses back to the beet pulp to make it palatable - so yes, it is loaded with sugar. Unless, of course, you can find beet pulp without the added molasses, which is somewhat hard to come by.

 

[texasreb]

When I buy it, I buy plain beet pulp without added molasses. Even with the molasses, it is an insignificant amount of sugar. If you don't want the added molasses, you can soak it and drain the excess water and the soluble sugars will drain away.

Here's an article on beet pulp:

http://www.shady-acres.com/susan/beetpulp.shtml

That whole website has good equine nutrition info.

 

[helmstead]

Yup, a lot of the draft owners who have EPSM issues do that because the plain stuff isnt available around here (the soak and drain method). I've never worried about it. I LOVE shredded beet pulp. Even my goats get it in their rations and it made a HUGE difference on them in a short time.

Great links, thanks.

 

[texasreb]

Equine nutrition is one of my (many

) obsessions. In the, "if the truth be known" category, I'm always finding out that information I hold as "truth" is actually, "myth."

I'm always learnin'.