Need some help fattening up a rescue horse...(a little long)

[Norman]

Choke i caused by a horse not chewing food properly, not producing enough saliva, swallowing too quickly...horses that bolt their food are prone to choke, eating too much too fast. It has nothing to do with what they are eating, but how they eat it. Now mind you I have never fed DRY beet pulp pellets, only soaked, and it is as safe as bran, grain, or haycubes.

 

[UnttouchableRose]

This mare was on a HIGH GRAIN diet for 6 weeks before I got her. The day I got her she looked like this:

Exactly one year later and on a Senior/Hay diet she looked like this:

For some reason it's cutting part of the pic off.

Your horse would greatly benefit from the information provided by these posts. Switching feeds and supplements so quickly is a surefire way to colic a horse.

As for choke, I doubt anyone on this forum has experience what I have in choke. I have lost a horse, have 2 chronic chokers and have several other choking experiences just to name a few.

As someone said it's not the feed that causes choke but a horse that bolts will choke faster on beet pulp than anything that has not been wetted that is.

It is crucial to have teeth in good working order and I would always soak my beet pulp, until you have seen a horse die from severe choke you may think nothing of it but something as simple as water could save you a life and a LOT of money.

 

[dixygirl]

Tractor Supply 50 lb Beet Pulp $10 and also their Alfalfa cubes $12
Thee time a day add a 1/2 scoop of Alfalfa cubes and a 1/2 scoop of Beet Pulp to a bucket and cover it with water. Let the water level be at least an inch over the solid, and let soak for 10-15 minutes until it fluffs up and looks like fresh grash clippings.

Serve this 3 times a day in addition to their grass grazing and you will have a fat horse in no time.

 

[BeardedChick]

I had a non-feed-bolter choke on dry BP pellets, and another choke on a horse treat pellet.

I am NOT a fan of dry pellets, but I do feed them well-soaked (overnight).

 

[patandchickens]

The thing about the studies (IIRC there were several) that have found no difference in rates of choke for soaked vs unsoaked beet pulp is, they don't necessarily represent the conditions that YOUR horse in particular is experiencing. (Not meaning anyone here in particular, just the general 'you').

If a horse does not have any factors predisposing him to choke, e.g. dental issues, and if he has normal levels of hunger, (i.e. the horses used in the research trials), then it may very well be true that statistically there is no particular danger in feeding unsoaked beet pulp.

However, if a horse does *not* have good pasture or free-choice hay in front of him for most of the day and night, and is feeling extra hungry or 'chew-y' because of being short on roughage; or if he has some possibly-unsuspected difficulties in chewing or processing his mouthfuls of food; then he quite possibly may be more apt to choke on unsoaked beet pulp (or a bucketful of dry pelleted food, for that matter) than on soaked beet pulp.

So is it always necessary to soak pelleted beet pulp? Probably not. Is it generally *safer*? For hungry horses or those with questionable chewing/swallowing ability, or for those you can't FIRMLY say aren't in those two categories, I'd say yes. Mild soaking can't hurt anyhow. I'm not talking about the kind of 12 hr soaks that some people do, that get really fermenty and skanky in hot weather -- I'm talking about just dumping a couple gallons of hot water over it when you get out to the barn, and by the time you're ready to actually feed it will have absorbed the water and be much less dry/expandy when you feed it.

OTOH if you are feeding a LARGE amount of beet pulp, that the horse 'grazes' on over the whole day, soaking (at least really really wet soaking) may be a *bad* idea, because of going bad in hot weather or freezing in winter. You have to exercise some sense

JMHO,

Pat, having had two horses choke moderately some years ago (on dry pelleted food, not on beet pulp) and having seen a horse put down due to pneumonia resulting from a choke episode.

 

[texasreb]

Pat, you and the others who mentioned that some horses can choke on beet pulp are correct. Horses can choke on just about anything.

I don't like to hear people make blanket statements that have be proven to be un-true. I must admit that the first person to mention "beet pulp" and "choke" in the same sentence did qualify it by saying that some horses can choke on it. It wasn't a blanket statement.

Beet pulp is a great feed as either a forage or a supplement. I don't want people to be afraid to feed it dry because their horse might choke. Horse owners need to use caution when introducing any new food esp if their horse(s) is prone to choke or bolting it's food.

To the OP:

If I were you I would ditch the sweet feed, senior feed, and probably the horseman's choice and fat cat. I'm not familiar with the latter two, but I suspect they are high glycemic feeds loaded with sugar. I'm doing research on them right now to make sure.

You can increase the other feeds, esp the beet pulp as it can be used as a forage and it has a low glycemic index. The alfalfa cubes are also a forage and they can be increased as well. Rice bran, BOSS, corn oil, etc are concentrated feeds that are calorically dense, so s/he doesn't need a lot to get a lot of calories.

Since you have access to Triple Crown, why don't you buy some TC30%, it's a ration balancer and should help balance out the horses diet by providing extra protein, vitamins, minerals, fat and calories with very little sugars. You don't need a lot of it, go by the directions on the label.

 

[UnttouchableRose]

I hate to talk about choke. It is one of the worst, scariest experiences I have ever had with a horse. I fought along with my husband and not to mention the mare for 3 days to get her to live and she finally gave in. It was horrid, seriously words can't describe it. She choked on pelleted senior feed.

I have a 2 bolters that choke periodically that I usually can get dislodged on my own via an old wives tale that works. (Squirt water in their ear)

I had a chronic choker that I recently sold. She had Pharengyl Hyperplasia and her esophagus looked as though it was full of proud flesh. She choked at least twice a week if not more.

I have a 36 y/o gelding who just gets his food hung everynow and then and everytime I mean everytime any of these horses choke I panic.

My beloved Whimsey died in my arms from a ruptured esophagus due to an ignorant vet. She was 23, Pure Polish Homozygous Black MS Santana daughter. I miss her greatly.



To texasreb: Why ditch a Senior? If they have access to TC Senior it has a low GI and would better suit the hroses needs at this time until it's gained a suitable amount of weight and then switch to TC 30. IME that works much better than an RB with additional feeds at least for my horses anyway.

 

[texasreb]

If the senior is TC, then she could keep it. I "talked" to some nutrition "gurus" on a horse website and they are pretty much appalled at what she's feeding. They are not upset with her, but concerned about the horse. They invited her to join that forum so that they could her her sort out her options. I sent her a PM with the info. One of the posters over there said that she should switch to a regime such as this:

- start with nutrition - let's say a ration balancer
- add calories in the form of healthy, low-starch products. There are commercial "grain" products that can meet these needs, and if the horse really does need enough calories, that one product can be the nutrition AND the calories (ie no need for a separate ration balancer). Or, for the more adventurous things like beet pulp or hay pellets.

This person said that with a bit of info about where the our OP lives they could help her with brand names and formulas specific to her area. They did the same for me when I first found that website. It made a world of difference with my rescue. Everything improved with improved nutrition including looks, weight, attitude, feet, hair coat, etc.

 

[texasreb]

Oh! I know what you mean about choke! I've only had one horse choke. She was a preg. mare. This was years ago. The vet massaged her neck along the blockage, oiled her, and eventually resorted to ramming a stainless steel rod down her throat to dislodge it. I was horrified. The mare freaked out and there was so much blood. So, so much blood. I don't know how she survived, but she did and so did the foal.

I know that choke is a serious concern. I totally don't mean to belie the dangers and horrors that go along with it. It's an awful, awful crisis and not to be taken lightly.

That said, I also don't want people to fear feeding beet pulp because it "causes choke," when it is actually not the food, but the horse and the form that the food takes that causes choke.

If anyone has the time to prepare a wet mash and the weather isn't contra indicated (too hot, humid or cold), then by all means make a mash. It will not hurt the horse. Better to be safe than sorry if you're in doubt.

 

[UnttouchableRose]

Quote:
LOL Those nutrition gurus and I come fromt he same place.

We have all learned alot from a few of the posters on your thread but feed threads can get REAL NASTY on that forum. I have been a member of that forum for a long time and thus far your thread has stayed calm but with a couple of the ones posting (whom I love dearly) it can get very heated. I hate to see the OP come there and get bombarded that happens ALOT. It will make it no easier on her.