How much beet pulp??

Question

how much are you supposedto feed a skinny horse?

how many pounds you think a day??

so far he's getting a flake and 3 cups of grain in the morning

and evening that about 5-6 pounds of grain a day

and i could up his feed but i don't want him eating too much 'sweet feed' so i'm getting beet pulp because my neighbor and vet recommended it

any info and help?

and i will soak it before i feed it too him of course even if it doesn't matter i am going too extra water can'thurt right?

Answer 1

we feed that to our thin horses and all of our horses in the winter to help keep the weight on.  I usually mix one coffee can in with the horses grain, it is enough to help them hold the weight on.  Water it until it looks like oatmeal, then it is good, you want it to be soft enough for them to chew it easily.

Answer 2

You will probably get both answers on here about how beet pulp will or will not help your horse. Let me tell you that it has helped my horse alot! He is a generally on the skinny side 17.1h Hanoverian that looks like quite boney, well at least he was untill the beat pulp. He is now plump/muscley and very good looking and I owe it all to the beet pulp.

When I first started giving it to him I would give him a heaping one hand scoop (not both hands together but just one hand) of the stuff and feed it to him for a week. Dont be alarmed if they dont touch it at first, sometimes they wonder what it is, but mine trusted it after a couple nights when he realized I was not going to poison him! After the week up it to two-to-three one handed scoops for another week. When you are done with the "introduction" phase, go out and buy a scooper like this one: http://www.flemingoutdoors.com/905piplfe... and then fill it to wherever you want. If your horse is 15.0-16.0 I would fill the scoop 1/2 way and if your horse is 16.0-16.2 fill it 3/4ths and if it is 16.3-(+) fill it to the top. Dont forget to add three times the ammount of water to the beep pulp PELLETS so they soak up enough H20. I also like to add 1/2 a scoop of a high fat feed/complete feed (equine senior works well) and this helps the process! This should start your horse on the path to weight gain. Just remember when he gets to the weight you want him to be at back him off of the beet pulp (cut it in 1/4 or in 1/2) so he stays at the weight he is and does not keep gaining, and if he does loose it will be easy to up it and back off once he is at Target weight again. Keep in mind though every horse is different, so you can up the feed or lower it how you like, it is all up to you and I am merely giving you suggestions on what to do, because this is what I have seen done. I can also give you what my horse is on per-day so this may help you on your quest to feeding your acuratley (though I think if you follow the above your horse will be fine)

My Horse (remember he is 17.1h's and is in high-moderate/heavy dressage training depending on the time of year. NOTE: I had to make him fat/fleshy before I lowered his beet pulp to where it is now so he had something to build muscle of off):

Morning: 2 flakes Bermuda

Afternoon: 1 flake Bermuda

Night: 2-flakes Bermuda, 2-big one-handed scoops Beet Pulp, 1-full scoop Equine Senior, Suppluments

P.S. I have also has very good luck with Bermuda for weight gain, people say it makes them loose it, but its always done the opposite for my guys.

Answer 3

As much as he will eat.

The most important thing is to not upset that 2:1 calcuim to phosphorous ratio.

Feeding only beet pulp which is high in calcuim will off set this.

Feed rice bran or soy bean meal to make sure this is not upset. If the ration is not right your horse's degestive system won't be able to function properly to digest all he is eating.

WATERING BEET PULP IS SO IMPORTANT IF IT IS IN THE PELLTED FORM!! IT WILL EXPAND AND CAUSE COLIC AND A VET BILL.

Answer 4

If you haven't already bought the beet pulp, you might want to consider using rice bran instead.  It is just as good as a fat source for skinny horses, but you don't have to soak it...just add it to the feed.  I use it for my hard keeper.

Answer 5

I went to a feed confrence put on by a grain company and they said that beet pulp does not really add that many calories over all.  And not the ones needed to help gain large amounts of weight.  I would try feeding a little more hay if he is not out on pasture all day because a flake morning and night is not much.  You can also look into a pelleted food.  I would go with a high fat - low protien to help him gain fat and not get as hyper.  A lot of trainers actually feed that so their horses are not out of control in the ring.   Here is a link for a type of higher fat lower protien grain.  You can look around the site to see if you find anything else.  Their is an ask the expert that would be useful. http://horse.purinamills.com/products/ul...