With all the q's about beet pulp, can I give my horses the tops off of my garden beets? What things are safe?

Question

When the sweet corn is done, I throw a few stalks to them, and they love it. I know green soybeans will colic a horse (neighbor's horse got out in a field, horse was ok after the vet) but what about garden beans? How much is too much? I just thought if my horses would enjoy some of my garden "scraps", I'd give them some instead of throwing it away. What if it's fresh from the garden? Should I let some things dry out a bit?

I've just got the basic veggies in my garden. Maybe it would be easier to answer what NOT to give them? I freeze and can most everything, but come September, I get behind!

Thanks in advance.

Answer 1

When I was much younger, my grandfather had a large garden. He used to give the horses a lot of the surplus that he couldn't give away. They loved the cherry tomatoes. They ate a lot of different things. We put up a garden a couple of years ago and some weanlings found a way in and ate everything. It didn't hurt any of them. I don't know about beet tops or garden beans. I would think they would be alright, but I would check with my vet to be sure.

Answer 2

Holy c**p Black Bunny!

You are on a roll!  Lookie the smoke comin' from her fingers!

hahaha

Answer 3

B B, no Mango skins! (or pits)

Answer 4

I have to admit that I tend to stick with the "normal" stuff.

Most everything else I boil up and put in the dog food.

Going to take note of BB's list though......

Answer 5

wow i didn't know Minnesota one of the largest sugar beet growing regions in the united states was tropical,boy then colorado must be the sahara desert.i was born i Hawaii and they grow "cane sugar"which is a completely different type of sugar.anyway Bunny has a good list so i wont add to it.

Answer 6

I'd keep the garden yield for the humans....horses are so prone to digestive upsets that the fewer varieties of stuff we feed them, the better off they are. The beet pulp can even cause huge problems for some horses, especially if it isn't fed soaked.

I have a cornfield every other year, and break cobs up as a treat for the grandsons to give the horses, but I have seen horses choke on them.  That's why I only do it when the boys visit.

Answer 7

SAFE

~ Apples

~ Apricots

~ Bananas

~ Beets

~ Blackberries

~ Blueberries

~ Carrots

~ Celery

~ Cherries

~ Coconut

~ Corn

~ Dates

~ Figs

~ Grapes

~ Grapefruit

~ Horseradish

~ Lettuce

~ Mangoes

~ Oranges

~ Peaches

~ Pears

~ Pineapple

~ Plums

~ Pumpkin

~ Raisins

~ Rutabagas

~ Squash

~ Strawberries

~ Sweet Potatoes

~ Turnips

~ Watermelon (both rind and pulp)

UNSAFE

~ Avocado

~ Onions

~ Potatoes

~ Persimmons

~ Rhubarb

~ Tomatoes

~ Any other members of the nightshade family which includes peppers...Potatoes, Tomatoes, Peppers, and Eggplant

~ Broccoli or Cauliflower (may cause gas, which in turn may cause gas colic)

*found some more nightshade members...sweet and hot peppers (including paprika, cayenne pepper and Tabasco sauce)

ground cherries

tomatillos and tamarillos

garden huckleberry and naranjillas

pepinos and pimentos

**Hey ya'll...been out for a couple of days.  My son came home for a visit.  *Guess that's one way to halt the Y/A addiction!!*

Doing some more reading...

Asparagus...good

Green beans...good

broccoli...some do, some don't...up to you

cauliflower...again, some do, some don't...up to you..

Swede...something like a large orange turnip...good

Parsnip...good

Mango...good

Guava...good

Tangerines...good

Honeydew melon...good

Cantalope...good

Nectarines...good

OOOOOoooooo...here's a good page.  Gonna save this one...http://www.naturalhorse.com/sample2.php

***EDIT...regarding red beets...One of the best foods for this energy boost is the red beet.http://ezinearticles.com/?Basic-Horse-Nu...

http://www.equinerecline.org/fruits.html

The info for the first list I put up

1st link also covers cherries...with pits removed.  And mango also with pit removed like LBent stated.  Didn't know about the skin...thanks LBent.  Actually found that several things we feed our horses...the skin, seeds, bark, and leaves can be toxic. I suggest researching the particular item you want to offer your horses...

regards to nightshade vegetable members...including sweet peppers...http://arthritis.about.com/b/2006/09/25/...

This one too...regarding sweet peppers...http://www.archure.net/salus/nightshade....

Another link with a list for horses...beet greens is on it...http://www.associatedcontent.com/article...

I did research before I answered this question...There are many sites and articles for nightshade 'vegetable' members.  I found out they are actually 'fruits.'  Just type in nightshade members and you will have loads of information.  And I find that all of them have agreed so far...

Answer 8

Good list BB!!

My dad  always has a garden. He gives some of what is good enough for them. Now I'll read this list to him. We have never had any problems.

Answer 9

I am only going to point out the errors in the answer above mine, rather than adding anyting of my own. I do want to mention one thing, however- the beet pulp which people talk about here IS NOT from the type of beets you grow in your garden, Ayla. Commercially sold beet pulp, such as the type we feed our horses, is ground from SUGAR BEETS, which only grow in tropical climates, such as those found in Hawaii and places like that. The beets you grow in your garden are of a completely diffrent variety, and they may be poisonous to your horse.

Another point to remember with commercial beet pulp is that IT MUST BE SOAKED AND WET BEFORE IT IS FED- OTHERWISE, YOU RISK KILLING YOUR HORSES FROM A DEADLY COLIC. Beet pulp draws water from the gut, and it is deadly unless it is soaked and wet. As far as feeding other vegetables and fruits goes, cherries should not be fed to horses,because of toxicity, and sweet peppers are NOT MEMBERS of the nightshade family. Peppers, melons, cucumbers, squashes, and pumpkins are ALL MEMBERS OF THE SAME FAMILY, and they are all generally safe for horses to eat- in small amounts.

Hope that helps you.

Answer 10

I wa reading bb's list and I couldn't believe I have been poisoning my horses!!! Poor things for years I throw a few tomatoes in the field and they race to get them ...uhggggg. Well no more of that.