Beet pulp is derived from the sugar beet.
I like it when people comment on my posts. Sometimes they agree; others have challenged what I’ve found and caused me to do more research. A question from a reader prompted me to look into whether feeding whole flax seed was indeed a good idea and resulted in, Update on Feeding Flax Seed.
So, when I received this comment on Beet Pulp: Fact & Fiction, I thought it deserved to be answered.
I felt I had to add a post because I do not agree with it. First of all I and my family have been breeding, racing and competing horses for generations. I would never recommend or use beet pulp one of the reasons why is because of the process it goes through. When seperating (sic) the sugar from the pulp chemicals and bleaches are used ie. it is the whitening process, and the left over scrap is the pulp. I love my horses and I would never feed them this. I give my horses natural products that are not GM and no chemicals thank you. Alfalfa pellets/bales, Carob, Hay, and fruit treats are a great way to feed your horses naturally! There is also very little nutritional value in Beet and it is only a filler. If you cannot afford to buy the right natural products for your horse then you should not have a horse. I have never had a problem with any of my horses, and they also keep their teeth to a good old age.
I’ve seen some of this before . . . especially the “just a filler” argument. To be honest, I’d never thought about whether processing the beet pulp left a chemical residue. So, I started to do some research. I think I found where this person got their information.
In my search I came across another condemnation of beet pulp from Lorrie Bracaloni. Readers might remember that I recently reviewed her DVD and Workbook “How to Identify and Release your Horse’s Pain Points.” Her article is entitled, Is Beet Pulp Toxic to Horses? The Real Story. In it, she re-iterates the issue about pesticides but adds some additional claims that make beet pulp look like the absolute worst feed possible.
In this article she writes:
Beet pulp originates from sugar industry. It is an insoluble fiber, meaning that it does not interact with the body. It rushes through the intestines taking with it whatever supplements have been given. Simply put, it cannot be digested. It takes four molecules of water for the body to process beet pulp-adding water weight, and making the horse appear heavier. Once beet pulp is removed from the diet, the horse loses weight quickly, leading the owner to believe that the horse needs the beet pulp.
And:
Like many other crops, sugar beets are treated with an extensive array of herbicides to limit weeds and grasses in the fields. The herbicides are absorbed by the beets. Nothing removes the chemicals from the pulp. In addition, growers top the beet plants with a chemical defoliant to kill back the tops before harvest. These chemicals also end up by-product beet pulp.
Dr. Eleanor Kellon, DMV, says that beet pulp is safe; it is washed with water to remove the solvents. However, the water only removes what is on the outside. The soaking process removes the sugar from the outside, but not the chemicals. Toxins are stored in the pulp not the juice.
NOTE: I cannot find any statement by Dr. Eleanor Kellon about toxins in beet pulp. In fact, she recommends beet pulp for insulin-resistant horses. Bracaloni goes on to say:
Often, if the horse is unable to digest the beet pulp. Their hind-ends “shut down” and become weak. The common complaint being, “my horse has a weak hind-end.”
Case in Kentucky – A lady emailed me about her paint that had been seen by vets, chiropractors, etc. to no avail her paint was weak from behind, bad stifles? He was 4yrs old they said arthritis, I said what are you feeding? Turns out she was feeding a product that was mostly beet pulp and rice bran. She took the paint off the feed, then sent a email stating her horse was moving much better and was able to ride him again.
A reputable event trainer, Katie Worley from Rock Solid Training Center, asked me to check her horses. I found was they were all weak in the hind-end, and Katie agreed. After looking at a tag from her feed, we found beet pulp listed as the third ingredient. After Katie took her horses off the beet pulp feed, she called to say they were using their hind-ends, and were much stronger.
At the end of this article she suggests that owners take their horses off any beet pulp if their horses show any of the following symptoms: weak hind ends, brittle hooves, weak stifles, lack of energy, a dull coat or loose stools.
Okay, I’ve heard the argument that horses are not able to digest beet pulp. What’s new to me is that beet pulp strips the gut of supplements; causes horses to appear to gain weight by causing them to retain water; causes your horse to become weak in the hind end or stifles; and may be the source of brittle hooves, lack of energy a dull coat and loose stools. The suggestion that beet pulp could cause hind end or stifle weakness to me is the most fantastical. How could a feed cause such an effect?
And, more to the point, why should we believe what she wrote? In her own words, Ms. Bracolini is “a holistic practitioner with more than 12 years of experience who assisted more than 100 horse owners with equine diets and nutrition.” There is plenty of data out there from scientifically robust sources that disputes these claims and they fly in the face of what’s been written by nutritionists and equine vets.
Now, I’m not saying that anyone must feed their horse beet pulp. Plenty of horses live their lives without a shred of beet pulp passing their lips with no problems. But are horse owners hurting their horses by feeding it? If that’s the case, then many of the big feed companies are doing us a disservice since beet pulp features prominently among the ingredients of many feeds.
Let’s look at the claims
The article written by Ms. Bracolini has been seeded throughout the Internet and it’s the source of some lively debates in several of the forums. On www.AmericanPasoFinos.com I found that one of the participants had sent the article to Dr. Susan Garlinghouse, an equine vet who has specialized in nutrition. Dr. Garlinghouse’s response was as follows (the original is posted here):
- The fiber in beet pulp is not even close to “indigestible”—the only fiber found in forage that *is* totally indigestible is lignin, which is almost non-existent in beet pulp, but considerably higher (it varies) in the hay pellets whats-her-name recommends. And even being indigestible doesn’t necessarily make it bad, just affects GI transit time, etc differently than fermentable fibers. The fiber in beet pulp is primarily pectin, a soluble fiber, which is highly fermentable and digestible. Apparently, no understanding by the author of how digestive physiology works here.
- The whole water weight argument is just total nonsense. Having a good reservoir of water in the hindgut is generally considered a good thing in performance horses and if all that water were just “rushing” through, the horse would have projectile diarrhea. Not loose stools. Projectile. One of the primary benefits of feeding beet pulp to performance horses is that there *is* more of a water reservoir in the hindgut. Doesn’t adversely affect absorption of anything else. I could go into a long dissertation of soluble fibers fermenting to primarily butyric acid, which in turn is the preferred substrate of enterocytes, thus optimizing a higher turnover (that’s a good thing), which then in turn optimizes absorption, water and electrolyte balance in the hindgut, but that’s way too long for this reply. And none of it is classified material. Find a qualified nutrition text and use that as an information source, not this twaddle.
- “Does your horse have loose stools” – Most people that feed alfalfa think that the ideal consistency to horse poop is a tight, dry little road apple.You don’t want diarrhea, but same as for other species, a softer consistency is not necessarily a symptom of disease. It’s usually a lot better than overly dry. Horses on pasture and on grass hays (and also beet pulp) often have a bit of a splat to their poop, which is highly fine-by-me.
- Sugar beets don’t “store” pesticides in the pulp. If they did, it wouldn’t be very effective in eliminating bugs on the outside of the plant,would it? I’ve seen the tox assay reports on beet pulp and the results were pretty much nil. I also ran my own on beets straight from the field and hosed off in my driveway–also nil. Also, shredded beet pulp gets tossed into a water bath and the water with soluble sugars (which is the cash crop here) is removed and dried to the table sugar end product. If there were residues, it’s more likely they’d be present in higher concentrations in the table sugar. It’s not. When whats-her-name can produce real data, we’ll talk. Until then, it’s apparent she’s not even familiar with the manufacturing process, let alone any inherent shortfalls.
- All that gibberish about “does your horse have brittle feet, weak in the hindquarters, yada yada” makes no logical point or argument. She makes claims of horses that had health problems that were being fed beet pulp, she totally changed their diets, their condition allegedly improved and therefore it was the beet pulp that caused the initial problem, not anything else having to do with its ration or management. Pretty shaky logic. It’s a lot like saying that there are pigeons in cities, and crime in cities, therefore pigeons cause urban crime. Sorry, there’s just no logical thought process here, no science or scientific background, no qualified views. But, everyone is entitled to an opinion, even if those opinions aren’t worth the paper they’re printed on. Susan Garlinghouse, DVM (no certifications, just university degrees)
For the record, Dr. Garlinghouse has long been a proponent of feeding beet pulp to horses and is quoted on many of the endurance sites on its benefits. Her assessment of the nutritional value of beet pulp can be found in this article on her website, The Myths and Realities of Beet Pulp.
I did an Internet search on residual pesticides in beet pulp and found a 1971 study conducted by the World Health Organization. The finding for sugar beets was:
Shuttleworth et al. (1971) studied the effects of sugar beet processing to determine if endosulfan or endosulfan sulfate residues in sugar beet roots would concentrate in the processed beet pulp. Mature sugar beet root samples from a plot treated with three aerial applications of Thiodan 2 EC at 1.0 lb active/acre were analysed 0 and 35 days after the last application. No endosulfan or endosulfan sulfate residues were found at the limit of sensitivity of the method of 0.05 ppm. Sugar beet pulp, obtained from processing the above.
I also found information on beet pulp in the document Horse Feeding Myths and Misconceptions, by Lori K. Warren, Ph.D, P.A.S, Provincial Horse Specialist, Alberta Agriculture, Food and Rural Development). In her article she states that:
Recent research has shown that the fibre in beet pulp is easier to digest than the fibre in hays. In fact, horses may derive as much energy from beet pulp as they do from oats (Table 4). In other words, a pound of (dry) beet pulp has almost the same amount of calories as a pound of oats. Because beet pulp provides these calories as fibre (as opposed to the starch in grains), it can be safely fed in larger amounts without the risk of colic or laminitis associated with feeding a large amount of grain. Furthermore, the protein content of beet pulp (averaging 8 to 12%) is comparable to most grains and good-quality grass hays (Table 4). And, beet pulp also provides a reasonable source of calcium, intermediate between the high calcium in alfalfa and the lower calcium content of grass hays, but much higher than grains (Table 4).
Whether used as a source of forage or as a replacement for oats, beet pulp is a useful addition to the diet of many types of horses. Beet pulp has been successfully fed at levels up to 50% of the horse’s total ration (approximately 10 lbs for a 1000 lb horse). More commonly, owners choose to feed 2 to 5 lbs of beet pulp per day. The high digestibility of beet pulp makes it a good choice for horses that are “hard keepers” (it’s very good for encouraging weight gain), as well as horses with dental problems, or older horses who have trouble chewing or digesting other types of forage. Beet pulp is also used as a grain replacement in the diets of horses that suffer from tying up (providing calories as fibre rather than starch). And the low potassium content of beet pulp makes it an ideal forage replacement for horses with HYPP. Finally, endurance riders favour beet pulp because its high water holding capacity provides the horse with a larger reservoir of fluid in the digestive tract that can be used to help prevent dehydration.
*Please note these are average nutrient values and are presented on a 100% dry matter basis.
Conclusions
After reviewing this information I’m going to continue feeding beet pulp. Yes, I do love my horse and I would never feed him something that I thought would be harmful. I’m convinced by the data I’ve found that beet pulp is a natural feed that offers many advantages, especially if you are working to minimize the amount of grain you feed your horse.
Researching this topic has also reinforced to me how important it is to consider the sources of the information you read on the Internet. There are lots of opinions out there — but they are not all informed.
If I just wanted to go with anecdotal evidence, hey, I’d use the fact that Elmer Bandit, the 38-year old competitive trail horse has been eating beet pulp for years (Caring for older horses: the Elmer Bandit diet). If it’s keeping him going, it can’t be all bad.
I agree whole-heartedly on everything Susan Garlinghouse had to say. While I’m no expert on beet pulp, I do have nutrition experience and the claims that the commenter made are false. Great research on an interesting topic!
I have been feeding my OTTB beet pulp for 4 years and he does SO well on it. He is a mild cribber and when consistently fed beet pulp he does not crib and seems very satisfied. I am convinced the fiber helps keep the acid production down in his tummy which in turn lowers the incidince of cribbing. I love the beet pulp for him! I would recommend it to anyone. I have witnessed excellent results with my own horse for years!!! Lynne Smith
I feed my family non GMO foods ( not genetically modified) and stopped feeding my horse beet pulp when I found out it is genetically modified.
It is definitely worthwhile avoiding genetically modified foods. However, you don’t have to stop feeding beet pulp. Some manufacturers specifically advertise they use non-genetically modified beets, such as Emerald Valley!
I’ve read repeatedly that sugar beet plants are typically treated with fertilizers, pesticides and defoliants, which is quite enough to prevent me from feeding it my horses.
If you read the comments by Dr. Garlinghouse she addresses that in point #4: “Sugar beets don’t “store” pesticides in the pulp. If they did, it wouldn’t be very effective in eliminating bugs on the outside of the plant,would it? I’ve seen the tox assay reports on beet pulp and the results were pretty much nil. I also ran my own on beets straight from the field and hosed off in my driveway–also nil. Also, shredded beet pulp gets tossed into a water bath and the water with soluble sugars (which is the cash crop here) is removed and dried to the table sugar end product. If there were residues, it’s more likely they’d be present in higher concentrations in the table sugar. It’s not. When whats-her-name can produce real data, we’ll talk. Until then, it’s apparent she’s not even familiar with the manufacturing process, let alone any inherent shortfalls.” I tend to believe her findings since she has first hand experience, has specialized in equine nutrition and feeds her own horses beet pulp. That said, there’s no reason for everyone to choose to add beet pulp to their horses’ diets. There are plenty of ways to feed your horse! Just be careful to read the ingredients of commercial feeds because beet pulp is incorporated into many of them.
My My ,very good points except you are forgeting the horse the one you stuff beet pulp into. seems to me wild horse never go near a beet pulp plant so why feed it to them . I can tell you I have hundreds of testimonies wher gorse owners have taken thier horses off beet pulp and restored thier horse back to health, sorry people Beet pulp is a waste product , a empty filler for all commercial feed manufactuers, the only who loses being fed Beet Pulp is the horse.
Sigh. No one is forcing anyone to feed their horse beet pulp. It is a useful feed for people who choose a forage based diet but don’t want the high protein levels of alfalfa. Really, your article would be more compelling if it was scientifically accurate. Since you are neither a vet nor an equine nutritionist and your article is rife with errors, I simply can’t endorse your point of view. Beet pulp is not an empty filler, it is about 10 percent protein, 0.8 percent calcium and 0.5 percent phosphorus. There is an old saying: many anecdotes don’t make data. You may have “hundreds” of testimonials from horse owners who took their horses off of beet pulp and are now healthier but unless those horses were part of a study that looked at their diet before, their diet after and which evaluated them in a measurable way, it means nothing. They could be healthier now because they have a more balanced diet, or because whatever was ailing them no longer affected them, or because something else in their environment changed. In general it’s not a good idea to manage your horse’s diet through anecdotal theories, especially when there is so much scientifically backed nutritional data available.
Really , anecdotal theories?
The horse on beet pulp will throw off calcium, as a result you will see the calcium deposit along the horses neck , once the beet pulp is removed , more flextion and absorption of calcium results
Lon Lewis DVM-Feeding and Nutrition care of the Horse 1982 states quoted:
Excess amounts of oxalates (form of salt) may be present in these plants-halogeteon, greasewood, BEETS, dock, rhubarb-(Beets =product beet pulp) – If the horse consistently eats theses plants over a LONG extended period of time, calcium deficiency will result. Insoluble oxalate crystals will deposit in the kidneys resulting in kidney damage – Could be the reason for the water molecules trying to flush the kidneys?
Every horse I have seen that is on beet pulp has kidney reflex point that is hot.
I never go by science as they are just theories anyway , I go by results and experience and my horses well being.
Excuse me, please point me to the study that shows horses that eat beat pulp get cresty necks? Typically that is a symptom of magnesium deficiency. And those are fat deposits, not calcium deposits.
One study that is nearly 30 years old that says feeding certain plants “may” result in a deficiency does not provide enough evidence in the face of current nutritional guidelines. In any case, horse owners should feed a balanced diet so that there is a calcium/phosphorous balance.
Once again — don’t feed beet pulp to your horses or your clients’ horses. But I think you are doing a disservice by presenting your “anecdotal theories” as fact.
I have fed beet pulp to many horses as do many of my colleagues. I have yet to see any of them develop “calcium deposits” on their necks.