Monthly Archives: December 2009

Leading your horse to water and making sure he drinks!

Posted by Liz Goldsmith in Commentary, Horse care, horse health, nutrition and tagged with ,

Horses need access to water throughout the year.

Hydration is critical to a horse’s health. If they don’t drink enough water one of the results can be colic — water is extremely important to their digestive system. In the winter horses keeping horses hydrated can be a problem because they just don’t drink as much when it’s cold.

Luckily there are several tricks you can use to encourage water consumption. Since horses are all different you might need to try a few before you find the one that works for your horse.
  • Try adding salt to their food. While it’s good to have salt blocks available, if your horse doesn’t lick them, they don’t work. I add a tablespoon of salt to my horse’s grain every meal to encourage him to drink more.
  • Cover your salt lick with molasses. Some people do this to encourage their horses to use their salt lick. However, some horses treat these like candy so you need to limit access to them.
  • Serve the water at a warmer temperature. Some horses just don’t like really cold water.  Heated water buckets are great if your horses are stalled. Since our horses are out 24/7 we just put tank heaters in the outside troughs. Some horses like water that’s noticeably warm to the touch.
  • Add water to everything they eat. I like to feed soupy beet pulp in the winter which I top dress with grain. It encourages additional water consumption and simultaneously reduces the chance of choke. Soaked hay cubes also work really well but the advantage to beet pulp is that (at least with the shreds) they absorb water quickly, especially if you add warm water. You can also wet hay or simply pour water over the horse’s grain. Be careful about adding water to feed that will be exposed to freezing temps, such as hay, because it can freeze and leave ice behind.
  • Make a flavored “tea” out of grain or hay cubes. Add just enough of each to flavor the water. You can also add peppermints, Kool Aid, apple juice, Gatorade, apple cider vinegar or molasses. There’s even a product made for horses called HorseQuencher.
  • Clean your buckets or buy new ones. Be careful about using bleach because it can leave a residual taste. I prefer to clean my water buckets either with Listerine or baking soda. It keeps me from bleaching my clothes inadvertently, too.
  • Float apples or apple slices in their bucket. Lots of horses like to bob for apples and they drink while they do it.
  • Move the bucket to another location. Sounds silly, but some horses don’t like to drink when they are in certain places.
  • Dip your horse’s bit in the water with his saliva still on it.

What to do with your horse show ribbons

Posted by Liz Goldsmith in Commentary, Competition and tagged with , ,

This was the first horse show ribbon quilt I'd seen. I was blown away!

I wish I’d known what to do with my old horse show ribbons. I used to have boxes of them. I remembered every class and every horse that I’d ridden, but it seemed pointless to keep them. Finally after one move I threw them away.

Now I realize that there were far better things to do with them than leave them at the dump!

Recently I saw my first ribbon quilt. I was just blown away. What a great way to showcase those ribbons.

Now, quilts are a fairly expensive way to showcase your ribbons unless you are very handy with a sewing machine. Here are a few more ideas that are less expensive.

Get into the holiday spirit and make a ribbon wreath.

Put the ribbons in bowls, jars and other glass containers and use them to decorate your table or shelves. You can also buy glass lamp bases that can be filled with ribbons. Photo courtesy of Sakurah Hill Farm.

If don’t want to keep your old ribbons, or only plan to save a few special ones, you can donate them to your local riding program (or therapeutic program) so they can hand them out when the kids do a good job.

More debate on beet pulp — is it toxic?

Posted by Liz Goldsmith in Commentary, equine nutrition, Horse care and tagged with , ,

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):

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. “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.
  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.
  5. 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)

    6. 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.

    Table 4: Comparison of the nutrients in beet pulp with the nutrients in other common feeds.*
    Feed
    Fibre
    (%)
    Energy
    (Mcal/kg)
    Protein
    (%)
    Calcium
    (%)
    Beet pulp
    20
    3.15
    10 – 12
    0.70
    Oats
    11
    3.30
    12
    0.09
    Barley
    6
    3.70
    13
    0.05
    Alfalfa hay
    28
    2.30
    15 – 18
    1.30
    Timothy hay
    35
    1.95
    6 – 9
    0.35

    *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.

Doxy for horses, kids and dogs . . .

Posted by Liz Goldsmith in Commentary and tagged with ,

Last year when the vets were trying to figure out what was the matter with Kroni one of the things they prescribed was Doxycycline, thinking it might be a tick-borne disease. I had ordered the 500 pill bottle for him and marveled over how little it cost. Often when I buy it for my son (who takes it for his acne) I’ve paid much more, probably as I usually buy only enough for 30 days.

Now, I guess you have to be an equestrian or an animal owner to take the next step. When my son needed more Doxy I looked at the huge bottle of pills that were unused (Kroni didn’t have a tick borne disease), called my vet and asked if it was okay for my son to take them. After getting the thumbs up, I never thought about it again. My son’s doctor had explained that he could stay on the Doxy indefinitely through his adolescence and it seemed crazy to buy another bottle.

Until I recounted this story at my book group. “You asked your vet?” they asked me, obviously appalled that I hadn’t consulted my son’s doctor. Not about the fact that he was taking the medication, which had been prescribed for him, but because the pills had been bought from a veterinary pharmacy. I thought about it and realized that compared to my children’s pediatrician, I have a much stronger relationship with both my large animal and small animal vets. I see them more frequently, they spend more time with me, and they treat me more like a person than a patient. I know about their lives and their interests. Rarely do I have more than a cursory discussion with any of the human doctors that treat me or my children.

In that context, I can understand why I would ask a vet my  question about the Doxy, even if it seems inexplicable to my friends.

When my son went in for his yearly check up, I did mention the source of the Doxy to his doctor, who was unconcerned provided it had not reached its expiration date.

As for the Doxy? It’s currently being used to treat one of my dogs which was recently diagnosed with Lyme. Now that’s an efficient use of medication!

Tired of button braids? Here’s another look!

Posted by Liz Goldsmith in Commentary, equestrian, grooming, Horse breeds and tagged with , , , ,

I love this look! I’ve never had a horse that a long mane but it almost makes me want to grow Freedom’s so I can try it. How do you think it would look in the hunt field? Probably not such a good idea as I’d imagine the whole braid would start to fly up in the area over fences!

This type of “braiding” is called a lattice, or diamond, braid. This braiding effect is used on horses where the breed standard is a long mane — baroque horses such as Andalusians, Lippizans and Luisitanos, and breeds such as Arabians and Morgans.

I love the metal decos for the braids and how they work with the bridle decos. Now that's the kind of "bling" that appeals to me.

Here’s a variation on the theme that is also very impressive. Of course, the horse itself adds to the overall effect.

This is another beautiful variation on a lattice braid.

So, how do you go about creating a lattice effect?

  • Start with a clean, knot-free mane.
  • Divide the mane into about 24 sections across the top of the crest, separating them using rubber bands the same color as the horse’s mane. It’s important to make each of these sections uniform in size (about 1 inch wide).
  • Wrap each section twice with the band.
  • For the next row, start near the horse’s poll. Take the first full section and combine it with half of the next one. Secure the combined hair with an elastic band about 1.5″ below the first row of bands.
  • Moving down your horse’s neck, take the remaining half section and combine it with half of the next section. This creates the “diamond” or lattice shape.
  • Continue in this manner until you have several rows. The number of rows will ultimately depend on the length of your horse’s mane and how much long mane you’d like below the braids.