Beet Pulp Pellet Feeding "Hack"! (I Think?)

[carman_liz]

So maybe it is just me, but beet pulp pellets seem to take forever to soak and breakdown. I have even tried boiling hot water and a potato smasher type thing to break them up faster, still a good 45 min before I feel that there are not any hard pieces left…and yes I stick my hands in it and feel around, yes, I’m weird I know I know… So yesterday while making my smoothie in my ninja bullet type blender, my brain cracked and went omg…how have I missed this…has the answer to my impatience literally been right in front of my face…no way, could it be this easy!!!

I immediately scooped and dumped pony’s quarter lb of bp pellets out of the feed bin in the kitchen (it’s close to hot water don’t judge me lol)… into an empty, dry ninja cup, screwed the blender bottom in, put it in the motor base part and crossed my fingers it wouldn’t break the blades…ya’ll…it worked!!!

Soaking the now blended into powder pellets took maybe 15 min with super hot tap water. The timothy/alf pellets break down in about the same amount of time and I can add more or less water depending on if I want more of a texture to it, or want to turn it into a mash/soup!

I realize this won’t work for everyone since some horses need more texture to eat their meals. It would also take a bigger, more regular retangular containered ninja or similiar type strong blender set up for a large amount of pellets, but even if I had to take 10 or so minutes to blend up 4 or 5 lbs of the pellets, or an hr once a week to blend and ziploc baggy up a weeks worth of AM and PM feedings, it would still save tons of soaking time. Not to mention the worry of them being soaked long enough to not cause choke or anything along those lines.

Just posting this in case it may help someone who is on a time crunch during feedings, or whose barn does not have the time or will not wait on bp pellets to adequately soak and break down from the normal pelleted form.

[Calvincrowe]

Shreds soak much faster, if you can find them in your area. I just soak in the morning for evening feed, then soak in the evening for morning. And I soak for two big geldings who get a lot of BP… so that won’t work for me.

But good for you for finding a solution!

[carman_liz]

Do you refrigerate them or anything between soaking and feeding? When my mare went to an all soaked bp and hay pellet diet, I know if she did not eat it all, by the next feeding time what was left in the feed pan would smell rancid like it had gone bad.

[Calvincrowe]

No, I don’t refrigerate it, but in the summer I soak in the house. Any uneaten BP from the previous feeding is tossed, as it does ferment. I adjust the amount if they aren’t cleaning it up in a couple hours.

[JB]

Pellets tend to be cheaper per pound but yes, shreds soak in minutes. When I used them, I would bring tap-hot water from the house, walk 250’ to the barn, and in the time it took to fix 3 meals, the shreds were plenty soaked. Meals were so small I didn’t have to worry about them soaking up much more water in the time it took to be eaten, but if I were feeding larger amounts, I might have done the water/beep mix in the house to give a few more minutes to really soak in

[trubandloki]

@carman_liz

I feel that there are not any hard pieces left…and yes I stick my hands in it and feel around, yes, I’m weird I know I know

Wait. I thought everyone did this.

[Arlomine]

Well, I understand why this is attractive… But one of the reasons to feed beat pulp is that it has long enough fiber to be a partial hay replacement. I think this defeats the purpose.

[lizloveshorses]

@carman_liz

Not to mention the worry of them being soaked long enough to not cause choke or anything along those lines.

I think there have been a few studies recently that have shown that beet pulp does not cause choke even when not soaked 100%. If your pony doesn’t have teeth, that’s another story, but generally beet pulp will not cause choke on its own.

[ASB_Stars]

I have one of those flexible tubs with handles, and I drilled holes in the bottom of it, and the sides of the bottom. I fits perfectly into a muck tub. I use pellets, currently, because I like their texture when wet. I put water into the tub- I like to do about 6-8 inches of water over top of the BP. It sits in the wash stall all day or night. I pull the “sieve” out, and let it drain, and dump out the water. When it is 35 or so, or below, I dump a bucket of hot water over top, and then let that drain out, so that they get warm meals. The muck tub has a cart, so I can put the sieve back into it the tub, and take it over to the feed box, and distribute it into the buckets, and then add whatever feed the horse gets.

I wash the sieve and the muck tub out am/pm, and start again. Works for me!

[Bogie]

I feed shredded beet pulp. when outside temperatures agree, I soak for the next meal. When it’s too cold or too hot, I add hot water and it’s ready to eat in about 5 minutes.

[SLW]

I use shredded beet pulp year round. Summer prep is easy. Winter prep requires bringing a half gallon of hot water from the house.

The labor required for pellets makes them less attractive to use, for me.

[ASB_Stars]

@SLW

The labor required for pellets makes them less attractive to use, for me.

I used shredded for years. For me, there is no additional labor. I just like the pellets better.

[SLW]

@ASB_Stars

@SLW

The labor required for pellets makes them less attractive to use, for me.

I used shredded for years. For me, there is no additional labor. I just like the pellets better.

Good that the pellets work out better for you. It’s nice that we have choices when making purchase decisions.

[Alex_and_Bodie_s_Mom]

I’ve used both shreds and pellets - currently using pellets because the local TS has been out of shreds for a while. Shreds soak super fast, but the pellets last longer, IMO.

I haven’t had any issues with soaking them in the morning for the nightly feeding, and then overnight for the morning feeding. I just tuck the bucket back into the feed bin, and it’s ready to go by the next feeding. I wouldn’t do this in the summer, due to the risk of fermentation, but it’s worked great so far this fall/early winter.

[JB]

@Arlomine

But one of the reasons to feed beat pulp is that it has long enough fiber to be a partial hay replacement.

Feeding pellets already negates that value, and when it’s such a small amount to use to mix with supplements, it doesn’t matter anyway even if it was shreds.

[sascha]

@lizloveshorses

I think there have been a few studies recently that have shown that beet pulp does not cause choke even when not soaked 100%

Meh, some horses (not looking at mine with rolly eyes and a frown at all) can choke on a handful of dry feed. Mine gets everything soaked apart from hay, which knock on wood, she has not (yet) choked on.

[sascha]

I totally get the pellet thing. When I buy a bag of BP and a bag of alfalfa pellets, I measure them out for the next four weeks and bag them. I can easily store that many baggies of pellets. Shreds, not so much because they are so much bulkier.

From about September to May I can soak 24 hours ahead with no fermentation. Come summer, I may end up going back to shreds, but with slightly longer riding times and cool out time, bathing, etc., I hope that the pellets will soak sufficiently if I get them going as soon as I get to the barn.

Also, yeah, sticking your hand in to feel around for any hard bits is totally a thing

[JB]

@sascha

Meh, some horses (not looking at mine with rolly eyes and a frown at all) can choke on a handful of dry feed

Right, some horses choke on grass, and soupy food. But that’s a function of the horse, not the feedstuff. Beep doesn’t inherently cause choke if not soaked, any more than any pelleted or textured or extruded feeds do, despite some horses choking on some or all of those things, even if soaked, and some even when soaked

[carman_liz]

For my guy he has teeth, and gets hay in a net. It is more about getting water in him since he has an aversion to drinking. I keep telling him he cannot stay hydrated when it is raining thru osmosis lol. The pellets are slightly cheaper for me and I feel like they last longer. Jmo.

If I soaked and left them anywhere outdoors, critters would get to them. Indoors, the cats or dog, in the fridge dh would throw a fit, so soaking right at feeding time works better for me. It was just an idea and tends to make it easier for me so I figured I would share, that’s all :).

[sascha]

@JB

Beep doesn’t inherently cause choke if not soaked, any more than any pelleted or textured or extruded feeds do,

I’ll wait for the next round of research, thanks