As above really. For a horse with good dentition, who is checked annually by a qualified EDT but with a previous episode of choke, is it necessary to soak beet pulp before feeding? I am getting conflicting sources: many say no, but others say yes. I’ve not fed it before so am pretty clueless about it all!
Can anybody help?
I believe it depends on the type. Shreds you can supposedly feed dry, pellets must be soaked.
That being said, you have a horse with a prior choke, EVERY feed you give him should be soaked.
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I’ve always been told you have to soak it beforehand. The reasoning my vet gave was basically that it expands when wet so it can cause issues if eaten dry.
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With the shredded stuff, I don’t think you HAVE to, but that being said, I always soak it and wouldn’t feed it dry. My preference is to use hot water because it seems to soak it faster (15-20 min maybe), but cold works too. It just needs to sit longer to absorb the cold water. But when it has soaked enough, it gets much softer, almost like cooked oatmeal. Maybe it’s just me, but it seems more palatable when it’s a little mushy.
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My aged gelding doesn’t like soupy feed. So I meet him in the middle. For a 3/4 quart serving of beet pulp, I add 1/2 quart of water and give it a good stir.
1000% always soak, especially something as dry as beep.
I have fed up to about 1lb dry, mixed with other things, to a mare who is a textbook eater - small bites, lots of chewing.
At some point I started adding water for some reason, I suspect a powdered supplement, and shredded beet pulp is so fast and easy to soak I’ve never gone back, not even when the amount dropped down to literally 1/2c.
It’s just too easy to soak to not do it, even if there’s no problem with it dry for a given horse
I had a horse choke badly on shredded beet pulp that I had soaked. From what we could peice together, a small amount of shreds may have clumped and not thoroughly soaked through. I do not know how that happened as I was always particular about the soaking, but it did. After that experience, I would not consider feeding it unsoaked and I only feed it if there is no other option.
I have always been told to soak beet pulp shedded or pellets.
You don’t have to soak beet pulp, except for a horse with a history of choke.
All pelleted feed expands.
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Thank you all. I know it will expand and was just going to soak it, then made the mistake of googling and got about 6 billion search results in 0.027 seconds all with a different opinion on whether or not you should soak it or not.
I’ll soak! Thank you!
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I don’t know about you guys, but just looking at the sheer amount of water beet pulp soaks up is enough to make me soak it every time. Imagine feeding it dry, the beet pulp is going to absorb THAT MUCH water from your horse to be able to digest it. Why wouldn’t you add water to the feed to help with that process? Seems like a cheap way to prevent some issues and an easy way to get more fluids in your horse.
I used to feed a lot of it in the winter when I lived a bit further north and dealt with -50F or worse. Keeping the horses hydrated was a challenge made easier with a hot beet pulp porridge. They loved it.
Just my 2 cents. I
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I soak all grain w/ hot water year round. Have seen way too much choke and colic in my life; my goal is to get as much water and fiber in my horses as possible. I am a huge beet pulp fan (sugar free, shreds); all of mine are on it w/ a handful of Purina Ultium or Safe Choice Senior thrown in for taste if I have a picky eater. 
I soak grain/beet pulp for 45 min while I busy myself w/ riding/chores etc. I need to be able to sleep at nite. I am lucky all of mine like it. Feeding any grain/beet pulp dry is not on my radar. Some of mine like a certain texture so of course they’re accomodated…I am trained well.
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I agree with Bethe, and AKdraft.
I feed BP and soak it first, and then when I mix up their feeds, add hot water again to everything.
Why would you not want to add water to your horses’ gut? It’s not hard, it takes so little time, and it is just one more step in trying to keep them healthy.
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I kind of look at it like eating shredded wheat - you CAN eat it dry, but do you WANT to? It sticks to the roof of your mouth, it gets stuck on the way down. Add a little moisture to it, and it is easy to eat. Risk of choke is for ANY HORSE. I see people saying “if your horse has risk of choke” - well, if the food is too big, or too dry, ANY horse can choke. So your horse has risk of choke.
BTW, for those who don’t have 45 minutes to soak it (or who live in an area where it is super hot or super cold, and long soaking can lead to problems like fermentation or freezing), I’ve found the Standlee pellets break down and soak quickly - 15 minutes or less! We have super hot summers, and I worry about the stuff going bad if I forget it while soaking it, so that is my solution. A friend has found a super fine shred that also soaks quickly. It isn’t available near me, sadly.
It doesn’t even take 45 minutes for typical shreds - I have pictures of a 3 minute progression from the dry start to a soggy finish. No, they aren’t fully hydrated/plumped. But they are soggy and slippery and it would be as impossible as possible to choke on them as anything. Assuming, of course, you don’t then set it up so the horse can take a giant mouthful.
3 minutes. Hot tap water from the house in the Winter, cool enough to comfortable stick a finger in by the time it’s added, and water straight from the spigot or a water tub in the Summer.
I agree, I “quick-soak” the shreds, too. Half quart dry bp shreds, add water to cereal-like consistency, add salt, add grain, and feed. I’ve been serving bp this way to my herd of 6-10 for over 5yrs. Never a choke.
I have used bp pellets, too, when I can find them cheaper than shreds. However, it takes 2 hours for them to break down enough that my seniors can eat them safely, so I have to fix a large batch of bp pellets to soak overnight and dish out for breakfast. (Can’t soak during the day, too hot here.) 2qts of bp pellets will easily soak up 8+qts of water with a little leftover juice…and makes enough to serve 6.
I prefer the shreds, for soaking convenience.
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When I fed beet pulp for a trainer, we made a very large bucket of it. I was also worried about the clumps so I would stir everything to make sure that as much of the beet pulp could be reached by water, especially the pieces at the bottom. Sometimes, I would add more water to the horse’s feed bin if I thought it could use a little bit more.
How long on average, then, do you folks soak your pellets of beet pulp for versus your shreds?
I’ve heard 24 hrs for pellets: is that about right? And about 45 minutes for shreds in boiling water?
24 hours would equal rancid feed in the summer. Eeek.
I think how long you soak depends on what brand you are using.
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Pellets soak overnight (or at least 2h).
Shreds soak anywhere from 1min to 10min depending on how lomg it takes to bring horses in. (In other words, no soak time… add water and dump in feed tub.)
