Is aplha beet more conditioning than speedi beet???

[Bay_Beasty]

Hey

I feed speedi beet, have done since November when the beastie lost weight, as I got told to by my trainer!!! I now it does not have many calories in it but it has put weight on along with a change in fibre and lots and lots of good quality hay!

I didnt feed the alhpa beet as I have heard some horses go crazy of alfalfa! I could be wrong in my knowledge here but I was warned of using fibre beet for this reason! But i looked if his chaff and it is made from alfalfa so I guess he does not react badly to it! anyway, I have recently upped his work getting him much fitter for the new season and we are back going to comps and lessons etc. I have changed his nut to a comp nut and I was thinking about changing the beet to the conditioning beet, just to get that top line looking smart!!! so my question is, is it that more conditioning?

sorry, really numpty question but its best to ask than to plough on regardless, in't it?

 

[china]

yes its much more conditioning. put a lovely shine on my tb. and put the weight on him as he went backwards very quickly last winter. for it to work you do have to feed quite abit but split it into more feeds instead of just one big one. it can makes some horses fizzy. it depends on the individual.

 

[JenHunt]

Speedi beet does have plenty of calories in it, but, because it is all fibre it doesn't usually cause problems.

Alfa beet has more calories and more protein and more 'starches' (but long chain not short chain so less heating) than speedi beet.

so if you are working your horse I would feed alfa beet. it looks like cow muck, but does smell quite nice. my sisters horse will eat it and he's quite fussy.

also - worth considering giving it ad lib. we soak a bucket full for each horse and put it next to the feed trough. It stays in all night and by breakfast time it's all gone. does mean we feed more, but it's better for them to eat it slowly.

 

[Tinkle]

It's always kept my two looking well and never made my mare daft, unlike speedibeet(!?).

I find if you use slightly less water than they advise it soaks nicely but doesn't look quite so cowpatty.

x

 

[Nailed]

I find Sugarbeet.. 5 pound a bag.. does the trick just nice.

Lou x

 

[TGM]

Actually Speedibeet DOES have lots of calories in it - 12.4 MJDE/kg (dry weight) - which is similar to some conditioning feeds! AlfaBeet is about 10.5 MJDE/kg which is obviously quite a bit LESS than Speedibeet. However, it does have more protein than Speedibeet, but if you are feeding an alfafa chaff anyway, your horse is probably getting plenty of protein anyway!

If you are unsure about the calorie content of feeds you can always check the bag label or the manufacturer's website - it is normally referred to as 'Digestible Energy' and expressed in MJDE/kg (mega joules of digestible energy per kilogram). The higher the number, the more calories it contains and therefore more likely to put weight on a horse!

 

[TGM]

[ QUOTE ]
I find Sugarbeet.. 5 pound a bag.. does the trick just nice.

Lou x

[/ QUOTE ]

Normal mollassed sugar beet is cheap and I use it for my old horse, but it does contain 21% sugar, compared to Speedibeet's 5% sugar, so can give sensitive horses a sugar rush that fizzes them up! And of course is much too high in sugar to be fed to anything with laminitic tendencies.

 

[TGM]

[ QUOTE ]
Alfa beet has more calories

[/ QUOTE ] I'm sorry, that information is incorrect - check the product info on the websites:

http://www.dengie.com/pages/products/additional-products/alfa-beet.php

http://www.britishhorsefeeds.com/speedi-beet/typical-analysis.html

 

[Slinkyunicorn]

I know my friend used to give it to her TB to keep his weight up over the winter and it worked a treat for him - wasn't fizzy at all.

 

[star]

echo TGH. actually, speedibeet is very high in calories, although low in sugar and is more conditioning than alfalfa. i have just changed my horse from alfalfa pellets to speedibeet to try and get a bit more condition on him.

 

[Bay_Beasty]

Right well I'll keep him on the speedi beet as he is getting 12% protein from both his nut and fibre and lots of oil from each too! I try and feed a low starch diet anyway even though I Dougal does not fizz up on starch, I just think it suits there digestion better!!!! Thanks for the help!!!!

 

[LankyDoodle]

Sorry but I am just doing a QR to a post which said AB is much higher in calories than SB. I did a post about this myself on Stable Yard. The assumption is that because AB is pedalled as a conditioning feed, it is better than SB. Not the case. Alfabeet has less calories than speedibeet, so unless youf eed more of it than SB, you will not put weight on the horse.

AB is 10.5 MJ/KG (mix of alfalfa and sugarbeet)
SB is 12.4 MJ/KG (straight, unmollassed sugarbeet)

AB has a higher % protein, so better for muscle, but quite a significant difference in calorific value, making SB more conditioning KG for KG.

ETS: Sorry, just read the whole thread and seen that this has already been said.