speedibeet - to feed or not to feed! that is the question!

[amycov]

Okay, so my 3 year old mare has lost a bit of weight over the winter. She's not turned to skin and bone just yet, but i think she may lose a little more as the fields are still terrible. I've been thinking of using some speedibeet to put back on some of the weight, and then to use it to help maintain a healthy weight. I intend to keep an eye on the weight and feed accordingly to loss or gain.

Does this sound like the right thing to do?
Just looking for reassurance really. Don't want to be feeding the wrong stuff

 

[funkyfilly_92]

no i personally wouldnt because it goes right threw the horse !! but id otn no all it may be different wiht your horse !
x

 

[Slinkyunicorn]

I feed mine speedibeet and have no problems with it. If you need to her to put on a bit of weight I would try some alfa beet as you may find that works better for her - my friend used to give it to her TB this time of year until the grass came through to help keep his weight on. What type is your horse?

 

[amycov]

She's a Welsh D cross, and she hasnt lost an awful lot of weight, but it's enough to notice. Hence why i didn't really want to use alfa beet because it's more of a conditioning feed.

 

[Slinkyunicorn]

Well Speedibeet will probably be fine - my cob has it year round as part of her laminitis diet. Once the spring grass comes through she will soon pick up but it will stop her dropping anymore weight.

 

[Bess]

Mine gets sugar beet with his feed and he's doing very well on it.

 

[amycov]

I have been feeding sugar beet for a few days, but can already see her becoming a little fizzy. Probably doesnt help being in more than usual either =[

 

[michaelj]

We only feed speedi-beet because it is unmollassed so bob doesn't go crackers...

 

[SirenaXVI]

I would as it has a really good DE level and is in fact more conditioning that Alfabeet or Fibrebeet. Also high in fibre and low in starch so is unlikely to cause problems.

 

[SirenaXVI]

[ QUOTE ]
no i personally wouldnt because it goes right threw the horse !! but id otn no all it may be different wiht your horse !
x

[/ QUOTE ]

Are you sure you mean Speedibeet and are not talking about normal sugarbeet?

 

[muddy boots]

Views on speedie beet are very mixed. I have tried it on 2 horses in the past. It went straight through 1 (even though introduced gradually), the other (TB though not a cob) went very lively. Most people say it is non heating, but I have seen evidence to suggest otherwise. Most people seem fine, but neither of my horses were good on it. I also think long soak is best, my current yard are feed experts and use old fashioned long soak. My horse isn't having it though, as is on lots of good hay and high oil content feed. He's looking well. Obviously have cut feed a lot this week as nobody has been out to the field.

 

[michaelj]

[ QUOTE ]
Views on speedie beet are very mixed. I have tried it on 2 horses in the past. It went straight through 1 (even though introduced gradually), the other (TB though not a cob) went very lively. Most people say it is non heating, but I have seen evidence to suggest otherwise. Most people seem fine, but neither of my horses were good on it. I also think long soak is best, my current yard are feed experts and use old fashioned long soak. My horse isn't having it though, as is on lots of good hay and high oil content feed. He's looking well. Obviously have cut feed a lot this week as nobody has been out to the field.

[/ QUOTE ]

Congratulations on plucking up the courage to join us mad bunch!

Neither of ours have heated because of it, were you feeding it with anything else?
x

 

[muddy boots]

Nothing too exciting, just unmolassed chaff and high fibre cubes. All "Quiet/calm" stuff. He is quite sensitive though. Less is definately more with him.
Thank you for welcoming me

 

[TGM]

[ QUOTE ]
I would as it has a really good DE level and is in fact more conditioning that Alfabeet or Fibrebeet. Also high in fibre and low in starch so is unlikely to cause problems.

[/ QUOTE ] Ditto what she said! The 'calorie' content is 12.4 MJDE/kg, which is similar to some conditioning cube/mixes, so a good way to give extra calories without feeding cereals. It hasn't fizzed up any of the horses I have used it on, but they are all different! Not had a problem with it making them 'loose' either.

 

[scotsmare]

I feed it to all of mine without a single problem so I'd recommend it

 

[PurplePickle]

I love speedi beet, use it on all my horses,past and present

wouldnt be without it

 

[Orangehorse]

I prefer the long soak too. Just before feeding I boil up a kettle full of water and add to the soaking water, then drain it, so they have a warmed up feed. Nicer for my hands mixing it too!

 

[star]

speedibeet is more conditioning than alfabeet - this seems to be an extremely common misunderstanding. alfalfa is high in protein, but not as high in energy as speedibeet.

 

[kellyeaton]

how is speedi beet got more calories and conditioning factors then fibre beet and alfa beet when it is used for lammi ponys witch dont need the appove factors. this is just a question?

 

[star]

because it's energy from fibre, not from sugar. it's extremely low in sugar which makes it great for lammies, but just coz something is low in sugar doesn't mean it's got no calories. not all lammies are fat and some of them need conditioning feeds. i think people assume because it's marked for lammies and low in sugar that it's low in calories, but it's not. it's DE is equivalent to competition and conditioning mixes - it just gets it from fibre, not sugar/cereals.