Un-molassed sugar beet/speedy beet

[Sprig]

My pony (part bred NF) is currently fed high fibre nuts, balancer and unmolassed chaff. She is a bit lighter than I would like as her work load has just been increased. Rather than feed more of the same I am thinking of adding either some un-molassed sugar beet or speedy beet. What are my options? Are there and brands that are preferred? Alternatively I could replace the high fibre nuts with something I suppose, but not sure what. I definitely don't want a mix. She will primarily be doing (novice level) endurance during the season with a bit of low level RC stuff thrown into the mix. She typically works 5 days a week for at least an hour, with plenty of fast work and long hilly rides. I like my horses pretty light and fit so it may be that when the grass starts growing that I end up dropping the additional feed anyway. Not sure yet, she is fairly new to me so it will be interesting to see if she has fatty tendencies.

 

[Stroppy Mare]

I've just started mine on fibrebeet instead of speedibeet - I didn't want the sugar content as our grass is high enough in sugar, but fibrebeet is made by the same company as speedibeet. I've fed it before and it's a decent feed.

 

[Sprig]

Thanks. I don't know anything about fibrebeet, what is it? It sounds like a good option. Is it readily available?

 

[Stroppy Mare]

I get it from my normal feed merchant as a standard stocked feed. Cost £11 a bag, been feeding it 2 weeks now and no where near even making a dent in it - works out at 1:3 ratio to water, but I always add in a little extra water and feed a small rectangle scoop a day.

http://www.baileyshorsefeeds.co.uk/whatproduct/fibre/fibrebeet.htm he's the link to it, I like it, my horses eat it so that's a major plus!

 

[Sprig]

Thanks. I am not sure which would be better for me fibrebeet/speedybeet. The fibrebeet has alfalfa in it which I know can send some horses a bit silly. Mine is basically sensible but is definitely getting sillier as she gets fitter! Both sound like they are pretty much what I am looking for.

 

[Sprig]

In fact I have just looked at the ingredients and the fibrebeet has molasses as well as alfalfa so I think I will give that a miss and go for speedybeet. Always good to chat through options and see what else is out there.

 

[EquiEquestrian556]

We feed our 6 SpeediBeet along with their other hard feed and supplements, and they range from a 34yo+ healthy veteran, a lami prone veteran, to young and middle-aged healthy horses and ponies in light to heavy work.

My purebred NF has SpeediBeet added to her feed, and she's in heavy work. We also feed it to our old 25 year old Cushings pony, who is Lami prone, and sugar-wise it's safe, as well as feeding it regularly (a few times a day) to our 36 year old veteran to keep weight on her.

We use this product, and I'd really recommend it -http://www.britishhorsefeeds.com/company-products/speedi-beet/

 

[HaffiesRock]

My part bred NF and Haffy get Trident unmollassed sugarbeet. It is 24/7 soak but is only £6 a bag with less than 5% sugar.

 

[JillA]

My part bred NF and Haffy get Trident unmollassed sugarbeet. It is 24/7 soak but is only £6 a bag with less than 5% sugar.

It's called Equibeet and a real money saver if you can get it. I struggled to find it round here, ended up getting an account with a wholesaler who stocked it, but for my veteran on a total hay replacer diet I really couldn't afford the quick soak flakes. They are fine though if you aren't having to buy in vast quantities or need a quick soak version - Speedibeet, Kwikbeet or Countrywide now do their own

 

[Exploding Chestnuts]

Not sure, but will you not need some oats to provide more energy without fattening, thats what racehorses get?
I don't get the idea of "balancer" and"nuts" as I thought balancer was to be fed as the one and only feed.
I prefer to use straight, so woulld base the diet on non molassed beet, minerals and linseed, plus oats if in hard work.
The main reason I would not use balancer is that I like to make sure that the horse is getting a variety of fibres in his diet.

 

[Exploding Chestnuts]

Sorry, unable to edit above, meant to say micronised linseed. If losing weight maybe needs more food overall, five hours a week is not really a lot of work, but make sure you are doing a good proportion of walking as well as fast work. I think a weightape weekly is the best way of monitoring the effectiveness of the diet.

 

[AngieandBen]

It's called Equibeet and a real money saver if you can get it. I struggled to find it round here, ended up getting an account with a wholesaler who stocked it, but for my veteran on a total hay replacer diet I really couldn't afford the quick soak flakes. They are fine though if you aren't having to buy in vast quantities or need a quick soak version - Speedibeet, Kwikbeet or Countrywide now do their own

Its what I feed mine in the winter when you can soak a big bucket at a time. In the summer it go's off quickly so I feed just some high fibre cubes and a bit of chaff then

 

[maj]

I feed allen and paige calm and conditioner - it has linseed in to help keep the weight on - you soak it for 10 minutes and it doubles in size

 

[TGM]

Not sure, but will you not need some oats to provide more energy without fattening, thats what racehorses get?

The OP actually wants the pony to get a bit fatter, she says she feels she is 'a bit lighter' than she would like.

I don't get the idea of "balancer" and"nuts" as I thought balancer was to be fed as the one and only feed.

Nuts have to be fed at or near the recommended daily rate, if you want them to supply the RDA of vit/mins. If you feed significantly less than the recommended amount, then you can top up the micronutrients with a reduced rate of balancer. So if the recommended feeding rates for fibre nuts is 2kg, and you only feed 1kg of them, then you can add a half dose of balancer to top up. It is possible that this is what the OP is doing.

The main reason I would not use balancer is that I like to make sure that the horse is getting a variety of fibres in his diet.

You can still feed a balancer and provide a variety of fibre in the diet. For example, the balancer could be fed alongside grass chaffs/alfalfa/beet, with the horse getting hay and access to grazing as well.

 

[Goldenstar]

In fact I have just looked at the ingredients and the fibrebeet has molasses as well as alfalfa so I think I will give that a miss and go for speedybeet. Always good to chat through options and see what else is out there.

Best choice .
Nothing hidden way in speedibeet .
If they add molasses to fibre beet it will because alfalfa is quite bitter and many horses don't care for it.

 

[Sprig]

Thanks everyone. I had thought about oats too as my TB used to have the same feed/work as this pony and I added oats during the season for him but I never felt he was getting too light. It was just for extra energy. I also found bashed (is that the right word? Not whole and not completely rolled flat) oats hard to come by and that is what I wanted. I am going to get some speedybeet today and see how we go.
The balancer is new to me, I have never used one before but thought I would for this new pony. Do people keep using them in the summer, or just use in winter?

 

[HaffiesRock]

It's called Equibeet and a real money saver if you can get it. I struggled to find it round here, ended up getting an account with a wholesaler who stocked it, but for my veteran on a total hay replacer diet I really couldn't afford the quick soak flakes. They are fine though if you aren't having to buy in vast quantities or need a quick soak version - Speedibeet, Kwikbeet or Countrywide now do their own

That's the stuff. A sack goes a long way and saves a fortune! In winter they get 1 dry scoop each which is loads once soaked. They love it and never get bored of it.

 

[TGM]

Whether you use a balancer in summer depends on your grazing and what else you are feeding. If pony is on good grazing in summer then the protein content of the balancer is likely to be unnecessary, and you could save money by giving a powdered vit/min supplement if you are not giving additional feed and want to give extra vit/mins in some way. If you are feeding the recommended amount of a commercial cube/mix, then you won't need to give a balancer or a vit/min supplement.

Personally, I continue giving my pony a lite balancer during the summer, as she doesn't get additional bucket feed, and we don't have amazing grazing. Plus it is more convenient for me than mixing a powdered supplement with some beet/chaff.