Using Speedibeet as a hay replacer?

Birker2020

Birker2020

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My friends farrier following him shoeing her horse has advised that her horse is showing signs of laminitis and that she needs to shift the weight of him, something about he feels his foot has very started slightly sinking/rotating -sorry can't remember exactly what was said.

She currently soaks her hay for a minimum of 8 hours and her horse is on sparse grazing for about five hours a day. She is very worried obviously - I advised her to try him on speedy beet which is suitable for laminitics as its starch and sugar free and to fill him up with that as a part hay replacer as the issue is that she is worried he will be hungry.

I'm not sure I've given her the right advice.Can you fill a horse up by giving it large quantities of soaked speedibeet and using it as a hay replacer if it is overweight, or does the calories in speedibeet surpass the calories in soaked hay? He's in medium work, is around 15.3hh and a good doer. I've told her to ditch the carrot she gives him everyday due to the sugar content.

Any advice would be appreciated.
 
If the farrier has spotted something I'd advise xrays.
In terms of weightloss I'd be at least part feeding straw as forage instead, not beet.
and considering metabolic issues.
 
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My old lady who was dentally challenged and couldn't eat any form of forage so had a lot of beet - Equibeet is a lot more cost effective at just over half the price of speedybeet. Carrots have so little sugar they can safely be fed to laminitics, especially as one a day is negligible.
But it sounds as though her management is doing all it reasonably can, and I'd be looking for underlying causes, such as Cushings, and pointing her to The Laminitis Site for all the information she needs
 
ester said:
If the farrier has spotted something I'd advise xrays.
In terms of weightloss I'd be at least part feeding straw as forage instead, not beet.
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This, I certainly wouldn't be filling him up with SB which in large quantities is recommended for weight gain, he would be better off with something that slows eating such as straw or a straw chop, I suspect the owners idea of medium work is not really medium but more like light work so if all is well after a vet check an increase in exercise will be the best way to get the weight off.
 
be positive said:
This, I certainly wouldn't be filling him up with SB which in large quantities is recommended for weight gain, he would be better off with something that slows eating such as straw or a straw chop, I suspect the owners idea of medium work is not really medium but more like light work so if all is well after a vet check an increase in exercise will be the best way to get the weight off.
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This.

The overweight ones tend not to be the fussy eaters so chopped oat straw is definitely worth a try. And unless he has a metabolic issue he's not getting enough exercise to shift the calories going in, so get this increased.
 
I would want to know what is happening in his feet, so would involve the vet and ask for x-rays but as a precaution I would swap some of his hay for oat straw chaff, rather than Speedibeet or similar. I would also want a Cushings test and if the ACTH test comes back fine, I would then ask for a TRH test to be sure. I would be tempted to take the shoes off, so that nothing was masked and I would keep him on box-rest on a deep shavings bed until the x-rays and then take it from there.
 
Pearlsasinger said:
I would want to know what is happening in his feet, so would involve the vet and ask for x-rays but as a precaution I would swap some of his hay for oat straw chaff, rather than Speedibeet or similar. I would also want a Cushings test and if the ACTH test comes back fine, I would then ask for a TRH test to be sure. I would be tempted to take the shoes off, so that nothing was masked and I would keep him on box-rest on a deep shavings bed until the x-rays and then take it from there.
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Just to add as, due to technical difficulties, I couldn't edit.


I wouldn't exercise a horse with suspected rotation until I knew what was going on with the pedal bone. That could prove fatal.
 
ester said:
If the farrier has spotted something I'd advise xrays.
In terms of weightloss I'd be at least part feeding straw as forage instead, not beet.
and considering metabolic issues.
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Funnily enough I mentioned straw mixed with hay but wasn't sure how safe this practice really is. I know straw has next to nothing in it of value but I also know it can cause impaction with some horses. I suggested she ring her vet to ask if she would recommend feeding straw.
 
JillA said:
My old lady who was dentally challenged and couldn't eat any form of forage so had a lot of beet - Equibeet is a lot more cost effective at just over half the price of speedybeet. Carrots have so little sugar they can safely be fed to laminitics, especially as one a day is negligible.
But it sounds as though her management is doing all it reasonably can, and I'd be looking for underlying causes, such as Cushings, and pointing her to The Laminitis Site for all the information she needs
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I always remember reading that there is more sugar in a medium sized carrot than in a whole scoop of speedibeet which is why I suggested knocking the carrots on the head.
 
Pearlsasinger said:
I would want to know what is happening in his feet, so would involve the vet and ask for x-rays but as a precaution I would swap some of his hay for oat straw chaff, rather than Speedibeet or similar. I would also want a Cushings test and if the ACTH test comes back fine, I would then ask for a TRH test to be sure. I would be tempted to take the shoes off, so that nothing was masked and I would keep him on box-rest on a deep shavings bed until the x-rays and then take it from there.
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Ok I will pass all this on. Thanks.
 
JillA said:
But that has been discredited in the last few years. http://www.thelaminitissite.org/articles/who-said-stop-the-carrots
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As taken from the referred page (my emphasis)
s always, common sense should prevail - if a horse's insulin is too high and/or it currently has active laminitis then hold back on the carrots and keep the diet as strict as possible, just analysed & soaked hay with appropriate levels of protein, minerals & vitamins, plus perhaps linseed to provide Omega 3 if a horse doesn't get grass. But once insulin levels and symptoms are under control, then a carrot or two a day, particularly if sliced and fed throughout the day rather than in one go, is unlikely to do any harm, and could do a fair bit of good.
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Queenbee said:
Carrots have about 4.5g of sugar per 100g, beets have about 7g sugar per 100g, I personally would not feed carrots. With lami's its a case of cutting out any and all the sugar you can. For the sake of feeding carrots which are simply not essential it just isn't worth it.
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Seriously? When carrots have only 3/4 the sugar of Equibeet at 6% (unmollassed beet pulp, similar but couldn't find a figure for Speedibeet) but you typically feed less that 10% by dry matter and they add variety and other properties
 
Yes seriously - if you do a search for sugar content of carrots and beets you will see those figures. Carrots have sugar, sugar is bad for lami's, carrots are not essential for nutrition, ergo - don't feed carrots/ unnecessary sugar to lami prone horses.

If there was any value to feeding carrots then that would not be my stance, but since there is absolutely no value and arguably potential increase to risk - what is the point?
 
My two good doers put weight on while I was away for a month at Christmas. They are out most of the time and just come in for 4-6 hours for a rest and riding.

I knew I had to cut back their calories, but they get a handful of chaff to come in to so couldn't do much with that, so gave them a bit of hay mixed with more oat straw. I wanted them to have enough going through but not high in calories. This regime, with more exercise, really shifted the weight and both are now fit and lean again.

The oat straw was a god send. No problems with it at all.
 
Thanks for your replies. I have sent her the link to this thread but don't think she's read it yet as she's been busy. She's cut down his hay intake and is exercising him more with lunging and riding. She has put him on a chaff suitable for laminitics and is going to try him on speedi beet but not as a hay replacer, just in his feed. I think she has also cut down his turnout time.

I've cut down on my horses hay and feed although my horse is practically on nothing anyway but is a good doer and I am only increasing by a small fraction the strip grazing every third day as I am really concerned about the risk of laminits. We've had about five cases of it on our yard so far.
 
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