What is the difference between ordinary beet and Speedibeet...

[Casey76]

...apart from the length of soaking time required?

*Why* does speedibeet only need 10mins soaking?

(it's a bit of a null question really, as I can't get speedibeet, but I'm still curious :p)

[Perfect Pony]

speedibeet is edible in 10 mins!!!

[Perfect Pony]

sorry should really learn to read properly not just skim the question!!! havnt a clue apart from the time thing!!!

[teabiscuit]

no mollasses added(95%sugar free), then a patented process, then heat treated, then flaked giving a much larger surface area to absorb water leading to rapid water absorption and less soaking time-type speedibeet into google and get a much better description than this :)

[dcp]

So what's better for keeping weight on a poor doer?

[Esther.D]

So what's better for keeping weight on a poor doer?

Ordinary beet is better for a poor doer as speedibeet has no molasses and is almost sugar free so better for good doers.

[eventerbabe]

my little pony was almost skeletal before we put her onto speedi beet (condition score of just under 2). it has helped her gain weight slowly and at a consistant rate. i'd recomend speedi-beet for laminitics and those not wanting really quick weight gain.

[Big Ears]

i feed my laminitic cob speedibeet in small quanitities but would use ordinary sugar beet for those you want to gain weight, plus perhaps barley rings. I used that on a tb and it kept weight on him during winter very well.

[virtuallyhorses]

If you are wanting to put weight on, why do you think beet pulp? This is a forage (high end admittedly) not a weight gain product and therefore should be thought of as the base of a feed to ensure that the horse doesn't bolt his food and to ensure the gut works at digesting properly. If you want weight gain you need calories - that means either grain or oil. Or simply increasing the amount of food that your horse has access to - the simplest being more good quality hay.

Beet pulp is around 2.2 to 2.3 MgCAL per Kg about the same as Lucerne Hay - but you are only feeding a very small amount - remember that's 2.3Mcal\kg DRY weight. So if you soak a couple of cups it fluffs up to a good quantity but that bulk doesn't = calories because all you've added is water.

This is a very good article about beetpulp http://www.shady-acres.com/susan/beetpulp.shtml