Questions & Answers with Dr. Bray
Dr. Robert E. Bray
Consulting Equine Nutritionist

My vet told me not to feed my senior a senior diet that has beet pulp and soy hulls because these feeds will cause gas colic; is this true?

The production of gas in the gut (gastrointestinal tract) is normal for all mammals and especially for those animals whose gut is designed to eat large quantities of plant materials. Horses are classified as non-ruminant herbivores. Their hindgut, which includes the cecum and colon, is the major site for fermentation of the plant materials that are not (or can not) be digested in the foregut through chemical and enzymatic digestion. In the fermentation process, it’s the “job” of the microorganisms to digest the plant materials and produce selective nutrients and energy that are available to the horse. “Gas” is a by-product of the fermentation process and the horse’s gut is capable of moving the gas though the colon to be released. Excess gas production which has the potential of causing a first class belly ache, that we know as colic, can result from numerous factors; these factors include inadequate fiber in the diet, inadequate exercise, inadequate consumption of water (note: fiber and exercise influence water consumption), inadequate management routine, certain drugs, specially antibiotics, over feeding starchy feeds, changes in feeds and amount fed, inconsistent daily meal frequency and amounts fed, and (perhaps the cause that will step on the toes of horse owners….) inadequate nutritional management experience and knowledge.

Beet pulp and soy hulls contain a type of fiber that is fermentable and is broken down by the microorganisms that live in the gut. The grasses that are fed via pasture and hay also have some fermentable fiber as well as the fiber that is classified as insoluble fiber. If there is inadequate forage provided, and the horse is fed a large quantity of fermentable fiber, then sure, excess gas production could occur; another scenario is if large portions of grain type feeds (in which major ingredients include corn, oats, and/or barley) are fed, then an excess gas production could occur. Any combination of factors listed in the first paragraph can cause an excess gas production, …but these scenarios are still not that simple; …because the bottom line is that nutritional management of the horse plays the most important role in his gut health. Nutritional Management does not come from what we read on the internet, it’s a result of time, experience and education.

 Are there some horses whose gut may be more sensitive to fermentable fiber type feeds; sure, …BUT through my 40+ years of experiences with horses as a owner, breeder, farm manager, university professor, and nutritional consultant, I have not had one horse that could not be easily managed with a diet that includes fermentable fiber such as beet pulp and soy hulls.

 Summary: Beet pulp and soy hulls…

1. are important feedstuffs in the nutritional management of horses.
2. are a safe source of energy in balanced concentrates to fuel the horse in what ever he does.
3. are solid ingredients with other feedstuffs that are formulated for a balanced concentrate mix that will compliment the forage portion of the horse’s diet.
4.  have bulk laxative like properties that will assist the gut to contract with consistency and regularity as well as maintain a healthy microorganism population in the gut.

 So the bottom line, …the information provided by your veterinarian is incorrect.

Is Teff hay ok to feed my horse with the Integrity products?

Yes. Teff grass hay has been around for quite awhile but the availability of the grass hay had been inconsistent for west coast horse owners. However, the consistence in availability has changed with more being grown, hay producers recognizing the quality, and producers learning how to work through the growing nuisances of Teff. Also Teff is now available in a hay pellet in southern California. Horses sometimes need time to adjust to Teff hay from the bale because the texture is different than other grass hays.

Could you tell me the reason why it is recommended not to feed your horse more than 5 lbs of horse feed from a bag per feeding?

The stomach of the horse has limited capacity since the horse evolved as a continuous grazer. The horse’s stomach capacity is relative to the horse’s size but ranges from 2.0 – 3.5 gallons. Their gastrointestinal tract is designed to eat grass continuously or at least for long periods of time during the day. Feeds vary in water content. Grass is about 80% water compared to typical grass hays which are approximately 10% water; most “bag” feeds are about 10% water. With balance concentrates (an example of a “bag” feed) that consist of small particle size feeds (such as pellet-feedstuffs, grains, processed grains, feedstuff by-products) a horse, if allowed, could eat large quantities in one meal in a short period of time. Thus relative to the stomach capacity if the horse consumes a large volume of “bag” feed in one meal, the increase in gut fill will stimulate the gastrointestinal tract to contract with more vigor; the increase in contraction of the gastrointestinal tract translates that the food will pass through the gut at a faster rate.  A faster rate reduces the time the food is exposed to chemical and enzymatic digestion in the foregut (foregut consist of the stomach and small intestine). An important note is that the horse’s stomach will begin to empty when it’s at 60% of capacity and the stomach is an important site for chemical digestion.

When feeding balance concentrates (or bag feeds), the nutritional management goal is to provide an optimum opportunity for chemical and enzymatic digestion to take place in the foregut; the prevalent types of digestion that takes place in the foregut are different then that of the hindgut. Digestion that is prevalent in the hindgut (cecum and large intestine) is microbial, hence a fermentation digestion, and is the primary site where fiber is digested. Any food containing starches, fats and protein that escaped enzymatic digestion will be digested microbially.

In general, the major site for chemical digestion is the stomach, the major site for enzymatic digestion is the small intestine, and the major site for microbial digestion is the hindgut; this summation is a bit over-simplified but hopefully helps with the basic goal to nutritionally management our feeding program relative to the horse’s gut design.

Thus the general rule for most “bag” feeds or grain mixes is that not more than 5 pounds is fed per meal. The amount of fiber and starch in the “bag” feed really influences this generalization. This recommendation actually evolved when balance feeds were primarily a mixture of corn, oats, barley and soybean meal and there is a threshold in which microbial digestion of grain feed mixes will precipitate a belly ache we know as colic.  Today more “bag” feeds have higher fiber and fat content and include feed ingredients such as beet pulp, soy hulls, grass hays, oils (fat) or brans; …so that the amounts fed per meal can vary.

The Integrity feed products contain high levels of beet pulp and/or soy hulls and are considered safe feeds to feed larger quantities because of their high levels of soluble fiber type feedstuffs. Nevertheless, I would rather that you feed the Integrity products more frequently and use the not more than 5 pounds per meal guideline.

In many of my responses you will see the phrase nutritional management; in my 40-plus years working with horses as a horseman, manager, consultant, and professor, most of the nutritional issues boiled down to how the horse is nutritionally management; …which is why the 250-page manual I developed for my equine nutrition class at the university is called Equine Nutritional Management©.

Is beet pulp really full of sugar like they say? How much protein is in beet pulp? What is the maximum I should feed a day?

Composition
Beet pulp is the residue or by-product that remains after sugar beet processing. Dried beet pulp contains approximately 9 to 10% crude protein, approximately 18% crude fiber, 0.75% calcium and 0.09% phosphorus. Beet pulp has bulk laxative like properties; these properties include an affinity for water and a combination of the fiber composition and fiber digestion which promote the gut to contract with more vigor.

 Feeding Amounts & Recommendations
The maximum that can be fed depends on the body weight of the horse, the activity of the horse, and of course what else is being fed. If a horse owner wants to add beet pulp to the diet, my general recommendation has been not more than 0.25% of body weight per day. In other words, for a 900 lb horse, that’s up to 2.25 lbs of beet pulp per day; for a 1000 lb horse, up to 2.5 lbs of beet pulp; and for an 1100 lb horse, up to 2.75 lbs of beet pulp. If you are adding beet pulp to the diet, you must feed by weight, not volume, and if you choose to soak the beet pulp the recommendations are before you add water.

 An important consideration is that every time you add an individual feedstuff to a ration, there is a good chance you will distort the balance of some nutrients. A ration of hay and beet pulp is not considered balance. I have fed beet pulp at much higher levels than my recommendation but I know my nutritional management skills. I often comment that “ones nutritional management skill is the guide to feeding, not some general sound byte”; …which is why I often provide conservative recommendations on feeding because nutritional management skills come with time, experience with many horses, and education.

A side bar note: today’s small coffee can is not 16 oz of coffee and a coffee can of shredded beet pulp does not weigh 1 lb. The last time I checked, shredded beet pulp in a 16 oz container weighed approximately 0.6 lbs. Remember recommendations for feeding beet pulp is based on the weight before you add water.

If you are feeding Integrity products, beet pulp and soy hulls are major ingredients; in several products they are the first and second ingredients, so feeding additional “soluble fiber sources” such as beet pulp would not be needed. For a maintenance or less active horse you may want to consider feeding a balance concentrate such as the Integrity Lite without molasses; the Integrity Lite (as with all Integrity Products) is balanced with all the nutrients the horse requires and is formulated to compliment the forage portion of the horse’s diet.

Sugar / Starch Content
The panic in the horse industry with sugar and starch content in feeds has created a lot of confusion. My concerns have been the comparison of just numbers by horse owners and not knowing if the numbers represent sugar content, starch content, non structural carbohydrates (NSC), non fiber carbohydrates (NFC), water soluble carbohydrates (WSC), ethanol soluble carbohydrates (ESC) or a combination. I receive questions about sugar and starch content quite often but when I query ration goals or which analysis they are referencing as a concern, most do not know or are understandably confused by the terminology.

Below is a table of sugar and starch values for beet pulp and a few other feedstuffs; this information can be found on the Equi Analytical Laboratories website, a feed laboratory assessment company.

* Source of values are from Equi Analytical Laboratories website; http://www.equi-analytical.com/CommonFeedProfiles

Beet pulp is in the low range for starch content and is considered a safe feed; there is sugar residue remaining after the processing of beets but one needs to consider the total carbohydrates in the feedstuff. Soy hulls are a really good low WSC & ESC by-product that I have used for years in many formulations.

ESC includes the monosaccharides, disaccharides, and the short chain fructans; WSC contains sugars and fructans of all molecular sizes. NSC is often confused with NFC and NSC does not provide a solid profile on sugar and starch content; …so, NSC has been eliminated by many as an evaluation assessment.

The horse industry appears to have a cycle with some hot topic and sugar / starch feeding levels are that topic today. The positive outlook of this concern is that horse owners are revisiting what they feed their horses and perhaps learning more about what provides a balance ration. The feed industry has benefited by revisiting and updating formulations if needed. I do have concerns with the internet diagnosis, owner diagnosis or friend diagnosis that a horse is insulin resistant, or has Cushing’s disease, or is a candidate for one of the myopathies. Horse owners are encouraged to visit with their veterinarians for a clinical diagnosis.  If there are logical clinical concerns then nutritional management may need to be addressed; which is why Star Milling has a consulting equine nutritionist to provide guidance to their customers.  

How do I properly read a feed label??

Labels generally provide a Guaranteed Analysis and a list of ingredients. A basic feed label will generally appear as the example below.

Guaranteed Analysis: The guaranteed analysis provides a percentage estimate of the nutrients or diet components that are contained in the feed. They are expressed as minimums (aka not less than) and maximums (aka not more). All labels must provide protein, fat, fiber, and ash content expressed as a percent. Crude protein, crude fat and crude fiber terms are self-explanatory regarding the components they respectively represent. Crude protein and crude fat are nutrients and crude fiber is a dietary component. The word "Crude" means "a rough estimate" because the laboratory analysis for protein, fat and fiber involve indirect laboratory measurements; hence a "crude" or "rough estimate" of protein, fat, or fiber content.  Ash represents the total minerals and is not a useful value in determining the type and amounts of minerals. Other specific nutrients may be listed; in this example the macro minerals calcium (Ca) and phosphorus (P) are provided.

Feed Ingredients: Usually ingredients are listed in order of magnitude quantitatively; that is, the largest percentage by weight to the one of the smallest quantity.  Most companies follow this pattern; however, there are some states that do not require this type of listing.  There are companies that still only provide the collective feed names compared to specific feedstuffs.  An example would be identifying plant protein products in the ingredient listing compared to identifying the primary protein feedstuffs such as soybean meal, flaxseed meal, or cottonseed meal.  This practice is used to minimize preparation of new labels for formulations that are changed; formula changes are usually based on the least-cost concepts in ration formulation.  Collective feed names also provide companies flexibility if they decide to add, discontinue, or replace the use of one or more feed ingredients in the feed mix.

One other interesting observation is that the Model Feed Bill requires that all ingredients in the mix be listed on the label; but not all feedstuffs listed on the label will necessarily be in the mix; a consequence of the dynamics in least-cost formulations and economics.