10 Jan 2008  

Feeding Myths - do I always need to soak sugarbeet

Sugar beet is a traditional horse feed,being an excellent source of highly digestible fibre,providing slow release energy for stamina not fizz. For as long as i can remember we have always been told that sugar beet must always be soaked. However,with major advances in equine nutrition in recent years this is not always the case. Although sugar beet in its raw form-standard pellets or shreds should always be soaked for 24 and 12 hours respectively. There are various sugar beet feeds on the markwt,which are quick soaking(30 minutes) and others,which dont require any soaking at all. For e.g. Super Molichop Shreddi a unique blend of Sugar beet and other top quality fibres. Shreddi is chopped and blended in such a way that the production of saliva is maximised ensuring the safe passage of the feed through the digestive system.

Five years ago,Youngs Animal Feeds manufacturers of the Super Molichop range commissioned feeding trials at the University of Wales Aberystwyth led by Dr.Merial Moore-Colyer. Dr.Merial Moore-Colyers main intrest is in equine nutrition,specialising in areas of gut health and fibre digestion.

The trials involved feeding four different diets to four of the universities school horses over a 12 week period.The feeds were offered as a sole diets for 3-week period. Shreddi was also fed as an 80:20 combination waith a course mix. The diets were swapped around so that by the end of the 12 weeks each horse had 3 weeks on each diet. All the feed intakes and faecal outputs were acurately measured and the true digestible energy values for each diet were calculated.Dr.Merial and her team were not only pleased with the excellent condition of the horses at the end of the trial but also has the way the horses relise every mouthful. As a result of these trials Super Molichop Shreddi was addedto the Super Molichop range. A safe and sound way to include sugar beet pulp in the ration in a particularly palatable and degradable form.