l have a horse that needs to gain a little bit of weight on her topline and l was told to get beet pulp for her.

She is 15.1H and 6 years old. l do not think she is ever had any of the beet pulp before. Do l give it to her a little at a time over the course of a few days?....and l do know l have to soak it before feeding it.

She gets fed grain twice daily.
Do l feed the beet pulp to her twice a day also? She on grass a few hours a day and gets hay at night.

Thanks~
Do l have to soak it in warm water because we do not have hot water at the barn.

How much r u going to feed her? You should slowly build her up to the amount u want to feed her over the course of about a week or 2 depending on how much u r feeding. When she gets fed in the morning, give her half of her daily bet pulp amount & give her the other half at night. Hope l helped!

Edit: l normally soak it in hot water during the winter so that horse will have a warm snack after l ride her, but u can soak it in cold water as well. l also do not think it needs to be soaked for 24 hours. l normally soak it for 2 hours, & l have never had any problems.

Soak the beet pulp & then mix it in with her grain. You can pretty much give her as much as u like, since it is not a high-energy food, but l would recommend talking to a trainer or vet to see how much exactly she should get. Feed it twice a day with her grain & expect to feed it for a few weeks at least. In addition, ride some exercises that specifically target her back - like working in the walk, trot & canter with her head down below her withers. Do not let her fall onto the forehand. This will help to strengthen her back. Then work her some in a collected frame to start muscling up her topline.

Good luck!

Beet pulp is good because it contains lots of natural sugars. Just soak it overnight & give her some a.m. & p.m.

Gradually introduce it by starting with 1/4 scoop daily(split this between am & pm) & gradually increase until u r giving her one scoop in the am & pm. Just mix it in with her grain. Depending on her condition, ask ur vet if she can have 2 scoops a day.

My horse eats
two flakes of hay in am & pm along with one soop pellets & beet pulp in the am & pm. She is also on grass for about all day with the exception of a few lessons.

l would feed a couple pounds a day and see if over time it needs to be increased. You can break it up into two feedings if it is a lot if you plan to soak it. l do not soak it. It is a myth that beet pulp has to be soaked. The issue with beet pulp is not that your horse will swell up or colic from being fed dry beet pulp but more of a concern with the pellet size connected with choking.

l would mix it with her regular grain, and yes it should soak in warm water for 24 hours.

When we started ours out on beet pulp we would do it in gradual courses.
l do not know how much u want to give ur girl but l will explain it as if u r going to give her say. 1 quart 2 x daily.

day 1 AM & PM: soak 1/8 of the quart completely til soft. Do not make it watery though. Put it in between grain layers so when the horse bites the grain the pulp is there too. Kinda gets her used to it slowly. Most horses do not like it the first time or two.

day 2 AM & PM: repeat

day 3 AM & PM: use 1/4 of the quart

day 4 AM & PM: repeat

day 5 AM & PM: use 1/2 of the quart

day 6 AM & PM: repeat

day 7 AM & PM: use 3/4 of the quart

day 8 AM & PM: repeat

day 9 : full quart scoop

Stretching that out to 3 or 4 days between each new measure would be great too!

we feed our horses 11% all grain mixed with pellets 2x is a day (1+1/2 scoop each feeding) and a scoop of beet pulp with the second feeding

it helps to soak it with warm water if it is cold outside but cool water will work too

Many people feed beet pulp for added calories without added starch, sugar & energy. If u look at the directions on the bag, it does say that it should be soaked. l would never feed beet pulp dry. As a general rule, beet pulp can be about 30% of the ration.
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You said ur horse gets ''grain'' twice daily. If that is actually the fact, her diet is inferior. Grains r poor quality food source for horses. If by ''grain'' u meant ''feed that is different but u did not say what the ratios r or how much she is fed. Amount of feed is usually determined by weight (and work level) of the horse. Check ur ''feed'' bag for recommendations. Also, the feed should be weighed to determine proper amount. A scoop of one type of feed could weigh 2 pounds & another type weigh 4 pounds. She should have free choice hay at all times she is not on pasture.

Improving ur horse is top line is not a matter of ''gaining weight''. You cannot have ur horse ''gain'' in one area. To improve the top line, u must exercise & condition ur horse to build muscle. Beet pulp is considered a ''forage type'' of food, & adding it to her feed regimen will increase calories, but it will not, in & of itself, improve her ''topline''.

A concern with beet pulp is possibly causing a mineral imbalance for ur horse. Beet pulp is low in phosphorus & relatively high in calcium. Your horse is feed should have an overall 2:1 Ca/Ph ratio to be correct. Again, u should check the mineral balance in ur feed ration to make sure u have a good balanced nutrition for ur horse. good luck.

You only need to soak it for 20 minutes, and it does not NEED to be warm water.
You mix it in with the grain