At FeedXL, we often recommend beet pulp for horses as a source of fibre and energy – but did you know that it’s also a great source of amino acids?
Sugar beet pulp and oats (another common source of energy) both have similar protein content of around 9%. The advantage of beet pulp is the amino acid profile – it provides higher levels of lysine, methionine, threonine, leucine, isoleucine, and valine than oats within the same amount of protein.
Why is this so super?
Lysine and threonine are two of the essential amino acids that horses can run out of the fastest, making them very important to supply in the diet. Isolucine and valine are branch chain amino acids that are key to muscle recovery.
While we don’t recommend feeding beet pulp for horses purely for its protein, when added as a source of calories and fibre, it can also bring in a good level of essential amino acids. This makes sugar beet a pretty super ingredient.
| Oats | Sugarbeet Pulp | ||
| Crude Protein | % | 9.1 | 9 |
| Lysine | g/kg | 3.5 | 7.1 |
| Methionine | g/kg | 1.4 | 1.6 |
| Threonine | g/kg | 2.8 | 4.4 |
| Leucine | g/kg | 6.6 | 6.3 |
| Isoleucine | g/kg | 3.3 | 3.8 |
| Valine | g/kg | 4.6 | 6.1 |
Data from PremierAtlas 2014
Along with other ingredients that are fed wet or soaked, it’s important to enter them correctly in your horse’s diet in FeedXL. Not sure if you should be entering the dry weight or the wet weight? Read this helpful article: Wet or Dry WeightWe would love to welcome you to our FeedXL Horse Nutrition Facebook Group. Ask questions and have them answered by PhD and Masters qualified equine nutritionists and spend time with like-minded horse owners. It’s free!
Click here to join the FeedXL Horse Nutrition Facebook Group
