Caroline Finds The Answer With Speedi-Beet
07 September 2006
Horse owner Caroline Bradford was concerned when her 18-year-old Welsh Cob was drinking much less water than she felt she should.
Horse owner Caroline Bradford was concerned when her 18-year-old Welsh Cob was drinking much less water than she felt she should.
Caroline had hoped to compete in Carriage driving competitions with her but was worried that she would not pass the vet inspection due to being dehydrated.
A regular feeder of Speedi-Beet, Caroline contacted her online help-desk for advice.
Said Caroline: "My cob loves eating Speedi-Beet, so I wondered if I could make a more watery mix to make her drink that way."
Dr Tom Shurlock of Speedi-Beet recieved Caroline's inquiry and told her that feeding a mix of Speedi-Beet containing more water would cause no problems whatsoever.
Said Dr. Shurlock: "From our frequent soaking trials, Speedi-Beet can take seven to eight times its own weight in water over a 30 minute soak.
"The major sites of water absorption are the stomach and colon, in the horse, so feeding a mix with increased levels of water will aid rapid re-hydration."
When soaked, Speedi-Beet is exremely friable (breaks down into small pieces) and will not draw water and further expand into the stomach or give hind gut fermentation products which could pose problems.
When the excess water is absorbed by the stomach, the amount left in the Speedi-Beet will be consistent with normal chyme (gut contents) and so will not interfere with normal gut function.
Since using the 'watery mix' Caroline and her Cob have competed their first Long Distance 20km drive.
Said Caroline: "True to form the pony would not drink at the 10km halt, but i wasn't too worried because she had been fed double her amount of Speedi-Beet.
"She passed the vet inspection with flying colours. I fed her very sloppy Speedi-Beet after a very gruelling 10km much to people's horror, but she drank the water off it and lapped up the soggy beet with her tongue and passed the vet inspection and dehydration test easily."