You can buy sugar beet as a stand alone product, but it’s also available in a number of feeds…here’s our quick guide…

Just sugar beet…

Trident Sugar Beet Pellets
Trident Sugar Beet Shreds
British Horse Feeds Speedi-Beet – quick soaking sugar beet flakes that are unmolassed and ready to use in under 10 minutes

Sugar beet with…
Dengie Alfa-Beet – blend of alfalfa and sugar beet that is ideal for extra condition or energy for work, for fizzy horses and ponies as well as older horses who have difficulty chewing.

British Horse Feeds Fibre-Beet – carefully formulated combination of Speedi-Beet, alfalfa and oat fibre supplemented with biotin, sodium and calcium.

Sugar beet in mixes and cubes…

Baileys No. 6 Endurance Mix – high fibre, slow release formula that’s non heating and high oil. This appetising mix contains alfalfa blend, highly digestible super fibres from soya hulls and sugar beet pulp.

Allen & Page Calm & Condition – barley-free feed for horses that need to put on condition but remain calm. As it contains a small proportion of unmolassed sugar beet, mixing this feed with water before feeding is recommended.

Pure Feed Pure Working – molasses free fibre based feed that’s completely balanced with vitamins, minerals, amino acids and pre and probiotics. The energy in the feed is derived from soya oil and super fibres such as micronised un-molassed sugar beet pulp.

GWF Nutrition Fibregest – non soak conditioning feed for sustaining horses in maintenance and light work. This ‘super soluble fibre feed’ is derived from a blend of micronised sugar beet pulp, hemp seed and lean black oats fortified with seaweed meal, chelated minerals and Oatinol.

Baileys Keep Calm – fully balanced quick soak high fibre feed containing Speedi-Beet and soya husks along with natural fibre sources.

Saracen Stud Prep 14 – multipurpose sweetfeed containing added oil and beet pulp – specially formulated for putting condition onto horses.

Conditioning feed is highly digestible, and depending on its type, may also be slow release and/or non-heating. Conditioning feed is used to improve or maintain the condition of a horse or promote weight gain in a controlled way.

It may contain some or all of the following ingredients:

• Excellent quality protein – superb for muscle tone and topline development
• Oil rich ingredients e.g. soya oil or linseed– for coat condition and to add a source of slow release energy
• Vitamins and minerals
• Controlled levels of cereal, starch and sugar
• Antioxidants
• Pre/probiotic blend
• Highly digestible cereals – which improve digestive efficiency
• Vitamin E – an important antioxidant
• Yeast – to support a healthy digestive system

Conditioning feed is ideal for:

• Weight gain - without having to resort to feeding an excessive amount of hard feed
• Improving stamina
• Improving or maintaining muscle and topline development
• Promoting a controlled temperament (conditioning feeds often contain slow release calories)
• Show horses
• Broodmares in late gestation when their digestive capacity is reduced
•  Broodmares in early lactation when energy demands are high
• Elderly horses that struggle to maintain condition

A conditioning feed can be a very useful addition to the horse’s diet if used correctly. If you’re concerned about your horse’s condition or would like to find out more about conditioning feeds, call one of the free feed lines and speak to the nutritionists about your requirements.

Linseed is a traditional addition to the horse’s diet, but is still used and loved by many today. It can be fed in a number of different ways and can add a lot to the horse’s diet, so it could be worth considering.

Linseed is:

• Nutritious
• Rich in proteins
• Rich in omega 3
• Low in starch and carbohydrate

Linseed needs to be prepared before it can be fed, although it can be purchased in a cooked or micronised format, and Linseed Oil can also be bought…so you don’t need to prepare it at home, That said, many people boil linseed to form a jam or tea that can be added to the horse’s feed.

Linseed can be fed to help improve and support condition, enhance coat shine, maintain healthy skin and aid weight gain. One of the benefits of linseed is that the amount you feed is relatively small when compared to a normal feed product– the suggested amounts are more similar to a supplement.

Linseed should be gradually introduced into the diet over a period of three to five days to allow the digestive system to adapt to the added fat.