Speedi-Beet is made from pure unmolassed sugar beet pulp which is a by-product of the sugar beet industry. Sugar beet is grown in Europe and North America as an alternative to sugar cane which is grown in tropical and sub-tropical regions of the world. It is mainly grown as a source of table sugar for human consumption.
The sugar beet harvest in the UK usually takes place from September onwards with the beet being delivered into one of several sugar beet factories situated throughout eastern England. After cleaning, the beet is sliced into cossettes by a machine that resembles a kitchen grater and as much surface area is presented to maximise the sugar extraction process as possible. The sliced sugar beet is mixed with hot water and the sugar is extracted. After the water has been squeezed out, the pulp is dried and usually molasses is added back where upon the pulp is either used in its shredded form or it is pelleted. Speedi-Beet is manufactured from beet pulp which has not had molasses added to it and is therefore around 95% sugar free. The beet pulp then undergoes a further patented process and is then cooked utilising our process, micronization.
This involves heating the dried beet pulp at relatively low temperatures for a short time using infra-red heat and prevents the protein from denaturing allowing for quicker release of nutrients into the horse's digestive system. The micronizing process also imparts flavour into the beet pulp so the product does not require the use of added molasses i.e. sugar for palatability. The beet pulp is then flaked to increase surface area to aid rapid water absorption. That's why Speedi-Beet can be prepared in under 10 minutes instead of the usual 24 hours for traditional sugar beet pulp.
Typical Nutritional Analysis of Speedi-Beet
Dry Matter 90.0% Protein 10.0% Oil 0.7% Fibre 16.0% Ash 9.0% Starch - Sugar 5.0% Copper - Calcium 0.7% Phosphorus 0.1% Available Phosphorus (Digestible Phosphorus 0.05%) 0.05% Salt 0.3% Magnesium 0.3% Lysine 0.45% Methionine 0.15% M&C 0.3% Threonine 0.4% Tryptophan 0.1% DE Horse mj/kg 12.4%
Mixing & Preparation of Speedi-Beet
Simply mix 5 parts of water to 1 part of Speedi-Beet by weight. Leave to soak for 9 minutes using cold water or 5 minutes using hot water (fantastic in the winter to warm your horse!).
Once Speedi-Beet has been soaked it can be fed straight away or it can be left for up to 24 hours in a cool environment, enabling you to still prepare in advance if you wish.