From Field to Feed – Only the Best for British Horse Feeds
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British Horse Feeds, makers of Speedi-Beet and Fibre-Beet, only source the best British-grown beet to create these amazing super fibre products. Here, the company tells us why they use British beet, how the beet is processed and discuss the sustainability of the practice.
Let’s start at the beet… a sugar beet is a root that contains a high concentration of sucrose, this is why it is commercially grown for sugar production.
There are many benefits to feeding a beet product to horses and ponies because it is an excellent source of highly digestible fibre, even more so than hay AND is a valuable source of energy which is why it is referred to as a super fibre.
Here Dr Tom, consultant nutritionist for British Horse Feeds comments:
Because of the horse’s gut design, high fibre diets are required to promote good gut health. Two thirds of the digestive system is devoted to digesting fibre through fermentation. Horses and ponies lacking in high fibre can result in digestive upsets such as Gastric Ulcers and other metabolic diseases.”
Speedi-Beet is known for being the original and the best, and it is down to the quality of the ingredients and the process in making this super fibre. Only the best quality British grown beet pulp is used and sourced from one of the world’s largest sugar beet factories: Wissington, Norfolk.
Commented Will I’Anson, Sales Director of British Horse Feeds:
We use Wissington and British beet for a number of reasons, but one of the most important is that the quality and purity of the crop cannot be surpassed which is so important for our customers using our beet products.
We also want to support British farming and reduce our carbon footprint by using British produce which is key.”
The factory at Wissington is one of the largest refineries in Europe, using procedures to prep the beet with very little wastage and no chemicals.
Beginning the process, the beets are seed dressed to reduce the need for insecticides etc., are mechanically defoliated at harvest (with no chemicals) and brought into Wissington from the local farms. They are then washed, sliced and steeped in only hot water to remove the sugar.
The pulp shreds are then pressed and dried. Some countries use additives such as calcium sulphate, at this point, but this is not the case at Wissington; just mechanical pressing and hot air is used. Then they are pelleted. Again some processors use a pelleting aid at this point, but not Wissington.
The end product of this method is a pellet that has 95% of its sugar content removed with only the use of hot water, leaving an additive-free product that British Horse Feeds can then turn in to Speedi-Beet.
Because no chemicals have been used in making the pellets at Wissington, everything left over from the process is used as a by-product to eliminate waste.
The washed off soil and stones go for topsoil and aggregate, the sugar-rich water goes to produce products such as betaine (an important metabolite), bioethanol, and waste heat and carbon dioxide is captured and piped to big greenhouses (40 acres). Here they use no insecticides or chemicals – only introducing biological systems (bees for pollination, species of wasps to attack whitefly) – and this gives us an indication of how green issues dominate the whole process from planting to finished product.
The product left for British Horse Feeds to use is a beet pulp that is less than 5% sugar, about 10% protein and 60% fibre.
This fibre profile is excellent for grazing animals, particularly for horses and ponies that are prone to laminitis.
British Horse Feeds create Speedi-Beet by using their patented micronization process involving just moisture and heat, again no chemicals whatsoever.
The way the beet has been shredded and processed gives Speedi-Beet a unique quality – it absorbs a lot more moisture than any other beet product on the market. Speedi-Beet can expand to hold five times its weight in water, which is a huge benefit in keeping equines hydrated throughout the year.
Hattie I’Anson, British Horse Feeds Sales Manager comments:
As well as the product being hydrating, our patented process has revolutionised how we prepare the beet pulp. It only takes 10 minutes with cold water to soak and only five with hot water. This was a vast improvement in convenience compared to the standard sugar beet pellets which needed 24 hours to soak.”
Fibre-Beet is a formulated blend containing all the benefits of the original Speedi-Beet product, with added high-quality Alfalfa for optimum condition and to provide quality protein for muscle tone and function. It is a great super fibre conditioning feed that is soaked and ready to feed in only 45 minutes in cold water or 15 minutes in warm water.
Back in 2008, Speedi-Beet won a Queen’s Award for Innovation and this year celebrated its 21st Anniversary. Will I’Anson said:
When we were launching Speedi-Beet, a lot of ideas, time, hard work and development was invested in creating this product, and 21 years later we are still using British produce and the efficient and green process to create the ‘original’ fast absorbing beet product, which is really close to our values as a company and why we believe it is the best.”
Speedi-Beet is available in easy to handle 20kg bags and retails at around £12.50 – £13.50 and Fibre-Beet £13.50 – £14.50.
For more information contact British Horse Feeds on 01765 680300 or visit www.britishhorsefeeds.com
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