How Is Nsc Calculated In Horse Hay?

However, they are rapidly fermented in the hindgut. NSC calculated for the purposes of horse nutrition is: ESC + Starch = NSC.

How is NSC hay calculated?

NSC is commonly estimated by adding starch plus WSC. Since some horses can be very sensitive to dietary starch and sugar (i.e. horses with PSSM, EMS or laminitis), the NSC level can be helpful in selecting hay.

What is NSC in horse hay?

NSC = Simple Sugar and Starch aka Nonstructural Carbohydrates. In order to know the true NSC value of your hay you will have to test it. Multiple cuttings from the same field of grass can yield hay with different levels of NSC. The recommended NSC level in hay for insulin-resistant horses is 10%.

What does NSC mean in hay?

Non-Structural Carbohydrates
Non-Structural Carbohydrates (NSC).
Some horses can be very sensitive to dietary starch and sugar (i.e., horses with Cushing’s disease or laminitis), so the NSC level can be helpful in selecting hay choices.

What is the lowest NSC hay?

Normal horses can tolerate NSC levels of 20% or higher. It is recommended that horses with metabolic syndrome consume hay with NSC levels of around 10% to 12%.

Does steaming hay lower NSC?

The above numbers demonstrate that steaming will reduce the NSC to 12.06% on a 100% dry matter basis. But even better, the NSC level is actually brought down to 10.86% on an as-sampled basis — safe to feed for most insulin resistant horses.

What hay is best for laminitic horses?

Hay – The Core Feed For A Laminitis Diet
Safer-type forages include Timothy, Teff, and Rhodes grass hays. Avoid hays containing high amounts of fructan such as ryegrass, oaten, wheaten, or barley hays. If you are unsure of the NSC level of the hay or chaff, you will need to soak it in water to leach the sugars out.

What is the NSC of Purina Equine Senior?

19%
Purina Equine Senior is a complete feed in an easy-to-chew formulation targeted at older horses. It contains 14% crude protein, 5.5% fat, and 19% NSC.

What are two factors that create a high concentration of NSC in the pasture?

Accumulation of NSC in grass occurs in response to stress, allowing those that accumulate the most to have a competitive advantage when the stress is over. Cool season grasses that evolved in climates with severe cold or frequent drought tend to be highest in the ability to accumulate NSC.

What is the most important indicator of hay?

The nutritional value of hay is the most important factor when determining its quality. This begins with the stage of plant maturity at time of harvest. Young, immature plants contain more nutrients than older, stemmier plants.

How can you tell good quality hay?

Look for the following characteristics: Maturity – High quality hay will have a high proportion of leaves in the bale, with few or no coarse stems or seed heads. Condition – High quality hay will contain little dust or mold. Color & odor – High quality hay generally has a bright green color and a sweet, fresh odor.

What are the 4 categories of hay?

Hay falls into several categories: grass, legume, mixed (grass and legume) and cereal grain straw (such as oat hay). Some of the more common grass hays include timothy, brome, orchard grass and bluegrass. In some parts of the country fescue, reed canary grass, ryegrass and Sudan grass are common.

What is a good protein level for hay?

Protein levels can range from 8% to 14% in grass hay, and 15% to 22% in legume (alfalfa) hay. In general, a growing horse needs between 12% and 18% protein in their diet for proper growth and development, while most mature horses will do fine on lower protein hay (10% – 12%).

What is the best hay for senior horses?

Alfalfa hay and good quality grass hays are preferable to stemmy and mature hays that have tougher fiber to ferment. The small intestine loses some function – Older horses find it harder to digest protein in the small intestine.

What is a good yield of hay per acre?

For us here in the Midwest, a mixed grass/legume hay can yield anywhere from one to five tons per acre for a full season. In our mixed hay field, on good soils, we plan on four tons per acre, with half or more of that in the first cutting and the remainder in second, third, and sometimes even fourth cuttings.

How many bales of hay should a horse have a day?

A horse can eat anywhere from 15-25 pounds of hay a day, which generally equates to a half of a 45/50-pound square bale of hay per day (~15-30 bales per month).

What is considered high NSC in horse feed?

For horses with metabolic conditions, safe NSC percentages are generally 12% or lower, nutritionists say. It’s vital to calculate the percentage on the guaranteed analysis yourself, as marketing on feed products can advertise a “low or controlled” starch diet, but still offer 20% or higher in NSC ranges.

Does hay lose nutrients if rained on?

What happens to quality for rained-on hay? The majority of the damage from untimely rains is the loss of soluble nutrients from the hay (the sugars). Even before rain damage, we lose some sugar during plant respiration that occurs from the time forage is cut until it reaches about 50% moisture content.

Is steamed hay good for Laminitic horses?

Soaking hay and steaming it can benefit horses with respiratory issues, laminitis and those that are sensitive to sugar or require low potassium content. Dry hay can be very dusty, which may trigger respiratory problems in horses, particularly those with equine asthma aka chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (heaves).

What type of hay is lowest in sugar?

If you are looking for low-sugar hay for a metabolic horse, it’s all about how the hay is grown and managed. Teff can be as low as 5% sugar and the only other hay that’s this low in sugar is bluegrass straw—which is also used a lot for metabolic horses.”

Can too much hay cause laminitis?

It has become evident in recent years that although the over consumption of grass or feed high in starch or sugar is still commonly associated with horses developing laminitis, up to 90% of cases have an underlying hormonal cause.