What Makes A Horse Feed Low Starch?

A low-starch feed does not contain a high concentration of cereal grain. If there is little grain in the feed, then something else must provide calories. This is where fiber and fat come into play.

What is considered low starch horse feed?

Low Starch Feeds
SafeChoice® Special Care is considered a low-starch feed with a maximum starch level of 13%. To truly provide a low starch and sugar diet, it is important to take into consideration the starch and sugar levels of the forage in the diet.

Why do horses have low starch?

It is well documented that horses are ineffective at utilising starch if fed in excess and recent studies have concluded that horses should be fed a low starch diet, as higher amounts can lead to the development of gastric ulcers, insulin resistance, laminitis and muscle myopathies (such as tying up).

Is alfalfa high in starch?

Alfalfa Has Low Starch and Sugar Content
The alfalfa plant has a very low content of both starch and water-soluble carbohydrates (WSC) such as sugars and fructan.

Where do horses get starch from?

Starch is present in almost all plant matter, including grass, chaffs and cereal grains. Your horse will be eating hundreds of grams each day just by grazing or eating hay or haylage. Hard feed contains additional starch, which helps provide the horse with extra energy for work or weight gain, among other things.

Is grass high in starch for horses?

Oats, barley, wheat and maize are the cereal grains most commonly used in horse feeds and contain high levels of starch. Grasses and alfalfa would typically supply 2-3% starch, compared to cereal grains like oats that supply in excess of 50% starch.

How do I know if my horse is low starch?

Another number that is often mentioned as an indicator of starch and sugar is nonstructural carbohydrates (NSC). Finding the NSC value of the feed may require a call to the feed manufacturer. Approximate indicators of starch levels may be as follows: high, NSC >35%; relatively low, NSC =35-20%; and low, NSC <20%.

What foods should I avoid on a low starch diet?

To create meals that are low in starch, cut back on:

• Bread.
• Biscuits, pastries, or other desserts with flour.
• Pastas.
• Popcorn.
• Rice.
• Grains.
• Starchy vegetables (such as potatoes, beets, and corn)
• Starchy fruits such as bananas.

Are oats low starch for horses?

Even though oats are the grain lowest in sugar and starch, at around 45 to 50% starch they are still far too high in starch for horses on a low sugar and starch diet, eg insulin resistant horses, horses prone to laminitis, those with disorders like Cushings or PSSM etc, as well as many horses who are prone to ulcers,

How does starch cause laminitis?

The cause of laminitis due to high levels of starch in the diet is contributed to ruminal acidosis (a drop of pH in the rumen) which effects the bacteria which multiply in the rumen.

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.

Can a laminitic horse eat alfalfa?

The horse should be fed low-NSC hay at the rate of 1.5 to 2% of body weight. Alfalfa hay (lucerne) can be part of the diet during the acute stages.

Can too much alfalfa cause laminitis?

Alfalfa hay can cause horses to founder and develop laminitis due to the excess nutrients provided by the high quality hay if too much is fed. If switching from grass hay to alfalfa, generally less alfalfa is required to provide the same nutrients present in the grass hay.

Is there starch in hay?

Hay #1: Starch, 2 percent; WSC, 12 percent; ESC, 8 percent. Total WSC plus starch is 14 percent, higher than ideal for any at-risk horse. WSC minus ESC equals 4 percent fructans.

What are the 3 sources of starch?

Commercially available starches are obtained from various sources including wheat and corn (cereals), potato (tubers) and cassava (root).

What is the richest source of starch?

Foods high in starch include: Starchy vegetables like peas, corn, lima beans and potatoes. Dried beans, lentils and peas such as pinto beans, kidney beans, black eyed peas and split peas. Grains like oats, barley and rice.

Is Timothy hay high in starch?

Timothy grass hay is a good choice for insulin-resistant horses because it tends to be lower in starch. Orchardgrass and Alfalfa are also great selections when you need to monitor the amount of starch your horse consumes.

Is Clover high in starch?

Starch can make up 25–35% of the DW biomass in some forage legumes such as red clover (Trifolium pretense L.)

What is the most fattening food for horses?

Fat has more than twice as many calories per gram as carbohydrates and proteins. A gram of fat has about 9 calories, while a gram of carbohydrate or protein has about 4 calories. In other words, you could eat twice as much carbohydrates or proteins as fat for the same amount of calories.

Does soaking hay reduce starch?

Soaking hay for 12 hours in cold water may only reduce the combined starch and sugar content by 1-5%, this can be increased by up to 10% when warm water is used. So in reality on yards, soaking hay may have very little effect on the sugar content.

How can you tell if starch is high?

Fortunately, you can easily calculate the starch content using simple subtraction. If you subtract the number of grams for fiber and sugar from the total carbohydrate number of grams, the remaining amount equals the number of grams of starch in that food serving.