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 Expert
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| When looking at feeds, what do you consider a high NSC level? Anything over 20? Just curious. Thanks! |
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 Extreme Veteran
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| Anything over 20 is what I've heard...anything under 30 isn't TERRIBLE but for a performance horse 20 is about perfect |
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 The Bling Princess
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Location: North Dakota | Anything over 16% in my opinion. |
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 Take a Picture
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| It really depends on other nutritional components in the feed and amount of feed that you feed. So there are several variables involved.
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 I hate cooking and cleaning
Posts: 3314
Location: Jersey Girl | Anything over 20. I try to choose feeds with nothing higher then a 15. Anything over a 20 I will not feed. |
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Meanest Teacher!!!
Posts: 8555
Location: sunny california | It really depends on how much you feed and how much work the horse does. also what about the hay? I feed a low NSC hay and hardly any grain at all. so i feel fine with oats even though they are high. I only feed maybe half pound to get supplements in. I will feed sweet feed to get meds or new weird tasting supplements but only a cup or so. best thing to do if concerned with nsc is to test your hay. |
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 Cute Little Imp
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Location: N Texas | I don't feed anything over 20. |
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Expert
Posts: 1695
Location: Willows, CA | This is a topic where people get easily confused. NSC from a concentrate source is a beneficial energy source up to the point where the horse can no longer break it down in the small intestine. At that point it becomes disruptive to digestive efficiency because it now goes where it can not be digested by the horses normal process for this kind of energy source. My experience is that this happens when more than 175 grams of NSC are introduced at one time. Whether this is done by putting over 1 1/2 pound of oats in, or four pounds of a 10% NSC feed does not matter to the system. It is not so much about the percentage of a feed ingredient, but how that fits or does not fit in the diet. You can feed way too much NSC for a horse by feeding a large amount of low NSC feed. |
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The Bling Princess
Posts: 3411
Location: North Dakota | winwillows - 2016-02-23 11:05 AM This is a topic where people get easily confused. NSC from a concentrate source is a beneficial energy source up to the point where the horse can no longer break it down in the small intestine. At that point it becomes disruptive to digestive efficiency because it now goes where it can not be digested by the horses normal process for this kind of energy source. My experience is that this happens when more than 175 grams of NSC are introduced at one time. Whether this is done by putting over 1 1/2 pound of oats in, or four pounds of a 10% NSC feed does not matter to the system. It is not so much about the percentage of a feed ingredient, but how that fits or does not fit in the diet. You can feed way too much NSC for a horse by feeding a large amount of low NSC feed.
Winwillows how does one calculate the number of grams of NSC in a commercially made feed such as Ultium? |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 383
| 12% and under is considered low starch low sugar- blue bonnet has omega force and ex- factor both are low nsc and they are great feeds I love them my horses look awesome and plenty of energy- plus their feeds are highly digestible great for stomach issues (of which I have dealt plenty with) ex-factor is extruded especially for gut health- I feed a good quality alfalfa, burmuda and as much as they want prarie with my feed
Edited by shilohorse 2016-02-23 4:01 PM
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Expert
Posts: 1695
Location: Willows, CA | WYOTurn-n-Burn - 2016-02-23 3:33 PM
winwillows - 2016-02-23 11:05 AM This is a topic where people get easily confused. NSC from a concentrate source is a beneficial energy source up to the point where the horse can no longer break it down in the small intestine. At that point it becomes disruptive to digestive efficiency because it now goes where it can not be digested by the horses normal process for this kind of energy source. My experience is that this happens when more than 175 grams of NSC are introduced at one time. Whether this is done by putting over 1 1/2 pound of oats in, or four pounds of a 10% NSC feed does not matter to the system. It is not so much about the percentage of a feed ingredient, but how that fits or does not fit in the diet. You can feed way too much NSC for a horse by feeding a large amount of low NSC feed.
Winwillows how does one calculate the number of grams of NSC in a commercially made feed such as Ultium?
Calculating the grams of NSC in any feed is easy and useful to know. 454 grams equals one pound. If a feed contains 25% NSC ( that is the percent of starch and the percent of sugars added together) you multiply 454 (grams in a pound) times 25% (amount of total NSC) or 454 x 25% = 113.5 grams of NSC per pound of that feed used per day in the diet. If you fed, say, three pounds of that at a time you would be putting 3 x 113.5 = 340.5 grams of NSC from concentrate into the system for that one feeding. I feel that a horse will not produce enough amylase enzyme in the small intestine to break that much NSC down. As a result it travels on down the system to the hind gut where it adversely effects the ability to digest the roughage portion of the diet. The result is the horse does not thrive so many horse owners add more grain, which disrupts the hind gut more. This is simply not an efficient or natural way to feed a horse. Using the above math it is easy to compare one feed to another as far as the total amount of NSC it adds to your horses diet. |
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