Selecting Hay Low in Non-Fiber Carbohydrates
What horses need hay low in non-fiber carbohydrates (NFC)?
1) Horses prone to laminitis
2) Insulin-resistant horses
3) Horses with Cushing's Syndrome
4) Horses with Equine Metabolic Syndrome
5) RER or PSSM horses
What are fructans?
Fructans are soluble fibers found in plants and are lumped into a big group called
non-fiber carbohydrates. Unlike starch and sugar, fructans
can only be digested in the hindgut. When a horse requiring a low NFC diet consumes
enough forage high in fructans, it is similar to a normal horse over-indulging
on grain. The result is laminitis and, potentially, founder. High levels of fructans
in forages and pastures need to be avoided when a horse requires a low NFC diet.
Types of grasses low in sugar and fructans:
1) Bermuda Grass
2) Big Bluegrass
3) Bluestem
4) Crabgrass
5) Switch grass
6) Many summer annual native prairie grasses
Helpful Hints for selecting hay low in NFCs:
1) Most of the time, alfalfa and grasses cut at a late
stage of maturity contain less NFCs,
but if the plant was cut during cooler temperatures (like the fall),
this may
not be the case.
2) Avoid hay cut during stressful conditions, like drought and cool temperatures.
3) Get the hay tested and look for an NFC less than 15 percent
or a NSC
(Non-Structural Carbohydrate which include sugars and
starches) less
than 10 percent.
4) Soak hay before feeding because the water may dissolve some of the
sugars and fructans.
Helpful Hints for grazing horses that need a low NFC diet:
1) Use rotational grazing.
2) Leave part of the pasture to grow and die so it can be grazed in winter. Dead brown grasses are low in NFCs.
3) Manage the pasture by rotation and mowing and avoid overgrazing or excessive growth.
4) Plant grasses that tend to be low in NFCs.
5) Limit grazing to early morning, when NFCs are low in grasses.
6) Choose shady areas for grazing because the grasses in the shady areas will have lower NFCs.
7) Stop grazing completely during drought, cool temperatures
or frost.
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