Do high non-structural carbohydrate (NSC) forages make horses fat?

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Author: Dr Nerida McGilchrist | PhD Equine Nutritionist and Founder of My Happy Horse

Yep, they do!

In looking at 13 pasture samples from one farm it is very clear that the higher the NSC content, the higher the digestible energy (calorie) content.

The pastures shown here were all sampled between 11 am and 2 pm on the same day. They were all dried at the same time and all were analyzed by Equi-Analytical.

For interest I plotted the Digestible Energy (calorie) value against the pasture non-structural carbohydrate (NSC = starch + water soluble carbohydrates) content.

The trend is clear for this set of pastures… as NSC increases so does digestible energy… which makes very logical sense given the NSC is a source of calories so the more NSC, the more calories.

So my answer is ‘yes, high NSC forages will make your horses fatter faster than low NSC forages!’.

Which is great if you are trying to put weight on horses or feed horses with very high energy requirements like lactating broodmares.

Not so great if you are feeding horses with weight management issues. For these easy keepers, it makes sense to feed a low NSC forage when you are trying to achieve weight loss or avoid weight gain. The low NSC forage will be lower in digestible energy and will help with weight management.

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About the Author

Dr Nerida McGilchrist

Dr Nerida McGilchrist is an Australian equine nutritionist with a PhD and over two decades of experience. As the founder of Equilize Horse Nutrition, and advisor to some of the world's largest nutrition companies, she’s built an international reputation for blending science with practical solutions. Now, she’s bringing her expertise to My Happy Horse to make advanced nutrition accessible to all.