Jeff Chears Natural Hoof Care

 

 

We suggest everyone with an insulin resistant horse (founder or laminitic horse)  send their hay to a lab to be tested for NSC (non structural carbohydrate).  Testing is not hard to do, if you call me I will walk you through it.

 

We suggest a hay under 10% NSC, and all grains will be to high for an insulin resistant horse.

 

There are different kinds of hay pellets that are low in NSC check with your local feed store.

 

Remember horses are foragers and should eat hay all day, but on a hay that is low in NSC

 

Here is where you can have the hay, grain or grass tested

 

They have a complete website which explains in detail how to test, they send you a prepaid envelope you just collect the sample and put it the envelope and usually within 3 days they will email, mail or fax you the results.  Here is the link for the envelopes and instructions. http://www.equi-analytical.com/Services/Analytical%20%20supplies.htm 

 

To test hay you will need to purchase an adapter to fit on a drill to core sample the hay, I have one and will core sample your hay for you if you are local, or you can purchase one from the web site above.

 

To read the result you may call me and I will go over the result with you for free. 

 

Equi-Analytical also offers on their website all the results of the test they have done in the past.  This is very useful to show how oat hays and grains are usually too high for an insulin resistant horse. 

 

The hays that are available here in Florida that I have had good luck with being low in NSC (non structural carbohydrates) are Tifton, Orchard and Costal.

 

For more information please read the Founder Recommendations portion of this website, the same thing will apply to an insulin resistant horse (founder, laminitic)

 

Here's a list of the most common feed and hays and their NSC from Equi-Analytical, all these and much more are listed on their site at http://www.equi-analytical.com/CommonFeedProfiles/

 

For a insulin resistant horse you want the diet to be under 10% and as you can see from the chart below grains are very high.

 

                                     Average

Carrots                          43%

Oats                              48%

Corn                              73%

Barley                            59%

Rice Bran dry                  25%

Oat Hay                          22%