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Steaming vs. Soaking to Reduce Hay NSC Levels
Q: My veterinarian just diagnosed my mare with insulin resistance and recommended I soak her hay because I haven’t had it tested. I’ve been doing some research and I’m wondering whether I could steam it instead?
A: Horses with insulin resistance need to consume diets with low nonstructural carbohydrate (NSC, the sum of the starch and water-soluble carbohydrates in the diet) levels. Generally, nutritionists and veterinarians recommend that the diet should contain less than 12% NSC on a dry matter basis.
Since the majority of a horse’s diet should be forage, it is important to consider the forage’s NSC content. There is no point in carefully feeding a low-NSC commercial fortified feed if the horse’s forage is high in sugar
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Written by:
Clair Thunes, PhD
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