Copra meal is the dried, baked, and ground flesh of a coconut. | Photo: iStock

Horses suffering from a variety of health conditions, from laminitis to equine metabolic syndrome, need consume diets low in nonstructural carbohydrates (NSC) to help control blood glucose and insulin levels. While this task is easier now than it has been in the past thanks to nutritional advancements, finding the right low-NSC feed can still be challenging for some owners.

Recently, a pair of researchers from Australia took a closer look at an alternative low-NSC feed that could benefit such horses: copra, or coconut, meal (the dried, baked, and ground flesh of the coconut).

Tim Kempton, PhD, a researcher and CEO of Stance Global, in Brisbane, Queensland, along with Nerida Richards, PhD, of Equilize Horse Nutrition Pty Ltd, in Tamworth, New South Wales, employed four mature horses to examine the effect of copra meal on post-feeding glucose and insulin dynamics