By Georgia-Rae Wautier BSc (Hons) and Level 5.

Welcome to my very first blog post! My aim with these short posts is to share information about various different topics relating to the equine nutrition industry. Hopefully, you’ll find them interesting and educational too! I recently posted a poll on my official Facebook business page, and people voted to learn more about non-structural carbohydrates first. So, please enjoy the following post detailing an overview of non-structural carbohydrates in equine diets!

What are non-structural carbohydrates?

To define what non-structural carbohydrates (NSCs) are, we first must understand what carbohydrates are. Carbohydrates are energy-dense macro-nutrients that are an important source of energy for all living organisms, including micro-organisms, like bacteria, and large mammals, like horses. Put simply, there are two main groups of carbohydrates, which are labelled as structural carbohydrates, also known as fibre, and NSCs, that are typically referred to as sugars. Some common examples of NSCs include starch and fructan, to name just two.

How are non-structural carbohydrates digested in horses?

NSCs can be digested enzymatically within the horse’s small intestine. This is because the small intestine’s wall contains glands known as Crypts of Lieberkühn, which secrete digestive enzymes, like sucrase and maltase, across the entire organ. These enzymes catalyse the breakdown of large macro-nutrients, like NSCs, into smaller parts that can be absorbed through the intestinal wall into the bloodstream, where they can then be metabolised into energy.

What are some benefits of including non-structural carbohydrates in a horse’s daily diet?

From my own personal experience, it is quite common to see phrases such as ‘low-starch’ and ‘low in sugar’ when looking at different equine feeds in the United Kingdom. Therefore, horse owners may automatically presume that their horses must consume a reduced quantity of NSCs every day in order to be happy and healthy. However, sugars are a very important part of horses’ diets, and are actually required in order for them to have well-balanced daily rations! Some of the benefits from providing NSCs in horses’ daily feed rations include:

1. Helping to promote weight gain in horses with a lower body condition score
2. Providing a high amount of energy to help meet a horse’s daily energy demands
3. Aiding in meeting the elevated daily energy demands of sports horses
4. Helping in providing the horse with a balanced daily diet

In what instances should additional precautions be taken when determining the rate of non-structural carbohydrate inclusion in the daily diets of horses?

I firmly believe that every single horse’s NSCs intake should be carefully and continuously evaluated to ensure that the animal’s diet is fully balanced. Furthermore, thousands of scientific research papers have suggested that additional care MUST be taken when formulating a balanced diet for horses that are prone to various metabolic conditions, such as Equine Metabolic Syndrome and Laminitis. In such instances, limiting the quantity of NSCs fed is actually advisable in order to help manage their conditions, and to aid in preventing disease re-occurence or ‘flare-ups’. Additionally, horses that have been advised to go on a weight management program by a qualified equine veterinarian or professional are also likely to benefit from low-sugar diets to aid in supporting weight loss. So, as much as the inclusion of NSCs in the daily diets of horses has its benefits, it is recommended to ensure that the quantity fed is appropriate for each individual animal. It is important to remember that what works for one horse is unlikely to be 100% suitable for every other horse across the planet!

Thank you for reading! If you have any questions, please feel free to leave a comment, or send me an email or direct message!

Please keep in mind that this post is for educational purposes ONLY, and should NOT replace advice given by a qualified veterinarian. All of the information in this post is based on scientific, peer-reviewed data published up until the time of publication. This text has been checked for plagiarism, and thus, to the author’s knowledge, has not copied any other free-to-access text available to the public.