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Starch

Macronutrients stored as g/kg 4 shared products have a value

What it is

Starch is a highly digestible energy source [1]. With sugars, it is one of the non-fibre carbohydrates held inside plant cells [2]. WSC and ESC figures do not include starch [2].

Too much

When high-starch concentrate makes up more than about half of the diet, the microbes of the caecum and large intestine are disrupted and the risk of colic and founder rises [3]. Grain and cereal-based feeds are high in non-structural carbohydrate and are generally excluded for horses with equine metabolic syndrome [4].

Alternatives

Fat can replace part of the grain in a ration to supply energy [3].

See also nsc, crude fat.

Sources

  1. 1. McIntosh D, Pedreira B, Mason K, Ivey J, Eckelkamp E, Shanks J, Florence R. Forage Analysis Definitions (SP 774). University of Tennessee Extension. Revised May 2025. https://soillab.tennessee.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/129/2025/05/SP-774_Forage_Analysis_Definitions-REV0525_Proof_1.pdf (accessed 2026-11-07)
  2. 2. Arispe S, Filley S. Understanding your forage test results (EM 8801). Oregon State University Extension Service. Revised October 2020, reviewed 2023. https://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalog/em-8801-understanding-your-forage-test-results (accessed 2026-11-07)
  3. 3. Extension Horses (Cooperative Extension, USDA NIFA). High Fat Diets for Horses. horses.extension.org, 20 January 2020. https://horses.extension.org/high-fat-diets-for-horses/ (accessed 2026-11-07)
  4. 4. Durham AE, Frank N, McGowan CM, Menzies-Gow NJ, Roelfsema E, Vervuert I, Feige K, Fey K. ECEIM consensus statement on equine metabolic syndrome. Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine 2019;33(2):335–349. doi:10.1111/jvim.15423 https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6430910/ (accessed 2026-11-07)

Last edited 7 Nov 2026, 1:48 am