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The Essential Checklist For Feeding the Metabolic Horse

Level 1

Control Critical Nutrition

For all horses with diagnosed metabolic conditions, high metabolic risk, sugar sensitivities, or are overweight

Balance Calories

For all horses with diagnosed metabolic conditions, high metabolic risk, sugar sensitivities, or are overweight
If your hay is high quality, you might not be able to feed a grain because you don’t have room on the calorie front.

If hay meets their calorie needs

add a diet balancer

Horses cannot make essential vitamins, minerals and amino acids, which means that they must get it from their diet.

Forage alone cannot meet these needs for any horse.

If you want or need to feed grain

feed hay with less calories

Look for warm season grass hays like bermudagrass.

choose a feed with guaranteed
extra low starch & sugar

If your hay is high quality, you might not be able to feed a grain because you don’t have room on the calorie front.

Know exactly how much hay your horse is eating

weigh every flake

For a horse with more metabolic risk, a “flake” won’t be accurate enough.

feed multiple meals, or use a slow feeder

Weigh your hay and feed multiple meals per day or use a slow feeder/net, to encourage grazing.

Weigh your feed

Not every 3-quart scoop will hold the same amount of feed.

balance your scale & scoop

Place an empty scoop on the scale, balance it, then scoop and weigh your feed.

Weigh every scoop

Weigh and mark every scoop for each feed.

Limit starch and sugar

A good rule of thumb for horses with sugar sensitivities is to keep the total diet NSC content at 10% or less.
NSC (non-structural carbohydrates)
= starch + sugar

Test the NSC content of your hay

Hay is the majority of your horses diet, and has the largest impact on their sugar intake.

test your hay regularly

The nutrition content of the same hay, can be drastically from batch to batch.

feed hay with low starch + sugar

This will also be those lower-calorie, warm season grass hays like bermudagrass.

Know the NSC content of your feed

and supplements

balance your scale & scoop

Place an empty scoop on the scale, balance it, then scoop and weigh your feed.

weigh every each

Weigh and mark each of your scoops, for every different feed.

Feeding the metabolic horse

Podcast Episode Guide & Resources →

Metabolic-Friendly Solutions

Extra-low NSC feed
Specially formulated for sugar-sensitive horses

Diet Balancer with only 5 grams of sugar
Plus wellness-boosters

Control Critical Nutrition

For all horses with diagnosed metabolic conditions, high metabolic risk, sugar sensitivities, or are overweight

Balance Calories

For all horses with diagnosed metabolic conditions, high metabolic risk, sugar sensitivities, or are overweight
If your hay is high quality, you might not be able to feed a grain because you don’t have room on the calorie front.

If hay meets their calorie needs

add a diet balancer

Horses cannot make essential vitamins, minerals and amino acids, which means that they must get it from their diet.

Forage alone cannot meet these needs for any horse.

If you want or need to feed grain

feed hay with less calories

Look for warm season grass hays like bermudagrass, which can be on the lower end of calories.

choose a feed with guaranteed
extra low starch & sugar

If your hay is high quality, you might not be able to feed a grain because you don’t have room on the calorie front.

Know exactly how much hay your horse is eating each day

weigh every flake

For a horse with more metabolic risk, a “flake” won’t be accurate enough.

feed multiple meals, or use a slow feeder

Weigh your hay and feed multiple meals per day or use a slow feeder/net, to encourage grazing.

Weigh your feed

Not every 3-quart scoop will weigh the same or hold the same amount of feed.

balance your scale & scoop

Place an empty scoop on the scale, balance it, then scoop and weigh your feed.

Weigh every scoop

Weigh and mark every scoop for each feed.

Limit starch and sugar

A good rule of thumb for horses with sugar sensitivities is to keep the total diet NSC content at 10% or less.
NSC (non-structural carbohydrates)
= starch + sugar

Test the NSC content of your hay

Hay is the majority of your horses diet, and has the largest impact on their sugar intake.

test your hay regularly

The nutrition content of the same hay, can be drastically from batch to batch.

feed hay with low starch + sugar

This will also be those lower-calorie, warm season grass hays like bermudagrass.

Know the NSC content of your feed

and supplements

balance your scale & scoop

Place an empty scoop on the scale, balance it, then scoop and weigh your feed.

weigh every scoop

Weigh and mark each of your scoops, for every different feed.

Feeding the metabolic horse

Podcast Episode Guide & Resources →

Metabolic-Friendly Solutions

Extra-low NSC feed
Specially formulated for sugar-sensitive horses

Diet Balancer with only 5 grams of sugar
Plus wellness-boosters