What is NSC, and is it bad for my horse?

Podcast # 40

NSC is one of those three-letter acronyms that pops up on feed bags and hay reports… and consistently manages to confuse even the most dedicated horse owners. In this episode of the Happy Horse Nutrition Podcast, Dr Nerida McGilchrist unpacks Non-Structural Carbohydrates (NSC) in a practical, horse-owner-friendly way, looking at what NSC actually is (starch + water soluble carbohydrates), how it relates to WSC, whether we should be using WSC or ESC to calculate NSC (see, it gets confusing!), and why that “fructan piece” matters for both laminitis risk and the hindgut microbiome.

You’ll learn why NSC is everywhere in hay, pasture and feeds, and why it’s levels can fluctuate so dramatically, depending on plant type (cool season vs warm season grasses), time of day, climate, temperature, drought stress, and even soil fertility.

Nerida shares real-world examples (including from her own horses) to explain what happens when NSC is too high. Problems can include crazy high insulin levels, laminitis, colic, tooth decay and microbial dysbiosis. And she explores why “not enough NSC” can also be a problem in performance horses where energy intake, palatability, and gut function matter.

If you’re feeding a pony with insulin dysregulation, a horse with PPID/Cushing’s, a laminitis-prone horse, or a metabolically healthy athlete, this episode will help you make informed, smarter decisions around NSC.

📱 If you’d like help applying this to your horse, download the MyHappy.Horse app on the Apple App Store and start building a diet you can feel confident about. https://apps.apple.com/au/app/myhappy-horse/id6633422324

💖 And if this episode helped you, please share it with a horsey friend (especially the one currently arguing about pasture sugar on Facebook 😅)