Question

Help! I'm trying to assist some Pony Club members with nutrition. Articles discuss balancing protein, carbohydrates, and fat, but none identify in what feedstuffs they're found. Using the following horse feed ingredients, identify sources of protein, carbohydrates, and fat: cracked corn, cane molasses, barley, whole oats, dehydrated alfalfa (lucerne) meal, and soybean meal.

Answer

I have identified sources of protein, carbohydrates, and fat for you.

– cracked corn = high in starch (~70% starch), which is a nonstructural carbohydrate*

 – cane molasses = high in sugar (~40% sugar), which is a nonstructural carbohydrate*

 – barley = high in starch (~55% starch), which is a nonstructural carbohydrate*

 – whole oats = high in starch (~ 45% starch), which is a nonstructural carbohydrate*

 – dehydrated alfalfa meal = high in fiber (~ 40% NDF), which is a structural carbohydrate⁺

 – soybean meal = high in protein (~48% protein)

Fat sources are oils (corn, soybean, canola, etc.), seeds (linseed, sunflower seeds, etc.), and rice bran (~20% fat).

*Nonstructural carbohydrates (NSC) are starches and sugars that are digested enzymatically in the small intestine. For optimal digestion of NSC in the grains corn and barley, they should be heat-treated, like steam-rolled or pelleted.

⁺Structural carbohydrates are fibers that are digested by bacterial fermentation in the hindgut.