Insight into higher starch values on Timothy hay tests

“The combined starch plus WSC is still around 10 on a dry matter basis which is the benchmark. The ESC is very low. ESC is a measurement of the simple sugars like glucose and fructose which would potentially elicit an insulin response. It’s that insulin response that the metabolic horse does not handle well. A starch of 5% on a cool season grass like Timothy is unusual. I am wondering about the sample being an accurate representation of the whole stack. I would expect that if you were to sample multiple bales individually, you would find that it’s between 2 1/2 to maybe as high as five. Typically, the starch on cool season grasses is never as high as five. It may be higher than other cool season grasses like orchard grass because Timothy has lots of seed heads in it, and there may be some starch associated with the seed head. Starch is a more complex carbohydrate, and takes longer to be broken down by the mammalian enzymes in the small intestine than sugar is, so if you follow the protocols for the metabolic horse — that is feed small meals whenever possible — then you are minimizing any possible risk from a higher starch value, assuming that it is accurate. Also, the fibre on that hay was quite high, which would suggest that intake of that hay will be slower because it will require more chewing. Slower intake means that your horse will be far more able to handle a slightly increased starch level.“

Sheila Niblock – Forage Specialist

July 9th 2025

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