Nutrena SafeChoice Original

Safe Choice Original

14% Protein - 7% Fat - 15% Fiber
???1,300 kcal/ lb???
23% NSC [5.0% Sugar, 17.0% Starch]
Ingredients: Wheat Middlings, Dehydrated Alfalfa Meal, Soybean Hulls, Corn Distillers Dried Grains with Solubles, Ground Corn, Cane Molasses

Non Structural Carbohydrate (NSC); used to describe the sugar and starch content of the feed, the digestible carbohydrates. Horses with lamanitis, founder, metabolic, etc require a low starch low sugar diet. 11% NSC and below is recommended for that population of horses. While full working performance horses should have 22% NSC or below as to not cause any digestive upset or unwanted 'hotness' that is usually associated with some grain. To put this in perspective, corn has a 73% NSC with the glycemic index of 100. Corn is basically straight sugar and starch, very bad on the horse's body.

Ethanol soluble Carbohydrates (ESC) is composed of the simple sugars glucose, fructose, and sucrose. Water soluble Carbohydrates (WSC) is glucose, fructose, sucrose and fructans. If you take the WSC minus the ESC then you get the fructan content. Fructan is digested in the hind gut, too releases endotoxins in the bloodstream which is a cause of lamnitis. Simple sugars (glucose, fructose, and sucrose) are digested in the foregut and raise insulin levels. Too much can be a contributing factor towards laminitis.

Starch is needed to build muscle glycogen stores and provide the explosive energy needed during training and competitions. Though too much starch can be a bad thing, contributing to the pH disturbance in the hindgut that causes released toxins and ulcers. There are different forms of starch, for example there is corn starch and oat starch. Corn is 70% starch and a majority of it passes through the foregut undigested and digests in the hindgut. This is where you run into problems, and can actually GIVE your horse ulcers. Oat is 50% starch and a majority is digested in the foregut, so it is gentler and healthier on the digestive system. Though as a whole, it's important to be conscious of the starch content in a horse's grain, especially if they aren't performance horses.

Ingredient Dissection:

Wheat Middlings || Wheat Middlings offer properties of the wheat grain though with considerably less starch. At a 14% protein, wheat middlings offer more digestible energy than legume hay.
Dehydrated Alfalfa Meal || An extremely high quality source of nutrients; approximately 19% protein and 28% fiber, with low sugar [4.5%], starch [3.3%], higher amounts of minerals [mainly calcium, but also magnesium, potassium, sulfur, iron, cobalt, manganese, and zinc], and proper amino acids.3 Though like all legume, protein content varies on the variables of harvest; can vary from 17% to 25%.4 Alfalfa has a low carbohydrate content though “The energy content of alfalfa…” “…should not be underestimated (Bruce et al., 2008).”

Soybean Hulls || Approximately 13% protein and 38% fiber, with low sugar [1.6%] and starch [5.5%]5 with an amino acid profile. A premium grain will always choose soybean products over cottonseed products, which has considerably less amino acids [building blocks of protein] and a toxin gossypol. Higher in digestible energy compared to other hull products, is similar to alfalfa in energy content. Is also on equal grounds with beet pulp; considered a ‘super fiber’.

Corn Distillers Dried Grains with Solubles || During the distillation process of corn, starch is converted to ethanol. The leftover solubles [liquid] and distiller grains [semi-dry] are combined to produce DDGS which is commonly used in livestock feed. High protein [25%], decent fat [8%], low fiber [7%], and decent calories [1,400kcal/ lb]. Containing decent levels of lysine, an amino acid, isn't the best ingredient and should not be used as a filler or to replace other nutrition.

Ground Corn || Approximately 8% protein, 4% fat, 3% fiber, and 72% starch. “Most of the starch (72%) from whole or cracked corn is not digested in the foregut and proceeds to the hindgut where it is rapidly fermented. That process results in the production of lactic acid, which messes with the hindgut pH and kills many beneficial fiber-digesting bacteria. Dying bacteria release toxins, and the result can be a horse with colic and/or laminitis resulting in founder. For these reasons, corn should be processed for all horses.” Corn and sugar both have has a glycemic index of 100. This is the reason behind ‘hot’ or hyper horses that are fed corn.

Molasses || Molasses is a type of sugar that is used as a binding ingredient and to increase the feed’s palatability. Most pelleted feeds do not contain enough molasses to make a significant difference in the NSC. Molasses actually contains calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, and sodium.



SafeChoice could certainly be worse, but it isn't great either. Wheat middling base is a less-than-idea way to start it off. Alfalfa is absolutely fantastic, very high quality. Soybean anything is very high quality, a super fiber. DDGS are mediocre and they don't concern me, though it's important that they are lower on the ingredient list and don't support a bulk of the feed. Ground corn is high in starch that is digested in the hindgut, a horrid ingredient contributing to the high 17% starch content. Molasses is absolutely within normal limits, especially since the sugar of this grain is 5.0%