Low carb grain versus other grains

[saxony]

I have one of my horses on a low-carb grain as he's had ulcers in the past and we want to minimize the chance of him getting them again. Does anyone know what the difference in carbs is between the Blue Seal Carb Safe and the Vintage Gold which is what my other horses are on. He hates the Carb Safe and I'm wondering if he really needs to be eating it.....

[rcloisonne]

I have one of my horses on a low-carb grain as he's had ulcers in the past and we want to minimize the chance of him getting them again. Does anyone know what the difference in carbs is between the Blue Seal Carb Safe and the Vintage Gold which is what my other horses are on. He hates the Carb Safe and I'm wondering if he really needs to be eating it.....
Vintage Gold is about 35% NSC (very high). Carb Safe is 10% or less. I wouldn't feed VG to any but the most heavily worked horse.

Not surprising he doesn't like the CS. It's like going from a cooky diet to salad. ;)

Why not just feed them all alfalfa pellets, fresh ground whole flax and a good multi-vitamin/mineral supplement if they need more than forage? Alfalfa is excellent for ulcer prone horses.

[BoysNightOut]

My horses both get Blue Seal Carb-Guard, but I have also fed Nutrena Safechoice in the past....maybe worth a try? There's also Triple Crown Low Starch. I'm sure there's more low-starch low-carb feeds out there to consider.

[rcloisonne]

My horses both get Blue Seal Carb-Guard, but I have also fed Nutrena Safechoice in the past....maybe worth a try? There's also Triple Crown Low Starch. I'm sure there's more low-starch low-carb feeds out there to consider.
Nutrena's Safechoice is NOT low carb. The name is very misleading, if not outright fraudulent.

[JB]

Why not just feed them all alfalfa pellets, fresh ground whole flax and a good multi-vitamin/mineral supplement if they need more than forage? Alfalfa is excellent for ulcer prone horses.

You read my mind :yes: Low-carb, high magnesium and calcium (added lysine too, always nice), and it's SO much easier to tailor caloric needs vs nutritional needs without interfering with the other to any real extent.

And you're right about the Nutrena SC - it's NSC is in the low 20's at least.

[BoysNightOut]

Nutrena's Safechoice is NOT low carb. The name is very misleading, if not outright fraudulent.

Wow, I didn't know that. I stopped feeding it when I moved barns (they fed a different pellet), and when I was looking for a higher fat pellet, decided to go with BS because people here had great reviews of them (but lots of poor reviews of SC). My horses have been doing great on the Carb-Guard...my poor rescue who had a 3/9 on the BCS has started putting on weight and healing up the rain rot after less than a month. My older guy looks great too.

Thanks for shedding the light on that....will make sure I stay away from SC again in the future!