The Role of Carbohydrates in Horse Feed

Thehorse.com - Full Article

August 17, 2025
Posted by Kelly Vineyard, MS, PhD

Discover which horses can benefit from higher carbohydrate levels in their diets and the feeds that can supply them.

Q: What role do carbohydrates play in horse feed? I often hear about carbohydrates in a negative context because they can be harmful to horses with metabolic problems, but what groups of horses might need more carbohydrates and what sources should they be getting them from?

A: Thank you for asking this question because this is an important but often misunderstood concept in equine nutrition. With the increased awareness of and ability to diagnose horses with carbohydrate sensitivities (i.e., insulin dysregulation, equine metabolic syndrome) and the rise in popularity of low-carb rations for horses, it’s understandable how some horse owners might be unaware there are many benefits of feeding nonstructural carbohydrates (NSCs) to horses.

Nonstructural carbohydrates are the simple sugars (i.e., glucose and fructose) and starches in feeds readily digested and absorbed in the horse’s small intestine. This results in a rise in blood glucose and, subsequently, blood insulin levels following a meal...

Read more here:
https://thehorse.com/1129226/the-role-of-carbohydrates-in-horse-feed/?lid=plijzilkhlhg&uuid=019205ef454c0001d30cabe5878605089009a081004ea

Garmin Launches New Wellness Product for Horses

US eventer Julie Wolfert demonstrated the product on her horse during its launch in Kansas. (Caelan Beard photo)

HorseSport.com - Full Article

Blaze, the company’s first foray into the equine market, helps deliver insights into horse’s health and fitness.

By: Caelan Beard | August 29, 2025

Garmin, maker of GPS navigation and wearable technology, has launched a new product for horses: Blaze, an equine wellness system.

Blaze is comprised of a sensor that pops into a thin neoprene sleeve. The sleeve is wrapped around the base of the tail, with the sensor pressing closest to the underside of the tail.

Once paired with the Blaze app on a smartphone or a Garmin watch, the sensor then delivers live stats on your horse’s health, including their heart rate, skin temperature, and strides. (If you don’t ride with a phone or watch, the sensor still records data, and updates the information on the app once it reconnects to your device).

Other features of the product include biometric data such as changes in skin temperature, and a heat score based on AAEP guidelines and temperature and humidity pulled from local conditions.

It also provides kinetic information on the horse’s stride frequency, weather, speed and distance, the latter two which both rely on GPS data from a host phone or watch.

The sensor will also prompt alerts for certain conditions – for example, if you’re approaching a high heat score...

Read more here:
https://horsesport.com/horse-news/garmin-launches-new-wellness-product-horses/