{"id":30695,"date":"2025-02-26T11:52:07","date_gmt":"2025-02-26T10:52:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hartog.eu\/?post_type=articles&p=30695"},"modified":"2026-04-08T15:59:27","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T13:59:27","slug":"starch-in-horse-feed-what-should-you-look-out-for","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/hartog.eu\/en\/articles\/starch-in-horse-feed-what-should-you-look-out-for\/","title":{"rendered":"Starch in horse feed: what should you look out for?"},"content":{"rendered":"

For many horse owners, grains are a well-known source of starch\u2014a form of quickly available energy. While starch can be useful for sport horses or horses with high energy requirements, many horses do not need this type of fast-release energy. This is especially true for horses that are prone to overweight, display nervous behaviour, or are sensitive to sugar and starch. But why choose grain-free horse feed, and what exactly does starch do in horse nutrition?<\/p>\n

Are all parts of grains a source of sugar and starch in horse feed?<\/h3>\n

When reading a feed label and seeing grains or grain products listed, it\u2019s easy to assume that the feed contains high levels of sugar and starch. However, this is not always the case.<\/p>\n

Not all parts of a grain plant\u2014and not even the entire grain\u2014are rich in sugar and starch. The grain kernels, which are the seeds of the plant, are the primary source of starch. These kernels are often used in feeds designed for horses with high energy requirements (quick-release energy).<\/p>\n

After harvesting the grain kernels, the remaining plant material becomes straw, such as wheat or barley straw. Straw is low in sugar and starch and is often used as a fibre-rich ingredient in horse feed.<\/p>\n

The difference between grain kernels and grain by-products<\/h3>\n

After harvesting, grain kernels can be further processed\u2014such as through extrusion, puffing, flaking, or roasting\u2014to improve starch digestibility. Grains can also be dehulled. The fibrous outer layer of a grain kernel, such as oat hulls, actually contains very little sugar and starch.<\/p>\n

When you see ingredients such as barley straw or oat hulls on a label, the feed can still be low in sugar and starch. This makes feeds without whole grains attractive for horses that are sensitive to sugar and starch.<\/p>\n

Why not only look at sugar content?<\/h3>\n

Grains are mainly sources of starch, while their sugar content is often relatively low. That\u2019s why it\u2019s important to check not only the sugar content in horse feed, but also the starch content. Sugar and starch are digested in a similar way in the horse\u2019s digestive system. Horses that benefit from a low sugar intake\u2014such as easy keepers or horses with certain health conditions\u2014also benefit from a low starch intake.<\/p>\n

What makes Hartog Daily unique as a grain-free horse feed?<\/h3>\n

When formulating our base pellet, Hartog Daily, we chose fibre-rich ingredients such as lucerne and oat hulls. The recipe is completely free from whole grains, making it ideal for horses that are sensitive to sugar and starch. Hartog Daily contains up to 60% less sugar and starch compared to average base feeds on the market.<\/p>\n

Would you like to learn more about the benefits of a low sugar and starch base feed for your horse? Check out our next article: Base feed for your horse: how to choose the right one?<\/em><\/p>\n

Need help putting together your horse\u2019s ration? We\u2019re happy to help with a free feed advice<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"featured_media":21115,"template":"","area":[56,248,249,250],"suitable-for":[284,301,292,298,266],"class_list":["post-30695","articles","type-articles","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","area-horse","area-horse-en","area-horse-de","area-horse-fr","suitable-for-recreatie-paarden-en","suitable-for-overweight-horses-en","suitable-for-sensitive-gastric-system-en","suitable-for-sober-breeds-en","suitable-for-sugar-sensitive-horses-en"],"yoast_head":"\nStarch in horse feed: what should you look out for? - Hartog lucerne<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Discover why a low starch content in horse feed is important. Learn how grain-free feed can contribute to a healthy diet for horses that are sensitive to sugar and starch.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/hartog.eu\/en\/articles\/starch-in-horse-feed-what-should-you-look-out-for\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Starch in horse feed: what should you look out for? - Hartog lucerne\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Discover why a low starch content in horse feed is important. Learn how grain-free feed can contribute to a healthy diet for horses that are sensitive to sugar and starch.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/hartog.eu\/en\/articles\/starch-in-horse-feed-what-should-you-look-out-for\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Hartog lucerne\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-04-08T13:59:27+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/hartog.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/feeding-concentrates-scaled.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"2013\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hartog.eu\\\/en\\\/articles\\\/starch-in-horse-feed-what-should-you-look-out-for\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hartog.eu\\\/en\\\/articles\\\/starch-in-horse-feed-what-should-you-look-out-for\\\/\",\"name\":\"Starch in horse feed: what should you look out for? - Hartog lucerne\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hartog.eu\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hartog.eu\\\/en\\\/articles\\\/starch-in-horse-feed-what-should-you-look-out-for\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hartog.eu\\\/en\\\/articles\\\/starch-in-horse-feed-what-should-you-look-out-for\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hartog.eu\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/01\\\/feeding-concentrates-scaled.jpeg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-02-26T10:52:07+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-08T13:59:27+00:00\",\"description\":\"Discover why a low starch content in horse feed is important. Learn how grain-free feed can contribute to a healthy diet for horses that are sensitive to sugar and starch.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hartog.eu\\\/en\\\/articles\\\/starch-in-horse-feed-what-should-you-look-out-for\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/hartog.eu\\\/en\\\/articles\\\/starch-in-horse-feed-what-should-you-look-out-for\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hartog.eu\\\/en\\\/articles\\\/starch-in-horse-feed-what-should-you-look-out-for\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hartog.eu\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/01\\\/feeding-concentrates-scaled.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hartog.eu\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/01\\\/feeding-concentrates-scaled.jpeg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":2013,\"caption\":\"Crop hands of faceless female holding horse feed with corn, barley, oats grain in front of brown horse at stables\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hartog.eu\\\/en\\\/articles\\\/starch-in-horse-feed-what-should-you-look-out-for\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hartog.eu\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Articles\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hartog.eu\\\/articles\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Starch in horse feed: what should you look out for?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hartog.eu\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hartog.eu\\\/\",\"name\":\"Grasdrogerij Hartog B.V.\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hartog.eu\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hartog.eu\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hartog.eu\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Grasdrogerij Hartog B.V.\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hartog.eu\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hartog.eu\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hartog.eu\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/02\\\/Hartog_logo_green.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hartog.eu\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/02\\\/Hartog_logo_green.png\",\"width\":2394,\"height\":608,\"caption\":\"Grasdrogerij Hartog B.V.\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.hartog.eu\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Starch in horse feed: what should you look out for? - Hartog lucerne","description":"Discover why a low starch content in horse feed is important. Learn how grain-free feed can contribute to a healthy diet for horses that are sensitive to sugar and starch.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/hartog.eu\/en\/articles\/starch-in-horse-feed-what-should-you-look-out-for\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Starch in horse feed: what should you look out for? - Hartog lucerne","og_description":"Discover why a low starch content in horse feed is important. Learn how grain-free feed can contribute to a healthy diet for horses that are sensitive to sugar and starch.","og_url":"https:\/\/hartog.eu\/en\/articles\/starch-in-horse-feed-what-should-you-look-out-for\/","og_site_name":"Hartog lucerne","article_modified_time":"2026-04-08T13:59:27+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2560,"height":2013,"url":"https:\/\/hartog.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/feeding-concentrates-scaled.jpeg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/hartog.eu\/en\/articles\/starch-in-horse-feed-what-should-you-look-out-for\/","url":"https:\/\/hartog.eu\/en\/articles\/starch-in-horse-feed-what-should-you-look-out-for\/","name":"Starch in horse feed: what should you look out for? - Hartog lucerne","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.hartog.eu\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/hartog.eu\/en\/articles\/starch-in-horse-feed-what-should-you-look-out-for\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/hartog.eu\/en\/articles\/starch-in-horse-feed-what-should-you-look-out-for\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/hartog.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/feeding-concentrates-scaled.jpeg","datePublished":"2025-02-26T10:52:07+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-08T13:59:27+00:00","description":"Discover why a low starch content in horse feed is important. Learn how grain-free feed can contribute to a healthy diet for horses that are sensitive to sugar and starch.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/hartog.eu\/en\/articles\/starch-in-horse-feed-what-should-you-look-out-for\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/hartog.eu\/en\/articles\/starch-in-horse-feed-what-should-you-look-out-for\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/hartog.eu\/en\/articles\/starch-in-horse-feed-what-should-you-look-out-for\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/hartog.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/feeding-concentrates-scaled.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/hartog.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/feeding-concentrates-scaled.jpeg","width":2560,"height":2013,"caption":"Crop hands of faceless female holding horse feed with corn, barley, oats grain in front of brown horse at stables"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/hartog.eu\/en\/articles\/starch-in-horse-feed-what-should-you-look-out-for\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.hartog.eu\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Articles","item":"https:\/\/www.hartog.eu\/articles\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Starch in horse feed: what should you look out for?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.hartog.eu\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.hartog.eu\/","name":"Grasdrogerij Hartog B.V.","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.hartog.eu\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.hartog.eu\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.hartog.eu\/#organization","name":"Grasdrogerij Hartog B.V.","url":"https:\/\/www.hartog.eu\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.hartog.eu\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/hartog.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Hartog_logo_green.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/hartog.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Hartog_logo_green.png","width":2394,"height":608,"caption":"Grasdrogerij Hartog B.V."},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.hartog.eu\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hartog.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/30695","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hartog.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hartog.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/articles"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/hartog.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/30695\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30698,"href":"https:\/\/hartog.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/30695\/revisions\/30698"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hartog.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21115"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hartog.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30695"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"area","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hartog.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/area?post=30695"},{"taxonomy":"suitable-for","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hartog.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/suitable-for?post=30695"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}