Ep. 103: How to Balance Forage-Based or Grain-Free Diets & Bust Common Myths – Part 2

Episode Notes

Listen to Part 1 first, if you haven't had a chance to yet - we discuss feed trend terminology to help frame Part 2 of this conversation - https://www.standleeforage.com/podcast/episodes/ep-102-horse-feeding-trends-explained-forage-based-grain-free-everything-in-between-part-1/

Have you ever wondered if “grain-free” really means better for your horse?

In Part 2 of this Beyond the Barn conversation, host Katy Starr chats with Dr. Kelly Vineyard, PhD equine nutritionist, to dig deeper into the reality behind popular horse feeding trends to bust some common myths and help horse owners confidently balance a forage-based diet, including:

• Tips for balancing “grain-free” diets for individual horses or large herds
• Whether statements like “grain causes inflammation,” “grain-free means low starch,” and more are myth or fact
• 4 practical ways horse owners can sift through these feeding trends and do what is best for their specific horse

If social media has ever made you question your horse’s diet, this episode will bring clarity, confidence, and a reminder that the best feeding program always starts with one simple rule - forage first.

🎧 Listen now on the Beyond the Barn podcast

Have a topic idea or feedback to share? We want to connect with you! Email podcast@standlee.com

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*Views and opinions expressed by guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect the view of Standlee Premium Products, LLC.*

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Read full episode transcript

Katy Starr (00:01):

Hi, I'm Katy Starr and you're listening to Beyond the Barn. Join me on this journey as we bust equine and livestock nutrition myths and sit down with some of the most intriguing experts from across the country. We'll also take you behind the scenes of how premium western quality forage is grown and brought to your favorite farm and ranch retail store. I'm so glad you're here.

 

Katy Starr (00:27):

If you missed our previous episode, episode 102, go listen to that first. Dr. Kelly Vineyard and I dug into why so many feeding trends pop up in the horse industry and what those buzz words like forage-based, forage only, grain-free, etc., really mean. Today we're picking up where we left off talking about the most beneficial trends that help horses and which ones we should probably drop. We'll also tackle some myth busting and talk about how to properly balance a diet if you're interested in going grain-free, so, your horse still gets everything they need. So, let's dive back in with Dr. Vineyard.

And so, as we talked about some of these trends, terminology and everything, what would you say is probably one trend that you wish would stick around genuinely for the benefit of the horse?

 

Dr. Vineyard (01:18):

Oh, I mean, I'm all here for the forage-based diet. This is how horses were designed to convert food to energy is through forage. And so, I think most people are already feeding a forage-based diet. And so, you can pat yourselves on the back for doing that. And if you're not, you should educate yourself on why a forage-based diet is really healthy for the horse. So, I think it is a good trend. Putting more focus on forage I think is a great, great trend.

 

Katy Starr (01:47):

Excellent. And then what's one trend that you wish we could just retire and it would just go away?

 

Dr. Vineyard (01:52):

There's more than one I would say, but I think the idea that commercially produced feeds are quote bad and that they are quote filled with processed garbage that's synthetic or inflammatory. I actually have heard the story for a very long time. I actually used to think this myself, you know, early on before I even went to graduate school and before I went and became an animal scientist and an equine nutritionist, I just felt like pellets are floor sweepings. And that's what these grain manufacturers are trying to make money using low quality ingredients. And I can understand where that may come from. Especially I think 30 years ago a lot of commercial feeds were bad. They were filled with floor sweepings in some cases. And honestly, there are probably still some feeds out there on the market today that are still considered bad and that are filled with processed garbage.

 

Dr. Vineyard (02:53):

That being said, modern day feed formulations have come a long way. There are many great commercial feed products that are very carefully formulated by equine nutritionists who, again, the end goal is to provide a healthy, balanced nutrition product for these horses that we all love. And so, I think that trend that just painting all commercial feeds with a broad brush and saying they're all bad, I would love for that to go away with the caveat of saying, you know, there are some very good commercial products out there. You just have to do a little bit of digging in and do a little bit of research to figure out which ones are good and which ones may still be like they, they've never left the dark ages. They're still back, you know, 30, 40 years ago.

 

Katy Starr (03:40):

Right. Well, and you know, when we talk about having our good team put together with our veterinarian, nutritionist, if you can farrier trainer, like all of these people that are working with you know, your situation and your horse, I think if you have some trusted sources that you can bounce some of these ideas off of, even if you hear some things and you're like, I just don't know how to take this or understand it. Having someone that you trust that can share with you some knowledge about that I think can help you figure out and navigate those, what's good, what's not, maybe what's good for my horse. And just finding someone that you can trust and not, not just opening it up to the world of social media or our discussion groups and things like that, because there might be some good advice in there, but there's definitely going to be bad advice in there also. And it's hard when it's just a blanket statement like that.

 

Dr. Vineyard (04:38):

Right. Absolutely.

 

Katy Starr (04:39):

So, for those that are looking to feed a forage-based diet based off of, you know, what we've been discussing, what are the key elements to get right to make sure that the diet is still balanced?

 

Dr. Vineyard (04:54):

Yeah, I mean I, it's actually not that hard. And when people try to tell you that it is complicated to feed a forage-based diet, don't believe them . Because to me the key is number one, to know your forage and you want to, you know, either get it tested if you can, and if you can't, maybe use some bagged forages to supplement what your unknown nutrient content forage is. So, you have a consistent nutrient profile of your forage, of your baseline, of your solid nutritional baseline of your diet, which is your forage. So, ideally we test every batch of hay that comes in our barn. We don't all live in an ideal world, right? So, you have to sometimes make your best guess. But also supplementing with some bag forages or pelleted forages can bring in some consistency. You know, like on all the Standlee products, I mean protein is always guaranteed.

 

Dr. Vineyard (05:46):

The carb content is always guaranteed. So, you kind of have a little bit of a, a baseline there and you can supplement with your other forages too. And then from there, that nutritional baseline, know your horse's energy requirement and what stage of life they're in and choose a concentrate or a supplement that fills in those gaps. If it's a pasture pet, an easy keeper, maybe it's just a vitamin mineral supplement, maybe it's a ration balancer. If it's an easy keeper performance horse, maybe it's just a ration balancer. If he's a senior horse that still can chew but has a little bit higher calorie requirements, maybe it's four or five pounds a day of a senior feed to supplement with your forage. So, every horse is a little bit different, but if you start with your baseline and then fill in the gaps, it shouldn't be that complicated.

 

Katy Starr (06:36):

Right. Well, and I think when you do follow trends, when you do follow it for what it is, rather than for the specifics of your situation and what you're wanting to do with your horse, I think it is easy to get complicated quickly because, oh, so and so's doing this. They feed all of these things for this, this, this, this, this. And I think people can get caught up in that instead of focusing on kind of like breaking it down, like you said, start out with your forage first, figuring out the type of forage you're going to feed, what is in the forage and balancing it from there. So, what about for someone, and I know this makes it so much more challenging, but do you have any advice or can you share anything about, for someone who might be feeding a large herd of horses, maybe they're a barn manager themselves that is wanting to go grain-free, how would you go about doing that?

 

Dr. Vineyard (07:28):

Yeah, I mean I think first off, I just have to say, understand why you're going grain-free.Okay. Do we mean grain-free or do we mean concentrate free , Understand that or is it, what's your end goal? Do you want to reduce the sugar and starch? That's one goal. Or do you just want to go grain-free? I think that's a totally different goal. So, understand why and don't go grain-free to be trendy. Do it for a good reason.But also understand that going grain-free, especially for the more horses you put under that umbrella, the more difficult becomes to be grain-free for all of those horses. Some of them could absolutely be grain-free, some may need a little bit of grain ingredients in their ration to help them thrive. So, just understand like the more horses you're looking at, the more challenging it becomes to go grain-free.

 

Dr. Vineyard (08:19):

That being said, I love a good challenge. And so, how would I create a grain-free diet for a large herd of horses? I mean, I would start with at least two types of forage. Okay. You're going to need a low calorie forage and you're going to need a high calorie forage. So, maybe like an alfalfa or a legume. And then you're going to also need like a, your easy keeper forage like Timothy or Bermuda or Teff or something like that as your base. And then you've got to know your pasture. How much pasture they eat. And then once you've got your baseline, then you're going to choose, ideally to me a good grain-free ration balancer to fill in the nutritional gaps of that forage. This is hard. This isn't easy. There's not a lot of grain-free ration balancers out there on the market. There's a lot of grain-free like vitamin mineral supplements.

 

Dr. Vineyard (09:05):

But once you start adding protein into the mix, having a little bit of grain ingredient actually could be helpful for some of those formulas. But they're out there. So, then you choose a good ration balancer and then now you've got to choose some calorie supplements because not all of your horses in your herd are going to thrive on a ration balancer only. You're going to have some hard keepers. You're, you might have some broodmares, you might have a performance horse. So, now you need to bring in something like maybe some beep pulp for higher energy, maybe some vegetable oil, maybe some rice brand or flax seeds. Something to add calories for those horses that need it. Okay. This is not also easy because how big is your feed room? How many different bins do you want to have? So, keep that in mind to go grain-free is going to be a little bit more complex.

 

Dr. Vineyard (09:50):

So, then what about your seniors that can't chew that good timothy or alfalfa hay that you have as your base? Well now you've got to bring in some hay cubes or hay pellets to still provide their forage needs. So, now congratulations. Your feed room looks like a feed store . But I do believe that you can feed grain-free, but it's just going to take a lot more ingredients and a lot more attention to detail because you're going to need to individualize, instead of like, say if you had a commercial concentrate that sort of covered all of your nutritional basis and maybe it had a little bit of like oats in there, you know, maybe just 2-3%, which is a small amount, perfectly safe. But if you're trying to eliminate those commercial products that contain a little bit of grain ingredients, you know, you've got to get creative, right? It can be done. It just takes, well your feed is going to look like a feed store .

 

Katy Starr (10:45):

Well and I think about if you're feeding a large herd of horses and none of them actually show that they have issues with grain thinking about that because it's so hard when you're trying to navigate that with so many horses. But are you going to run into maybe getting it really a large increased feed bill because you're trying to avoid grain because somebody said that it was bad when maybe it's working fine for the horses that you're feeding. And so, you have to learn how to balance, you know, what's the most important to you, right? Because you could end up raising your feed costs. And we all know that it's expensive to feed horses no matter how you do it, but it can be more expensive. And so, just trying to get that all figured out is balanced and everything too.

 

Dr. Vineyard (11:31):

I think that's such a good point. I mean, it almost always will be more expensive if you do it right. I do think it's easy to sometimes have nutritional gaps and some grain-free rations because you know, so many of these good balancers contain some grain ingredients and people will mistakenly want to avoid them because they're afraid of grain and it's like, don't throw the baby out with the bath water . You know, some of these products that contain grain are actually very nutritious and are not harmful. And so, that for me, if I had a large herd of horses going grain-free, probably the last thing I would want to do. . 

 

Katy Starr (12:10):

Another thing that came to mind when you were talking about that, because I know that sometimes people talk about feeding, oh, a scoop of this or that and they don't actually follow the feeding directions on which, another thing that we didn't actually even talk about like a complete feed, but like sometimes people are like, oh, I just feed a couple scoops of this. But it's not to the recommended amount of some of those concentrates or complete feed or whatever it is, which then you think that you're giving them enough, but those concentrates or whatever you're feeding are balanced in a way that if you're feeding at the recommended feeding levels to be able to provide all of the vitamins, all of the minerals that are required for the horse. Right?

 

Dr. Vineyard (12:55):

Yeah, and usually if it's not all, it's a majority when it's paired with like 1% of body weight and forage. So, like yeah. As a nutritionist, when I'm formulating a ration I take some assumptions, you know, this horse is eating this much hay, he is getting this much protein from his hay, but it's not enough. So, what do I need to put into like let's say three pounds a day of a concentrate, I formulate at that rate. And so, if you're only feed one pound, you're actually only feeding a third of what I had formulated to meet a hundred percent of your horse's daily requirements, you know, based on some assumptions. But in general, you know, those feeding directions are there for a very good reason. And so, if you're feeding below the feeding rate, you're likely shorting your horse on some essential nutrients.

 

Katy Starr (13:41):

Right. Okay. So, I want to chat just a little bit about some questions that I've seen horse owners asking about. So, for someone who is wanting to switch their horses from, when I say grain to forage, like just wanting to maybe get some of the grain out of their horse's diet, right? So, they're thinking the forage-based diet.What they're looking at, they're asking what can they replace the grain with? And they mention would a balancer, and I'm thinking, I'm wondering if they're talking about vitamin mineral supplement unless we're talking about protein, right? So, would a balancer supply them with the vitamins and minerals that they would be missing to replace that grain? And here is their scenario. So, their horses are on grass pasture, good quality first and second cut hay. They feed alfalfa pellets about one to one and a half pounds of grain per day. Now we don't know how much of this, we don't know if these horses are in a healthy condition. They don't have any other nutrition problems or diseases or anything like that. So, there's some holes here. But what would you say to someone who is wanting to replace their grain getting on a forage-based diet? How would you determine what balancer or supplement would be good for filling in the gaps for that?

 

Dr. Vineyard (14:59):

Yeah, I mean I think the short answer is yes, absolutely. In this case, anytime you're feeding less than three pounds a day of a concentrate, your horse is probably going to do well on a forage-based diet with a balancer or maybe even a vitamin mineral supplement depending on the forage. So, yes, they can absolutely switch out their grain for a ration balancer. In this scenario it seems like, I think it'd be a great switch. The horse will do better , right? Because they're underfeeding a commercial concentrate probably. And then you switch that to a more concentrated, either vitamin mineral supplement or a ration balancer. They're actually going to do a better job at meeting the horses' essential nutrient needs.

 

Katy Starr (15:42):

Yeah, yeah, yeah. That makes a lot of sense. Can a grain-free or concentrate free, right? However, we're looking at this, for someone looking for a forage-based diet, can it support an endurance horse?

 

Dr. Vineyard (15:56):

I mean I think it depends. , you know, I would love that challenge of creating a forage only or grain-free diet for endurance horse just because it might be a little bit of a challenge. But I, I think it certainly can be done when you're talking about endurance exercise, they rely a little bit less on sort of glycogen as a fuel source and more as fat as a fuel source. For sort of more endurance type exercise. And like a high fiber, high fat diet is the cornerstone of an endurance horse ration. So, I think you can absolutely do it. Now is there a reason to avoid grain to improve performance? Not that I'm aware of. Sometimes small amounts of grain, especially at the stops when these endurance horses are, they have their kind of scheduled stops during a race, right? We want them to consume some water and some, you know, a lot of times we're using some mash we want them to eat some calories. And using grain in those scenarios is actually very beneficial because it's so palatable and you know, in small amounts of course we don't want to cause any, you know, hindgut upset, but there is actually a good place for grain in some of these horses diets even if it's just on race day. So, it can be done, but I'm not sure that it's ideal.

 

Katy Starr (17:07):

Right. And some of these questions too, right? We don't know all of the answers in the situation that we're dealing with. So, I know you're also trying to answer this the best that you can with the information that you have too. So, another common question that I have been seeing in some discussion groups are from folks wanting to go to, you know, they talk about a forage-based diet, so you know that they're probably talking about getting rid of grain or the concentrate feeds but they have an offtrack thoroughbred that they struggle to keep weight on or get a good top line. So, what advice do you have for feeding this type of horse?

 

Dr. Vineyard (17:45):

Yeah, I mean, again, if you have a horse that needs to gain weight, it needs to gain muscle. The most efficient way to get a horse to do both of those is to maximize the nutrient and calorie density of every bite of feed that horse takes. Okay. And that means using the very best quality forage you can get your hands on. And then you want to pair that with something that brings in the essential nutrients, essential amino acids to help put on muscle to help support growth and weight gain. And it's needs to be in a concentrated source of calories and, and forage sort of has a limit. Yes, forage can be very nutrient dense, but then you get to a point where you know, you can double or triple that using a concentrate. So, for an off track thoroughbred, you know, they have notorious history of being hard keepers, especially in that early transition phase.

 

Dr. Vineyard (18:34):

And if they're struggling to get weight on, I would say open your mind to using some concentrate with still designing a forage-based diet. You're not going to feed, you know, maybe it's only 10% of concentrate or 20% of their total diet is in a fat and fiber-based feed. You know, a low lower carb concentrate that isn't going to increase risk of gastric ulcers, which we know off track thoroughbreds have an increased risk for it typically, it isn't going to overwhelm the small intestine. You're going to have a much more easier time and increasing the, you know, like I said, the nutrient density of every bite of feed and bringing in some nutrient dense concentrate. And then maybe six months down the road you're looking at a completely different horse. Then you can try pulling out that concentrate and seeing if they can thrive on just a ration balancer. Many of these horses can, right? Like after they sort of get back on a good plane of nutrition, their whole life changes. Maybe they're less stressed, maybe, you know, if you have really good forage, there's really no reason you couldn't try it. But in those initial stages of putting weight on a horse, I would just encourage people not to close their mind into using a good quality concentrate to help that process along.

 

Katy Starr (19:50):

Yeah. It's almost like without meaning to changing too much too fast for a horse that's used to a completely different level of livingand what they're eating and everything and maybe time would be better for them.

 

Dr. Vineyard (20:06):

And you know, again I love talking about like the modern day feeds because we're like in the feed industry, we're always like evolving and learning more and there are actually some really good grain-free concentrates out there on the market, you know, a couple of them. And so, you know, if that's important to someone, you can seek those out too. But there's an awful lot of good options that contain a safe and small amount of grain that can still be very effective and and healthy for these horses that need a little extra support.

 

Katy Starr (20:36):

Excellent. So, let's move into myth busting. There's a few things that we've heard and I want you to either bust the myth or with the caveat or whatever that kind of comes with it. But how about forage only is always best?

 

Dr. Vineyard (20:53):

I mean that's easy. Forage-based is always best . Yeah. Forage only is not going to be the best for a horse with like certain medical conditions, for example, I don't want to go too deep into it, but there are certain times where like forage can actually make certain medical conditions worse. So, it's not always best. Forage-based is always best.

 

Katy Starr (21:13):

Excellent. And how about all grains are bad?

 

Dr. Vineyard (21:18):

Yeah, we've talked about this a lot. You know, certainly I think that's false. As with everything, other things in life, everything in moderation, right? Too much grain can absolutely be bad, but that doesn't mean a little bit of grain can be bad.

 

Katy Starr (21:31):

Right? And this question leads off of that one because we do hear this sometimes from different folks, but grain causes inflammation.

 

Dr. Vineyard (21:41):

Okay, that's a, that's a bigger can of worms for sure. I obviously have definitely heard this, seen people talk about it. There's some concerns about grain because of inflammation and inflammatory component. I'll try to be clear and succinct on the way that I look at this. I mean, number one grain in and of itself is not inherently inflammatory. You know, oats, corn, barley, you know, these are nutrient dense energy sources and in moderation and imbalanced amounts they don't directly cause inflammation. That being said, the problem comes when grain is fed in large meals that exceed the horse's ability to digest that starch and grain in the small intestine. Then yes, that grain becomes inflammatory because it has overwhelmed the small intestine. It spills into the hindgut and it triggers all sorts of other problems. It's going to alter the microbial population, it's going to change the fermentation pattern, it's going to increase lactic acid that damages the gut lining. You know, that lowers hindgut Ph that can lead to like endotoxin release by those microbes and causes leaky gut or systemic inflammatory responses. And yes, that's an inflammatory process. So, grain by itself is not inflammatory. Too much grain is. Does that make sense?

 

Katy Starr (23:07):

Yes. Because to me it's like, it's more about the management of it and how it's fed versus what it's actually used for. So, yeah, that makes a lot of sense.

 

Dr. Vineyard (23:16):

And you know, I know it probably sounds overwhelming when you're like, well how do I know how much is too much? How much is too and not too much? And again, I love simplifying it. So, you know, if you're an owner and you're thinking about feeding a, something that contains grain, number one, that two to four pound meal size is a really good like benchmark. That's for like feeding straight oats. And if you're feeding a commercial concentrate, the starch level in in a commercial concentrate is way lower than straight oats. So, you're going to be safe if you're keeping that meal size, you know, less than half percent of a body weight of a horse. That's number one. Number two, you know, look for concentrates that are more fat and fiber forward and less grain forward, but they can contain some grain and understand that it's a safe amount of grain.

 

Dr. Vineyard (24:03):

Right. And there's probably a good reason for it to be in there. We do know modern feeding practices continue to evolve. We now know grain is not bad, but it must be fed carefully. We know that processing grain increases the digestibility. So, a lot of feed products are now like their micronized grain or they're extruded sources or they're, you know, rolled or somehow processed to help improve starch digestibility. And those are all good things too. So, don't use raw grain in large amounts. That's the old way of feeding, you know, use kind of the more processed or commercial concentrates that incorporates some processed grains to sort of limit the negative effects or the possibility that that grain can cause inflammatory processes.

 

Katy Starr (24:44):

Right. Okay. And then how about grain-free means low starch?

 

Dr. Vineyard (24:50):

Yeah, not always , definitely not always. You can even have hay that's high starch in my opinion. Or some forages can actually be above the threshold for, you know, metabolic horses for sure. So, even if something's grain-free, it can have other ingredients that contain carbs that may still exceed the safe threshold for these metabolic horses.

 

Katy Starr (25:12):

Excellent. And you have touched on this a little bit, but natural non-GMO or organic labels mean healthier?

 

Dr. Vineyard (25:21):

Yeah, I mean as I think I said earlier, that's false. Even the USDA would say that; they're not unhealthy. Non-GMO and organic is not necessarily unhealthy, but conventionally grown plants can also be healthy too.

 

Katy Starr (25:33):

Okay. And then what would you say are four ways that horse owners can navigate these trends and truly do what is in the best interest of their horse?

 

Dr. Vineyard (25:45):

Yeah, I mean I think this actually goes back to how you opened or you started by saying, you know, some owners say there's like so much info out there and I get overwhelmed. I really think, yeah, putting this together to me is if you can follow this, this helps you from becoming overwhelmed, number one, have a good relationship with your veterinarian. Seek your vet's advice, keep them in the loop. Especially if you're considering making a big feed change to your program. You know, they know your situation, they know you, they know your horses. So, that's number one. Keep your vet in the loop and ask them. Number two, I think we touched on this too, but it's worth saying again, avoid following like generalized advice from online groups. They don't know the specifics of your situation. I'm not saying it's wrong to go there to get some ideas, but understand that you can't get specific advice on your situation from an internet stranger.

 

Dr. Vineyard (26:42):

And it'd be good advice. I mean you get what you pay for, right? ? Yeah. It's free advice. Yeah. You know, it's not going to be as good as if you go back to your veterinarian. Okay. So, number three would be if in doubt and maybe even your veterinarians in doubt at this point, or if you have a complicated situation, you can always seek out consultation from an equine nutritionist, a qualified equine nutritionist. And here's something to think about. You know, a lot of people say, well number one, like I don't know how to find one. That's a whole other episode topic I would say. Yeah. because yeah, there's not as many of us as there are farriers or veterinarians, that's for sure. But there are really good qualified people that can help you with your feeding program in a kind of a good solid science-based way.

 

Dr. Vineyard (27:25):

But you know, you think about the cost, like what's that going to cost? Well, I always like to say, well how much do you pay every six weeks for your farrier? What does it cost to put two shoes on your horse, four shoes even. That's a pretty good investment. And that investment lasts you about six weeks, right? When you look at paying a nutritionist for a consult, it's usually going to be less than paying for four shoes on a horse. I would say depends on where you are in the country, but that information and recommendations you get could last a lifetime for that horse. And so, it is well worth it to get a good, qualified nutrition consult, especially when you're dealing with a complicated situation. Don't be afraid to seek that out. And number four, I love educated horse owners. Anybody listening to this podcast, I would say is an educated horse owner and they want to be educated.

 

Dr. Vineyard (28:17):

And so, seek reputable sources of good nutrition education. Number one, you know, you probably already know this, but you know, a university or extension website is a great source of information. But then there's also like reputable magazines and publications out there in the world that utilize experts to kind of help write their, you know, articles and like, I really like The Horse. I think they're a very reputable publication that use good sources. Equus, that's another example and there's a lot of other good ones. And then you can look at articles and online blogs written by people with nutrition training and that's where it gets a little more tricky. Like, oh, how do I know what kind of training that person has? That does require maybe a little bit of extra step in due diligence. But you know, if they have a master's or a PhD in animal science, that's kind of an obvious, but I even think there are some really educated people that, you know, not necessarily are PhD nutritionists, but that have sound nutrition training you can listen to, but you've got to look at their experience and where they got their training from to sort of make that decision.

 

Dr. Vineyard (29:23):

Right. So, yeah, that's kind of what I would, how to help sort of decrease the overwhelm is just really hone in on those reputable sources of information.

 

Katy Starr (29:33):

Excellent. And I would be remiss if I didn't say, if you're not already, you should subscribe to the Beyond the Barn podcast because we have great horse nutrition advice on here. So, those were some great tips I think that can help horse owners kind of navigate those difficulties sometimes in the overwhelm. So, thank you for sharing that. And then as we begin to wrap this episode up, are there any other notes that you have to add on or key takeaways that you want to leave listeners with?

 

Dr. Vineyard (30:06):

I mean, I would just say number one, forage-based diets are great and you are likely already feeding one . So, don't stress too much about whether or not you should be feeding a forage-based diet. I think most of you probably are, and if you're not, maybe it's worth considering increasing the forage component of your horse's diet. So, number one, yes, forage-based diets are, are a key takeaway that they're good. And number two, in order to do this successfully feeding a forage-based diet, number one, know your forage quality, whether that's through testing or supplementing with a known quality forage. And number two, be willing to supplement to fill in the nutritional gaps. And that can look a little bit different depending on your horse. You're always going to supplement with salt. You're always going to need to add some sort of vitamin and minerals that forage is inherently deficient in. You may need a ration balancer to bring in extra protein and you may need a commercial concentrate for added calories and nutrition, but you know, be willing to do what your horse needs for your situation.

 

Katy Starr (31:10):

Excellent. Yes. And I will also remind our listeners that if you feed Standlee products, reach out to us. Dr. Vineyard is here on our team to be a resource for you. And so, if you are feeling a little uneasy about what you're feeding and just need a little bit of help, reach out to us because we'd love to be there for you and be a part of your team as well. So, other than that, Dr. Vineyard, thanks so much for being on today. I think we covered a lot of ground and I think it was a great conversation and I really hope that we helped listeners understand some of the terminology a little bit better and they can feel a little bit more confident moving forward and feeding their horses.

 

Dr. Vineyard (31:50):

I hope so too. And you know, I think this is a more conversation to have. You know, we can have another conversation like this in a year as things evolve and as we start learning about better ways to feed a forage-based diet, I think it's always a good goal and I'm glad to have this conversation.

 

Katy Starr (32:09):

Excellent. Well, we will catch you later.

 

Dr. Vineyard (32:12):

All right. Bye.

 

Katy Starr (32:14):

Thanks for listening to the Beyond the Barn podcast by Standlee Forage. We'd love for you to share our podcast with your favorite people and subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or your favorite listening platform. Until next time, keep your cinch tight and don't forget to turn off the water.