BONUS - Supplement with Standlee – Adding High Quality Hay to Your Horse’s Diet

Episode Notes

On this BONUS episode, co-hosts Dr. Tania Cubitt and Katy Starr discuss the benefits of supplementing a horse’s current diet with high quality hay, including:

• What is a supplement?
• How to improve a horse’s diet by improving the fiber portion, which makes up the majority of what they eat
• What feed changes have the GREATEST impact on horses needing a low sugar and starch diet?

We also introduce the Supplement on Standlee Feed Trial. Tune in to learn more and how to participate for your chance to win a PALLET of Standlee pellets or cubes!

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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Supplement on Standlee Feed Trial Details:

• When you register – You’ll get a Buy 2, Get 1 Free coupon (redemption valid only during trial dates) for pellet and cube products, including Smart Carb and Forage Plus Gastric Support
• Requirements – Submit before and after images and product testimonial after using product for 30 days
• Following submission - Will receive coupon for two free Standlee pellet or cube products and be entered into a grand prize giveaway for a pallet of free Standlee product (limited to any pellet or cube product)
• Trial runs from March 1st through April 30, 2025
• Final testimonial submission due May 31, 2025

This is limited to the first 2,500 participants who sign-up, so go register now! One coupon per person. Coupons have a maximum redemption value of $23.99 per product.

Considerations when participating:

To minimize digestive upset, feeding changes should occur over a 7-14 day period. If your horse is transitioning from a winter season hay diet as their main fiber source to spring pasture, many horses experience transient diarrhea. Standlee recommends consulting with your veterinarian or nutritionist when making changes to your feeding program.

Learn more here and sign-up here: 

https://www.standleeforage.com/promotions/supplement-on-standlee/

Read full episode transcript

Katy Starr (00:01):

Hi, I'm Katy.

 

Dr. Tania Cubitt (00:02):

And I'm Dr. Cubitt. We're going Beyond the Barn. Come join us on this journey, as we bust equine and livestock nutrition myths and interview some of the most intriguing experts in the country.

 

Katy Starr (00:15):

We'll go behind the scenes of how premium Western quality forage is grown and brought to your favorite farm and ranch retail store. We're so glad you're here.

 

Katy Starr (00:27):

Welcome back to another episode of Beyond the Barn. Today's episode is a special bonus episode that we wanted to provide to our listeners on supplementing with Standlee. How to basically add in high quality hay to your horse's current diet. So, before we get started on today's topic, I just want to remind our listeners that any of the topics we cover on the Beyond the Barn podcast are more generalized and not specific to any individual horse or any specific situation. Be sure to always work with your veterinarian and nutritionist before making any drastic changes to your horses' feed program. Or you can reach out directly to us and talk with Dr. Cubitt or Dr. Duren on any specifics that you'd like to know. So, Dr. Cubitt, thanks for being here with us today for us to chat about this topic.

 

Dr. Tania Cubitt (01:17):

Ah, anytime!

 

Katy Starr (01:18):

To get us started on this topic, I think it would be really great for us to, kind of, lay some groundwork on what exactly is a supplement.

 

Dr. Tania Cubitt (01:26):

Well, I think anytime most of us in the equine industry think about a supplement, or even in our own food, we usually think in our own world about, you know, something that comes in a bottle. Maybe it's a probiotic or a vitamin and mineral supplement. In the horse world, we think about am I adding a vitamin and mineral supplement? Might come in a smaller bucket. Am I adding a joint supplement? But none of those answers are wrong. But the correct definition of what is a supplement, it's something that completes or enhances something else when added to it. So, if I go all the way back to grad school, my PhD advisor would tell us that anything we fed to horses over and above hay and pasture, he considered a supplement. So, whether it be the bag concentrate, whether it be the bucket that we typically consider a supplement, it is enhancing or complimenting the forage that we're feeding our horses.

 

Dr. Tania Cubitt (02:25):

So, I kind of always think about it that way. I think though, in the equine industry, most people think about joint supplements, additional vitamin and mineral supplements as supplements, and we kind of separate the bagged concentrate that you might get from brand name companies, the feed per se as feed, and then the supplement being a smaller quantity that you're adding to the horse. But really forage is what horses need.

 

Katy Starr (02:52):

Right.

 

Dr. Tania Cubitt (02:53):

Along with water and air, they need forage. On top of that, what is the forage not providing and what are we adding to enhance that? Anything over and above that, to be honest, is really considered a supplement. Whether we're adding additional vitamins and minerals, additional protein, additional energy, or an additional fiber source, that would be enhancing the current fiber source.

 

Katy Starr (03:19):

Right.

 

Dr. Tania Cubitt (03:19):

We could consider any one of those a supplement.

 

Katy Starr (03:23):

Excellent. And I know we've talked about this here and there in some of our other episodes, but I think it's also helpful going into today's conversation of, give our listeners just a little bit background on what role hay plays in a horse's diet. Because, obviously, you talked about that they have to have it, it's a requirement, obviously that's how their digestive system works. But could you just explain that a little bit too?

 

Dr. Tania Cubitt (03:46):

And I would say a horse doesn't need hay, they need fiber.

 

Katy Starr (03:50):

Right.

 

Dr. Tania Cubitt (03:50):

And so, some horses live out on pasture and have pastured access 24/7, and they have an abundance of it, and that's where they get their fiber requirement from. But to be honest though, the majority of our domestic horses do not have adequate access to pasture to supply them with all of the fiber that they need. They need at least 2% of their body weight per day in dry fiber per day. In dry matter per day. So, if we think about pasture, it's at most times of the year about 80% moisture and only 20% fiber. So, they need to consume a lot more pasture than they do hay, which is already, it's that pasture that's been dried and conserved. So, we often look to hay to provide that 2% of body weight, fiber, dry fiber requirement in a horse per day. So, really that fiber is feeding that microbiome, keeping those microbes alive. And then when those microbes are breaking down that fiber, they're unlocking key nutrients that any living body needs. But in the horse, the protein, the energy, the vitamins and minerals that might be available in that fiber.

 

Katy Starr (05:02):

Right. Why don't you explain to us a little bit about what bad hay might look like, so we know what to be looking for?

 

Dr. Tania Cubitt (05:10):

So, it's great. I always start with what is bad quality hay? Because it doesn't matter what you're feeding, it's always the same. It had dirt, dust, weeds, mold, any kind of contaminant - that's always bad quality hay. And then, when we look at what is good quality hay, we're really looking at - what are we feeding? Are we feeding a laminitic pony? Are we feeding a broodmare? Are we feeding a performance horse? Are we feeding a horse that's got some kind of disease that has dietary restrictions? The best quality hay for that horse is the hay or fiber source that fits into those requirements.

 

Katy Starr (05:48):

And then, so obviously talking about the different horses that are there, we could probably go into so many different types of horses, but let's kind of think about more commonly that separation between maybe a more like a maintenance horse versus a performance horse. And what kinds of differences do we see in their nutritional requirements when it comes to energy and protein or anything like that?

 

Dr. Tania Cubitt (06:15):

Yeah, that's great place to start. Usually I will actually separate it into two categories. If you've got a growing horse and then a mature horse, and then from mature horse, we go into the two categories that you described, either maintenance or performance. You can go further and say, okay, well we've got light exercise, medium exercise, heavy exercise. But really all we're doing is slowly increasing the requirements for energy and protein. Yes, we do have a slight increase in the vitamins and minerals that are required as exercise goes up. But what you can visually see in a horse is, really, their requirement for energy. Is the horse gaining weight? Losing weight? Maintaining weight at the amount of exercise or lack thereof exercise that they're doing?

 

Katy Starr (07:01):

And what can you tell us a little bit about when we're thinking about hay and different types of hay? When we think about some of, now depending on where hay is grown in the country, I think it kind of can contribute to those different nutrients that are at higher levels in certain types of hay than others. When you think about Standlee hay and the hay that we grow versus some hay that especially more often than not, you might see in like the Midwest or the East coast that maybe their growing conditions just are not as ideal. What can you talk to us about the differences in those kinds of hay in looking at potentially supplying a horse with what they might need in their diet?

 

Dr. Tania Cubitt (07:44):

I want to hone in on one statement that you made. There are really great hay growers across the country, Standlee included, and there are others out there. The one thing that I think Standlee has over a lot of the competitors is the location in which we grow the forage is perfect. It's perfect climatic conditions to grow the best quality hay. In the East Coast were plagued with a lot of extra moisture and rain, which can really interfere with ideal cutting or harvesting and can change the nutrient value of the hay. So, when we say it's really about the climatic conditions that the hay has grown in. Some of the other benefits that Standlee has is things like vitamin A and vitamin E. When you cut that grass or that plant, immediately those two vitamins start to break down due to the light that is shining down on that plant and it starts to break down.

 

Dr. Tania Cubitt (08:41):

One thing that Standlee can do is, because I have a very dry climate, is the hay or the plant does not have to sit out in the field very long. It can be baled quite quickly. And then, we put these giant tarps over the hay to really block out that sunlight or put them indoors to block out that sunlight. So, that's one difference. We have done research that has shown the vitamin A and vitamin E content of the Standlee products is slightly higher than other hays that growers don't have the luxury of being able to do that, whether it's moisture content or just not having the facilities to put them inside. Because this is all Standlee does, is grow premium quality forage. I think also really turning it, I've always been impressed with how scientifically the folks at Standlee take growing this hay down to doing annual soil tests, looking at moisture of the soil. So, exactly what is needed for the crop to be successful is what's applied to the soil. No more, no less. And so, I think that that also makes the Standlee crops really stand out. That being said, there are some deficiencies. It doesn't matter how good you grow, there's things like selenium, copper, and zinc that are always going to be deficient in forages across the country. And that's why then, we look to supplement maybe with a ration balancer or a vitamin and mineral supplement.

 

Katy Starr (10:15):

Right. In talking about the nutritional requirements for different horses, what tips do you have for how we might know if it might be a good idea to start supplementing your horse's diet with either better quality hay or an additional supplement that horse might be needing? What are your thoughts on how we can make some observations to really help our horses?

 

Dr. Tania Cubitt (10:39):

Ideally, every single horse needs to get an additional vitamin and mineral source from somewhere, whether it be a bucket, vitamin and mineral, be it lick tub, be it a ration balancer, or even a maintenance horse. I mentioned zinc, copper, selenium are always going to be deficient in your hay sources. Other than that, and you won't be able to see that in your horse.

 

Katy Starr (11:00):

Right.

 

Dr. Tania Cubitt (11:00):

You just have to trust that. I have seen, and the industry has seen enough hay samples over the years to know that those are always going to be deficient because they're deficient in our soils. What a horse owner can see in their own horse, they can see calories. That's the only nutrient they can see, externally on their horse easily. So, is your horse getting enough calories or energy every day? If they're not, your horse will get thin. If they're getting too much, the horse will get fat. Now, obviously, if you're giving your horse too many calories, you can do extra exercise with them or you can decrease the amount of calories. So, that's really the only nutrient that horse owners can visually see is, are they getting enough energy or not?

 

Katy Starr (11:44):

Right. And so, let's say we're wanting to supplement, maybe there are horses that are out on some pasture, but it's not quite enough to meet their needs, and we're looking to maybe introduce some Standlee into their diets. How can a horse owner make that transition safely? Because I know we talk about digestive upset and some things like that, colic, that could occur if it's made too abruptly. So, how can we make that transition safely for our horses?

 

Dr. Tania Cubitt (12:16):

I think that our horse owners, our listeners, are very well versed in not making rapid feeding changes. But unfortunately, I think a lot forget that the fibrous part of the diet is actually the largest part of the diet, and we actually need to make that gradual change or addition when we're adding a new type of fiber to the diet, whether we're getting hay from a different local grower, or we're adding in some supplemental better quality, better nutritional value forage, like Standlee products. So, we usually say that seven-to-10-day window of gradual adjustment, adding a little bit more, whether we're subtracting some of our old forage and adding a little bit more of the Standlee product, or you're just adding the Standlee product on top, the seven-to-10-day window. And we do that because, I mentioned about the bugs that live in the horse's hindgut (the microbiome), research has shown us it actually takes a full 21 days for those microbes to fully adjust to new food types. So, the seven-to-14-day, seven-to-10-day window is a safe enough transition to adjust those bugs to grow new types of bugs, so that they can digest the different type of fiber that we're feeding.

 

Katy Starr (13:32):

Okay. And so, if they are adding it into their diet, is there a certain amount that you might recommend? Like I know we talked about between that seven-to-10-day period. For an example, let's say we're wanting to add in some Standlee to a horse that mostly is on pasture, but we know they're maybe not quite getting enough. Would you recommend adding in a pound at a time, or what are your thoughts on just giving people the picture on that?

 

Dr. Tania Cubitt (14:00):

In that case, you're saying that the horse is out at pasture and maybe we know that they're a little thin, and instead of going to a commercial concentrate first we just want to improve the nutrition that's coming from the fibrous portion of the diet. The general rule of thumb for a pasture is that for pasture to provide everything your horse needs is two acres per horse. It has to have 70% coverage with actual plants that the horse can eat, and it has to be about six inches tall, and they've got to be out 24/7.

 

Katy Starr (14:31):

Right.

 

Dr. Tania Cubitt (14:32):

So, if your horse has access to one acre or there's multiple other horses out there, or it's too short, maybe we can assume that the horse is getting 50% of their pasture requirements. But we need to then, okay, if the horse is a thousand pounds and we're shooting for that 2% of body weight, we're saying, okay, they need 20 pounds of forage per day, and maybe they're getting 10 from the pasture, then we would want to gradually increase up to about 10 pounds of the Standlee product.

 

Dr. Tania Cubitt (15:03):

But if we're, say, feeding plenty of a local hay.

 

Katy Starr (15:07):

Right.

 

Dr. Tania Cubitt (15:08):

We're not relying on pasture, but we know that the local hay maybe isn't as rich in protein and calories and we're doing a little more exercise in the horse. Maybe I want to improve his topline or build his muscle, and I know I've got to introduce a little bit more protein and I'm going to go with forage first. Then, anything as small an amount as, say, five pounds, five pounds is an ideal amount to add to your diet. But if five pounds is not feasible, then one pound, two pounds, anything up to five pounds would also work. But we really think that adding an additional five pounds will give you the most benefit.

 

Katy Starr (15:50):

Excellent. Okay. Thank you for that. So, the other part of this conversation that I wanted to share with our listeners is, kind of, announcing a feed trial that we have going on called Supplement on Standlee. And we're really excited for this and want to be able to share this with our listeners if they'd like to participate. There's some exciting things and opportunities happening with that. And so, just to kind of give everybody a little bit more background on this feed trial is when you register to participate, you will get a buy two get one free coupon, and the redemption on those coupons are valid only during the trial dates. And these are for the pellet and cubed products, also including Smart Carb and Forage Plus Gastric Support. And so, the requirements for participating really are pretty simple. So, we just are asking for before and after images and a product review after you get your product and you feed them enough that it would be for probably about 30 days, you submit that into Standlee, and then you will receive a coupon for two free Standlee pellet or cube products.

 

Katy Starr (17:03):

And the really exciting part that, Dr. Cubitt, I know anybody would be excited to win, is those that participated and entered will be put into a drawing for a pallet of product.

 

Dr. Tania Cubitt (17:15):

Oh, wow!

 

Katy Starr (17:15):

Which is like 2000 pounds. So, this is a big deal! .

 

Dr. Tania Cubitt (17:19):

Mm-Hmm .

 

Katy Starr (17:20):

And just so everybody's aware, it is limited to one trial per household and to the first 2,500 entrants. So, if this is something that you want to participate in, go ahead and get going on this quickly. You will see information about this, we'll link it in our show notes, but we'll also have it obviously on our website. So, just to give you a ballpark of the timeframe, the trial itself is running from March 1st through April 30th. So, you have anywhere in that timeframe to register. And then, the final testimonial submissions are due May 31st, 2025, of this year. So, the drawing for the pallet of Standlee product will take place in June. And Dr. Cubitt, you talked about this a little bit when we were discussing transitioning our horse onto a different kind of hay or from pasture to hay. But for those that are wanting to participate in this trial, and maybe they've not fed Standlee before, what is the best way that they can participate in this and introduce it into their horse's diet and just see how Standlee can provide some benefits to their horse?

 

Dr. Tania Cubitt (18:28):

Yeah, excellent. So again, do a gradual inclusion of the product. So, over that seven-to-10-day window, and everybody knows their own horse better than obviously we do. We don't know your horse. Some horses are very stoic, handle changes better than others. So, maybe your horse is on the seven-day window, maybe you've got a horse that really doesn't adjust well to changes and he's on the 14-day, so you know your horse best, but make a gradual change of including that product. We recommend, because it's a 30-day window, that you probably include about five pounds a day of the product. Again, these are pelleted products, so if your horse is novel or new to pelleted products, then again, gradually introduce them. Maybe you want to wet them so that they're not gobbling them down too quickly, but again, just make a gradual change.

 

Katy Starr (19:23):

Right. And so, let's say example's sake, we have a thousand-pound horse, they normally are consuming 2% of their body weight and hay. How would that look?

 

Dr. Tania Cubitt (19:34):

So, it depends on the goal that the person has. If we've got, okay, weight maintenance is fine, I like my horse's body weight, but maybe I'm just looking to improve manure quality, maybe help with a little topline. So, with that horse, if they're eating already 20 pounds of local hay and we want to supplement some better nutritional value hay, but we don't necessarily want our horse to get any fatter, then we're going to take out five pounds of the local hay and we're going to introduce five pounds of the Standlee product. If we have a horse that is overweight, then also removing that five pounds of the local hay that we're feeding and adding in the Standlee product. If your horse is underweight, you might just want to add this on top as an additional calorie source without going directly to a bagged concentrate.

 

Katy Starr (20:31):

Excellent. And if they're not having a concentrate in their diet, a ration balancer, like you've mentioned, is an ideal thing to make sure that we're meeting all of those...

 

Dr. Tania Cubitt (20:41):

Absolutely. Yeah.

 

Katy Starr (20:43):

Nutritional requirements.

 

Dr. Tania Cubitt (20:43):

Mm-Hmm .

 

Katy Starr (20:44):

And you alluded to it a little bit, but for those that maybe they have not fed pellets or cubes to their horses before, it's always a good idea to be soaking those for them.

 

Dr. Tania Cubitt (20:54):

Mm-Hmm .

 

Dr. Tania Cubitt (20:55):

But it also, I mean, you talk about this all the time, it's so good for making sure that a horse stays hydrated.

 

Dr. Tania Cubitt (21:01):

Absolutely.

 

Katy Starr (21:02):

And they're just consuming their feeds safely. And so, that's always a good idea as well.

 

Dr. Tania Cubitt (21:07):

Mm-Hmm . Mm-Hmm .

 

Katy Starr (21:08):

Another thing that we talked about a little bit before is remembering that a pound of long stem hay is the same as a pound of pellets and the same as a pound of cubes. Sometimes that can get confusing when you're looking at the different formats, but keeping that in mind will help you get a feel for what that looks like when you're making the diet for your horse. 

 

Dr. Tania Cubitt (21:30):

Absolutely.

 

Katy Starr (21:31):

And Dr. Cubitt, as we wrap up this episode, what would be some of your key takeaways that you would like to leave listeners with about supplementing with Standlee's high quality forage?

 

Dr. Tania Cubitt (21:42):

I mean, I think that the title of this podcast is something that we want listeners to be more confident just using the premium forage as a supplement. Supplementing, having a try of it. And you know, I know that a lot of us have our local supplier, a local hay supplier, and depending on the weather that year, it might just change the nutritional value. And we may be looking to try more of a forage-based approach to improving the topline or the hair coat or the body weight of a horse. And so, don't be afraid to try premium quality forage as a supplement. It is there to enhance what you're already doing. And I think that's primarily what we want to get listeners to think about. You don't need to change the whole program and completely get rid of all your local hay and just feed Standlee. We want you to look at it as the option of being a supplement to your fiber that you're currently feeding your horse.

 

Katy Starr (22:49):

Excellent. Thank you, Dr. Cubitt. And to our listeners, please reach out with any questions about the feed trial, or if you have more questions that are specific to introducing Standlee Forage into your horse's diet to improve their overall health, reach out to us. The nice thing is we have available Dr. Cubitt and Dr. Duren. Anytime that you're including Standlee into your diet, they're here as a resource for you, which is fantastic, I think, especially if you don't have access to an equine nutritionist, they can work with you and make sure that you're giving your horse what they need and you feel confident in that as well. And they make a great part of your team. So, Dr. Cubitt, thanks so much for being here with us today, and we will talk to you next time.

 

Dr. Tania Cubitt (23:35):

Thank you.

 

Katy Starr (23:38):

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.