Balancer Query for good doer

[Honey'sMum]

Having never had any dealings with balancers etc before, I'm looking for suggestions/advice. My daughter's pony is a stocky Sec B who does very well on very little! He will also light up on small amounts of hard food. I do strip him back in the winter and normally manage his weight well from this. My daughter is on the lead rein and if I'm honest, the pony is probably too big for her but he's normally very reliable considering she only rides him once or twice a week he's good as gold. I'm thinking of cutting out his yoghurt pot of cubes and using a balancer type feed with a handful of chaff. Have any of you knowledgeable lot used one that is suitable? I just want to ensure he's having all his vits and minerals without extra calories. There's so many to choose from my brain is all boggled.

 

[HeyMich]

Baileys do a lo-cal balancer (No 14 I think) that is really good for fatties. I had my porky mare on it last year and she looked great on it.

I'd ask at your local feed shop (depends what brands they stock) or just call/e-mail around a few feed companies and see what they say.

 

[be positive]

Most ponies will be fine on nothing other than grass and hay, if he has been doing well on a token amount of cubes then he should not require any more and could have that taken out and not replaced, I have several native ponies here and they never get fed unless there is a good reason to do so, they all look rather well, have plenty of energy and the older sec b, now 22, is looking far better than he did when he arrived 2 years ago with a bin full of feed.
They are designed to live on poor grazing and unless they are working hard should need no feed, balancer or supplement, don't get sucked in by the feed companies trying to sell you stuff you don't need.

 

[supsup]

Any of the pelleted balancers on the market would probably do the job, and if fed as recommended (generally around 100g balancer per 100kg bodyweight), the amount and energy content would probably be similar to the yoghurt tub of cubes you're currently feeding (except with more concentrated levels of vits and mins). Don't be fooled by the "lite" type balancers - in terms of energy content, there is very little difference between those and "regular" balancers, but sometimes they are more expensive than the ordinary balancers. I like the Spillers daily balancer for two reasons: no added iron (which most horses don't need), and comparatively cheap (about £17.30 per 15kg), but do shop around. I don't think I'd bother adding chaff on top of the balancer, unless the pony is a greedy eater. It would just add more calories that you may not need/want.
You could also have a look at the Equimins advance complete pelleted balancer which is very concentrated, so you only feed a couple of Tbsp full per day, but I'd definitely get a taste sample first as it has a pretty strong smell/taste and your pony might not eat it. Or you could look into something like Equibites, where you feed the balancer in the form of a handful of treats per day (which could replace any treats you might give otherwise). It's not quite as full spec as most of the pelleted balancers, but would definitely be a very low calorie option.
Or you could do as be positive suggests, and simply see how you get one without a balancer. I do like to feed one, as mine is on restricted grazing pretty much year round, but it's a choice, not a necessity.