Balancer, would you?

[ycbm]

I'm considering putting my mare on a balancer for the winter because she needs so little food I'm worried about her vitamin and amino acid levels.

I've never used a balancer before, would you? And if so, which one for a horse eating 5kg soaked haylage, a few kilos of straw and 6-9 hours rough grass in a muzzle?
.

 

[ihatework]

Personally yes I would.
Either equimins in a mash feed, or if just wanting a balancer pellet I generally would go to Spillers

 

[SmartieBean09]

Im a big advocate for a Balancer. Ive used them for years and I have 2 favourites. If im using a pellet then I use Top Spec. It gets a lot of bad press at times but Ive never had any issues with it. I have kept barefoot horses and shod horses, veteran horses and Cushings horses etc, etc and Topspec has suited them all. If I were to use a powder then I love Dengie Vits and Mins. Both recommend by Clare Macleod for their specification and UK grazing. Saying that, I do think that what suits one may not suit another. However, back to your question...yes I would! ;-)

 

[sherry90]

I feed the Progressive Earth pro balance year round. It is quite economical too. I pop it with some linseed, salt and Happy Hoof Molasses free (fussy horse won’t eat anything anymore ‘salad’ like like Top Chop zero or Just Chop!) and atleast I know he’s getting all the vits/mins as he’s muzzled and soaked hay in summer and doesn’t have loads of grass in winter and main diet is hay during that time.

 

[Auslander]

I have all mine on Topspec Comprehensive Balancer - shod, barefoot, fat, thin, old, young, big, small ( yep - even the gremlins), and have never had such a wide variety of horses all look so good

 

[The Xmas Furry]

V happy to recco the Top Spec Lite balancer for a good do-er

 

[CouldItBe]

Mine is on Spillers lite and lean, she looks great on it, my old boy gets bluechip super concentrated senior balancer, he’s 29yo and looks half his age

 

[milliepops]

I don't think there's much of a reason not to if in doubt tbh.
Mine get Gain Opticare as the default option year round unless some other need is identified, because I'm tight and its very economical ?
Fatty broodmare just has minerals in grass chaff but she's still getting plenty of nice hay.

 

[doodle]

I used to feed top spec comprehensive and then the anti lam. Stopped it when I started formula4feet.

 

[Britestar]

Gain opticare. The only one that comes in a 25kg bag, and less than £20.

 

[ycbm]

I don't think there's much of a reason not to if in doubt tbh.

This is what I keep coming back to. Equimins advance complete will cost less than £100 for the whole winter, so why wouldn't I? Is just that I've never feed a balancer in my life before!

 

[shortstuff99]

I would feed Equimins (which mine are fed), would not use a commercial balancer (like baileys for example) they made my Spanish mare FAT!

 

[Melody Grey]

All of ours get equimins advance complete- seems to be the most economical option from what I’ve seen (stand to be corrected if not!).

I use the powder and haven’t had any refuse it- the pellets are a little more expensive but supposedly more palatable.

 

[paddy555]

This is what I keep coming back to. Equimins advance complete will cost less than £100 for the whole winter, so why wouldn't I? Is just that I've never feed a balancer in my life before!

all of ours have equimins AC and have done for years. I would never not give them a balancer. No complaints and they all look well.
You don't seem to give any hard feed so are you going for the pellet AC? if so make sure she is going to eat them. Perhaps ring Equimins and get a sample. I gather some don't like the pellets. Otherwise perhaps you have something to put the powder in. All of ours eat the powder with no problem.

 

[TPO]

I've used various ones including equimmins and forage plus but always go back to Progressive Earth.

Generally use Pro Balance +

 

[Melody Grey]

In summer mine just have the equimins powder in a handful of chaff, so I wouldn’t necessarily worry about there needing to be any more substantial feed involved, unless the horse needs it.

 

[The Jokers Girl]

V happy to recco the Top Spec Lite balancer for a good do-er

I feed that too. Its seems to be the most balanced balancer with the lowest calories and NSC

 

[ycbm]

all of ours have equimins AC and have done for years. I would never not give them a balancer. No complaints and they all look well.
You don't seem to give any hard feed so are you going for the pellet AC? if so make sure she is going to eat them. Perhaps ring Equimins and get a sample. I gather some don't like the pellets. Otherwise perhaps you have something to put the powder in. All of ours eat the powder with no problem.

She gets 100g (one handful) of grass nuts to hold her minerals. With the Equimins AC, I can halve the minerals and stop the yeast, and she's a greedy eater so I don't think she will be a problem to take the powder in the 100g soaked grass nuts.

 

[ycbm]

In summer mine just have the equimins powder in a handful of chaff, so I wouldn’t necessarily worry about there needing to be any more substantial feed involved, unless the horse needs it.

She certainly doesn't need food! She's a shockingly good doer, but when I watch her on camera you can see why. She barely moves all night. She certainly knows how to conserve energy ?

 

[PurBee]

I don't think there's much of a reason not to if in doubt tbh.
Mine get Gain Opticare as the default option year round unless some other need is identified, because I'm tight and its very economical ?
Fatty broodmare just has minerals in grass chaff but she's still getting plenty of nice hay.

ditto...gain opticare is a good baseline of various nutrients for the price. It’s not brilliant for mag and copper levels and they add iron...(which i wrote to them about and got no response! ?)....but its ok as a baseline, which i add mag. ox on top and copper.....and protexin, altho’ gain does have probiotics in also, which i like about it)

I’d be willing to try other balancers but the imported price of uk manufacturers make them really expensive in ireland per bag. (18 euro for straight dengie alfalfa pellets 15kg for instance.)

Gain opticare is around 20 euro for 20kg...1kg per 500kg horse per day....1 euro per day baseline added minerals isnt bad at all. Compared to formula for feet, and the others out there...

 

[Roasted Chestnuts]

Spillers or D&H light balancers are good for those needing little calories but vits and mins. I’ve tried other and they blew my horses brains

 

[ester]

The only harm is going to be your bank balance.
Have fed equimins adv complete for at least 7 years now, he's not dead yet. . . . (neither is the mare tbf but she has a few years on him)

we need extra magnesium though, fat pads otherwise

 

[The Jokers Girl]

ditto...gain opticare is a good baseline of various nutrients for the price. It’s not brilliant for mag and copper levels and they add iron...(which i wrote to them about and got no response! ?)....but its ok as a baseline, which i add mag. ox on top and copper.....and protexin, altho’ gain does have probiotics in also, which i like about it)

I’d be willing to try other balancers but the imported price of uk manufacturers make them really expensive in ireland per bag. (18 euro for straight dengie alfalfa pellets 15kg for instance.)

Gain opticare is around 20 euro for 20kg...1kg per 500kg horse per day....1 euro per day baseline added minerals isnt bad at all. Compared to formula for feet, and the others out there...

I did feed gain opticare but them found out they have no b vits at all in the balancer. B vits are essential for hind gut health, which for my laminitic is essential. There are reasons certain feeds are cheap, was £18 for 25kg bag compared to top spec lite and pure feed balance at about £22 for 15kgs, and its normally because they are lacking essential ingredients and contain a lot of filler. Its been about 2.5 to 3 years now since ive fed the opticare so maybe they now include them.

 

[The Jokers Girl]

The only harm is going to be your bank balance.
Have fed equimins adv complete for at least 7 years now, he's not dead yet. . . . (neither is the mare tbf but she has a few years on him)

we need extra magnesium though, fat pads otherwise

I see a lot about mag keeping fat pads at bay, does it help the metabolism? Mine could do with assistance with that, do you feed it straight?

 

[Micropony]

I feed the agrobs one. Pelleted and seems very palatable. It's very concentrated, not bulked out with a load of fillers, so a tub lasts ages. Whole yard is on it (tb, wb, Spanish and Welsh D) and they all do really well on it.

 

[Jeni the dragon]

I've fed Top Spec for years. Moved from Blue Chip moons ago after speaking to both companies at an event and having very different experiences.
I have both of ours on Lite. They're both good doers, on strict garzing. She gets a handful of chaff with hers and he gets his soaked as is a greedy pig! They get very little else all year round. Top Spec are incredibly helpful, quite often have money off their balancers, and are good at giving out vouchers too. Plus my ponies look fabulous on it.

 

[ester]

I see a lot about mag keeping fat pads at bay, does it help the metabolism? Mine could do with assistance with that, do you feed it straight?

I feed 98% mag ox from intralabs.
I took him off it a few years ago as stripped all his as having liver issues, shortly after solid neck and tail head pads appeared, neither of which had been noticeable previously in my ownership - he arrived very fat as a 12 year old.
Been back on magnesium ever since and while he can get a bit necky sometimes (he is old/retired/treated as metabolic) the tail head pads have never returned.

 

[SatansLittleHelper]

Do balancers actually work..?? I keep thinking about putting mine on something like this but just don't know if they are worth the money or what I should actually be looking for in the ingredients ?‍?‍?‍

 

[windand rain]

Youngsters have suregrow but it seems to be the most economical so might not change they look fabulous on it

 

[Gloi]

This is what I keep coming back to. Equimins advance complete will cost less than £100 for the whole winter, so why wouldn't I? Is just that I've never feed a balancer in my life before!

I much prefer to feed the minerals in a fibre feed with linseed meal if they need it than buy balancer.