Balancer, would you?

[milliepops]

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.

Its my understanding that an average healthy horse can generally synthesise enough b vits from the gut microorganisms , and gets additional from a forage based diet. So that may be the reason.

 

[milliepops]

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 ?‍?‍?‍

Depends what you mean by "work "
Are they a concentrated way to get vits mins and other nutrients supplied to your horse? Yes I'd argue they work for that. And if you have a fussy horse then pelleted ones are generally quite palatable. Are they going to do something amazing? Not unless the horse was significantly lacking in some way.

 

[Equi]

i have fed balancers in the past because i wanted to be doing the right thing etc but honestly never ever noticed any difference. I tried most of them and thankfully a bag lasts me a long long time, but none made me say oh wow the horse needed that.

 

[PurBee]

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 ?‍?‍?‍

Balancers are supposed to contain all major nutrients essential to a horse that are commonly missing in a grass only/hay only diet. Of course, depending on the variety of forage the horse is on depends entirely what nutrients are are lacking, but certainly with all preserved forage there are known deficits of major nitrients that dont store well as hay, mainly vit A, E, omega 3. Uk/irish soils are high in iron so balancing out copper and zinc are required too. Soils are low in magnesium too so thats to be added As horses have a high mag requirement for metabolism.

It depends on what you’re already feeding them, and you fill in what is missing. if theyre just on forage, additional nutrients are required.

 

[PurBee]

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.

Yes, completely agree about the B vitamins. I feed them separately. Trouble with b vits is that they degrade quite quickly. I buy human ones too for myself, and they are all top spec bio-available form of b vits within an airtight container with a silica bag to keep them ultra dry, and after 6 months, ive noticed they discolour....so i’d want to check the horse b vit manufacture date to be very recent, as its a concern they’ll degrade as a pelllet blended with other vitamins, especially salt.

I don’t like any supplement feeds or balancers blended with salt as salt degrades all the nutrients faster - good luck finding a mix pellet or powder without salt! ?

 

[planete]

No salt or iron in Pro Balance.

 

[Red-1]

Mine is on a constant diet, soaked hay with 3/4 mug sugar beet and straw chaff to allow minerals. I am using Western Salts from Trinity Consultants. I was going to go with Progressive Earth, but the Trinity Consultants' L94 was so effective I decided to go with their recommendation.

It cost £40, and is lasting really well.

I didn't want a pellet as his diet is stripped back.

Ingredients
Soy Lecithin, Sodium sulphate, Monodicalcium phosphate, Methyl-Sulphonyl-Methane, Potassium chloride, Magnesium Oxide, Vitamin E, Zinc Chelate of Glycine hydrate, Iron Chelate of Glycine hydrate, Kieselgur (Selected freshwater silicaceous single cell diatom algae), Selenium yeast, Trinity vitamins (Vitamin A, Vitamin D3, Vitamin K, Vitamin B1 Thiamine hydrochloride, Vitamin B2 Riboflavin, Vitamin B6 Pyridoxine, Pantothenic acid, Vitamin B12, Niacin, Biotin Supplement, Folic acid), Chromium polynicotinate.

 

[scats]

I use a balancer. The girls are on a permanent diet (muzzled when grass is good, weighed hay) and simply get tiny token feeds to put a supplement in really, so I add a balancer to ensure that I have everything covered.

 

[ycbm]

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

She doesn't need any more food ?

The balancer I'm planning on is 60g in total, none of that with much in the way of calories.

 

[Tiddlypom]

No salt or iron in Pro Balance.

Yes, and no linseed either. One of mine reacts to linseed, and it’s in a lot of things. I give linseed separately to the two who do well on it.

There is too much filler fluff in many commercial balancers. All been grand since I changed to Pro Balance+, which is relatively cheap, too.

 

[ycbm]

Mine is on a constant diet, soaked hay with 3/4 mug sugar beet and straw chaff to allow minerals. I am using Western Salts from Trinity Consultants. I was going to go with Progressive Earth, but the Trinity Consultants' L94 was so effective I decided to go with their recommendation.

It cost £40, and is lasting really well.

I didn't want a pellet as his diet is stripped back.

Ingredients
Soy Lecithin, Sodium sulphate, Monodicalcium phosphate, Methyl-Sulphonyl-Methane, Potassium chloride, Magnesium Oxide, Vitamin E, Zinc Chelate of Glycine hydrate, Iron Chelate of Glycine hydrate, Kieselgur (Selected freshwater silicaceous single cell diatom algae), Selenium yeast, Trinity vitamins (Vitamin A, Vitamin D3, Vitamin K, Vitamin B1 Thiamine hydrochloride, Vitamin B2 Riboflavin, Vitamin B6 Pyridoxine, Pantothenic acid, Vitamin B12, Niacin, Biotin Supplement, Folic acid), Chromium polynicotinate.

I'd be worried about the iron and lack of copper in that for here, Red, we are already sky high in iron and adding more would mean even more copper needed.

 

[ycbm]

It depends on what you’re already feeding them, and you fill in what is missing. If they're just on forage, additional nutrients are required.

I won't be feeding it to the other horse, who is eating 9-10kg of good haylage, 2kg grass nuts and 6-9 hours of unlimited multi species grass. I add copper and zinc to counter high iron and manganese, and magnesium because its generally believed to be needed. I don't think a horse on that kind of forage diet needs anything more, except perhaps yeast for gut health.
.

 

[WandaMare]

I've seen the value of adding a balancer especially when I've had oldies to feed. I've put my new pony on one because when he arrived at the beginning of Sept although a nice weight he looked quite poor in some respects, dull coat, scabs on his legs, cracked and thrushy feet. I use Baileys lo cal because its easy to get locally and he looks fab already. I think good forage is a good diet for most of the year but I always use a balancer for the ones staying in work Oct to March when the grass goes off.

 

[vam]

I feed mine pretty much the same, 5 kgs or so of haylage, couple of kgs of straw (which she will only eat if she really needs/wants to) handful of straw chaff and a bit of speedibeet and micronised linseed to carry her supplements. She was on very limited grass all spring/summer and moved onto the grazing i have saved since April which is too good for her really but she hasn't ballooned too much.
I would always say one of the 3, Equimins, Forage plus and Pro Earth but to be honest I really, really struggled to get her to eat them and she loves her food. I'm tempted to try again with pro earth but for her size i have to feed a massive scoop and she just didn't bother, no matter how hungry she was.
I now feed Pro mineral, brewers yeast, yesacc, salt, vit E and mag ox. Its a faff and I want to find something else but she looks and feels good so don't want to change it just in case although she may not need any of it. Joys of horses, always second guessing myself

 

[sjdress]

I feed Baileys Low Cal balancer to my grass kept veteran. I did swap to Spillers but I noticed more of a glossy coat etc on the Baileys one.

 

[Littlewills]

I won't be feeding it to the other horse, who is eating 9-10kg of good haylage, 2kg grass nuts and 6-9 hours of unlimited multi species grass. I add copper and zinc to counter high iron and manganese, and magnesium because its generally believed to be needed. I don't think a horse on that kind of forage diet needs anything more, except perhaps yeast for gut health.
.

I just find it easier to buy equimins, which covers all of that, turns up the next day without fail and is incredibly cost effective.

Reading all these people advocating balancers with iron in is scary. Someone described TopSpec as having the best spec. It really doesn't. It always makes me wonder what people are looking for when they say the spec of a balancer is the best etc?

 

[Polos Mum]

The amount of equimins pellets they need is so small you could even give is as a treat from your hand if you wanted to avoid bucket feeding one and not the other. I don't want my ultra fatty having bucket feed so I've a small bag if it in my coat pocket and he has that - others have a single grass nut or two (all to fat)

 

[Trouper]

I was once told by quite a wise equestrian that whatever food intake I restricted, or stopped, never ever to stop giving a balancer. As I never did I can't answer the question on how they looked without it!!
However, I am also another fan of Trinity Consultants. The guys there are so knowledgeable and helpful that they talk you through the options for your horse and your situation so you are not just trying to pick the right one off the shelf. It would by a call worth making before you commit yourself.

 

[ycbm]

I just find it easier to buy equimins, which covers all of that, turns up the next day without fail and is incredibly cost effective.

Reading all these people advocating balancers with iron in is scary. Someone described TopSpec as having the best spec. It really doesn't. It always makes me wonder what people are looking for when they say the spec of a balancer is the best etc?

I bought the Equimins last night It's the best fit for what I need, I think. Already in the post this morning.

Thanks for your help everyone.
.

 

[sjdress]

My usually very greedy eat anything mare wouldn’t eat the equimins balancer

 

[ester]

yup we have hand fed equimins to the mare,
F is a little more fussy

The spec for the powder v. pellets version is the same so I'm not sure why it would be of benefit to feed the powdered one with a feed if they will eat the pellets.
At one point F went off the pellets so I switch to the powder and he was fine, but he's been back on pellets since he went home 3ish years ago.
(they will usually send samples too)

 

[Cortez]

I used to feed a formulated one when I had a stud farm in Colorado which had a diagnosed soil deficiency (+ molybdenum). I've fed a balancer now and again since leaving there, but really did not see any difference and haven't done so for many years. Friends-who-are-vets say they have never seen a horse with a deficiency.

 

[PurBee]

My usually very greedy eat anything mare wouldn’t eat the equimins balancer

I have that too which they get now and then....but they really hate the pellets and wont eat them from hand....it has to be disguised in beet, even then my gelding plays with the bowl and throws it around. B vits smell and taste vile, even to humans sense of smell and taste.

As ester says, why there is preference for the powder and not pellets when the ingredients are the same is beyond knowing! Perhaps the powder mixed in beet is diluted well enough that the smell isnt so strong as a pellet hidden in there. My gelding tries to weedle out the pellets and eat the rest!

 

[PurBee]

No salt or iron in Pro Balance.

thats good to know - thanks planete...will check it out! ?

 

[ester]

I mostly switched cos it's harder to leave the powder out, you can leave your little scoop of expensive pellets in the bottom of the feed bucket

I was just responding to Gloi when she said she would feed powder with a fibre feed.

 

[vhf]

Used Top Spec Comprehensive for years for TB types. Now I also own a fatty and was convinced she was missing something (was already fat and on restricted diet at 11 months when I got her!); so after a lot of playing around am finally happy with how she is on Equimins Advance/HoofMender 75 depending on time of year. Having also moved and discovered TB type was carrying too much condition on the TopSpec with better turnout and less work, she is now also on the Equimins products, and if anything looks even better (given she's 18 and living out). I would happily recommend either company for product and customer service after several years' with both.

 

[ecb89]

I was pleased with top spec lite, however baileys lo cal sent my ID loopy

 

[poiuytrewq]

I’ve been using Spillers lean and lite, I bought it for my older horse who’s fat. Have actually been using it up on my Tb though and he’s looking pretty well in it. I was planning to just get shot of that one bag but may continue.

 

[Gloi]

I mostly switched cos it's harder to leave the powder out, you can leave your little scoop of expensive pellets in the bottom of the feed bucket

I was just responding to Gloi when she said she would feed powder with a fibre feed.

I feed the pellets.

 

[ester]

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

I must have totally misunderstood this post then sorry!