Balancers - who feeds them?

I feed a general vit and min supplement if that helps? I do it because I don't feed a commercial mix so I want to make sure he gets everything he needs - feedwise in winter he gets chaff, oats, linseed, bran and kwik beet. I feed a supplement in summer as I noticed that he never looks so well by the end of the summer if he hasn't had them - and he likes having a handful of chaf every day!
 
Yep, Topspec, cos my horse needs only a small amount of feed to keep him in good nick, but has bad feet and is still develping so the balancer gives him everything for a good coat, feet and to support developement. Also cheaper for me than forking out for "recommended" amount of feed to provide him with the nutrients for the work he does.
 
I feed Bailiey's low cal. My horse is not in much work at the moment what with it being winter and all the flooding etc. He can be spookey so I prefer for him to be fed ad lib hay, a balancer and minimal hard feed. Once he is in harder work and he neds more energy he will still get ad lib hay but I will increase his hard feed to a slow energy release food and may cut down on the balancer if he is getting sufficient nutrients from his other hard food.

My horse does seem to look a lot better when he is on the lo cal balancer, so even though its expensive and he may not really seem to need it, he still gets it. What I find interesting is that he does display quite a few natual behavious and digs for roots in the field and will eat tree leaves and branches depending on the time of year etc.
 
I used to feed low cal but tbh saw no change in my horse(3/4 bred)- he has done better on a ad lib hay and a high fibre diet, imo you can't go wrong with that.
 
I feed Blue Chip to my Hann x TB as part of his diet. It has helped him maintain condiion, his coat is great & he looks really good even at this time of the year when prior to using it he would lose condition/weight. I have considered using another balancer as Blue Chip is one of the more expensive ones however it suits him so I am leaving things well alone.
smile.gif
 
I've become a massive balancer convert. Thumper was being fed Top Spec, but I found it very, very expensive. At the recommendation of a couple of friends I have now put him on Redmills Grow and Win Balancer. It's half the price of Top Spec, but they swear by it - so am giving it a go.

Having sat down and done the maths, it's probably cheaper to have them on a balancer than to feed a suppliment.
 
i feed Baileys Stud Balancer to all mine, have done for years, in varying quantities depending on age, size, workload. I'm happy that they're getting everything they need if they get that plus hay plus a bit of readigrass, hi fi, sugar beet.
 
TopSpec, infoal mare is on the reccomeneded amount for the last trimester, and 2/3rd of the reccomeneded amount before, along with adlib hayledge and grass. 6yr old w/b gelding is on reccomemned amount with adlib hay and grass. Both look fantastic. Mare has been this for 2 years, gelding the last 3 months. Have always had the energy I need from them for work, without any silly hyperness.
 
I feed both of mine TopSpec... Initially I started feeding it to Hannah because she kept getting spasmodic colic and I was advised by the vet to change her on to Alfalfa and include a yeast as he gut was very imbalanced when the tests came through. I looked long and hard at all the supplements etc. and TopSpec were excellent with their information, advice etc etc.

Now both are on the TopSpec as it contains all the vits and mins they need and it is not a huge feed for Grace as she is not a big eater. I looked into other balancers, but TopSpec always came out the better option.
 
I'm a balancer addict!

Tills is on Baileys stud balancer as she can be a fussy feeder, so I wanted to make sure she got all her vits/mins without having to feed her massive quantities of stud mix that she may not eat/

Rage is on TopSpec - initally to aid his hoof quality, but now he just looks fantastic all round and his hooves are unrecognisable compared to the ones he used to have!
grin.gif
He has it with Alfalfa chaff and speedibeet, and hasn't needed any other mix/cubes since starting on the TopSpec.

Boo is on Equilibria. Originally she was on TopSpec, but we had a bag of equilibria one time as we couldn't get hold of any TopSpec, and found Boo was much more chilled on the equilibria, so that's what she stayed on. Again, she only has it with chaff and speedibeet, and doesn't need anything else, and she looks fab! There are pics of her in the PG somewhere if you want pictorial evidence
tongue.gif
 
I feed Top Spec because I have a youngster and want to ensure that she gets all the necessary nutrition.

A feed balancer also save messing around with all the different supplements so is easier.
 
My TB gets Pink Powder, she's a good doer, not in work and only fed a handful of chaff.

Highly recommend D&H Suregrow. All the same ingredients as balancers and is around £14
 
Thanks everyone!! I already feed D&H Suregrow to B (who's in-foal, for anyone that didn't know) and H (rising 2yo) is going back on it.

I was curious, as I was talking to TopSpec yesterday about Berry and his cereal intollerance - it's not a temperament thing fo rhim, it's physical, he comes out in crusty lumps and TopSpec is the only balancer on the market that isn't made on a cereal base.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Highly recommend D&H Suregrow. All the same ingredients as balancers and is around £14

[/ QUOTE ]

Golly, I must get it cheaply then, as I only pay just over £12 a bag!
 
Have fed various balancers over the years but now swear by Bailey's LoCal. Horse looks amazing on it, and he kept his muscle tone extremely well despite being on box rest and out of work for months following injury. I top dress with oats if needed, but mainly just feed the LoCal, HiFi and sugar beet.
 
I feed Feedmark Benevit to my 4 year old Warmblood, I spoke to them at Olympia and she recommended this. Apparently a balancer is not neccessary for him as he carries weight well but I wanted to make sure he had all the vits and mins he needs whilst still developing. Really pleased-he looks great at the moment on this with speedibeet, chaff, a handful of pony nuts and oil. If you buy it from the tradestand you get 50% so I'm currently working my way through a 5 month supply-cost about £25!!
 
Have fed the small ginger rescue pony both lo-cal and benefit at different times. These days she has a dengie stable lick and seems to do just as well on that (she gets a small handful of happyhoof when the others are fed in addition to hay).
 
Maiden is on Baileys Lo-Cal (plus a tiny half handful of HiFi Lite to put her Superflex in). She's horribly overweight and not doing any work, but she needs to have some sort of feed a) to keep her condition on as although she's overweight she can fairly quickly get a dull coat and start looking "poor" yet pot-bellied, and b) to stop her eating the babies' feeds! Lo-Cal was the obvious choice really as I don't want her to gain any weight, but I want to esnure she's getting the right nutrients. I would feed a general purpose supplement but I can't feed powders - they blow away in the wind when I tip the food into the buckets in the field!
The two babies (3yo Darcy and the "new" 2yo Liberator filly) are on Baileys Stud Balancer, just to ensure they get their vits and mins. Darcy was a bit off-colour in the bad weather so she's now on a full ration to ensure she doesn't lose any more weight (she's looking good though, I just don't want it to start coming off!) and Libby is on half rations as she's fine on that. They're both on AlfaA as well until my bag runs out then I've got some AlfaA Oil to try, and hopefully Darcy can then go back on half rations of balancer if she starts to look as well as she was looking last year.
 
Mine guys are on Baileys lo cal balancer as they are fatties and it can be fed on its own.
At work we use Equiform equibalance.
 
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Highly recommend D&H Suregrow. All the same ingredients as balancers and is around £14

[/ QUOTE ]

Golly, I must get it cheaply then, as I only pay just over £12 a bag!

[/ QUOTE ]

I use it for my eventers as it's the same as D&H Ultimate Balancer but I only pay £10.20 delivered!
laugh.gif
 
Toby_Zaphod- how long have you fed your horse blue chip? how many bags before you started to see a difference? i'm nearly through my first bag and can't really see any difference to my boy!!
Thanks
 
TopSpec for me
cool.gif
Got an oldie, so all his vit/minerals included plus pro biotics for gut action and biotin for his crap TB x feet!! Also we don't have very good grazing. Can't reccomend it enough. My old boy looks fab
cool.gif
 
I started feeding Top spec to my new horse just under 2 weeks ago, his coat is now soft and gleaming (was dull and rough!) His feet are getting better (Im saying that but its not enough time to tell lol!) and his half a mane is growing back (the rubbed part that is!)

I think if fed properly and in the right circumstances they are worth every penny! He will certaintly be staying on it!
 
I love baileys Lo-cal aswell. My girl doesen't like redmills balencer, but loves baileys. When I got her she was in a small state and feet a mess, shes now lovley and glossy with fab feet, and all she gets is balancer and chaff.
 
I feed mine Blue Chip and Blue Chip Pro and have noticed excellent results with them. Im definitely a fan of feed balancers and i think they work out more cost effective in the long run.
 
I used Baileys Stud balancer for my mare when she was pregnant and then lactating. She's a good doer so it was perfect for her, she was getting all the nutients she needed but without the calories. This was even more essential when she was on 4 months box rest and still feeding the foal. The colt, who's now 7 months is also on it as he's a good doer like his mum so just gets the recommended amount of BSB and adlib haylage.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top