Balancers

That's a very short question, without context. So the answer is probably "it depends".
How would you define "real benefit"? And what else is the horse getting as a ration?
 
If you need know what your balancing , yes, a big benefit. By having a grass/forage analysis you will know what minerals you are deficient in, hence, you can then find a balancer which suits your horses needs.
 
Sorry for brief reply have more details. This is a 25year old TB mare. ut at grass as retired. She is brought in to a field shelter at nigh in winter but is out 24/7 in summer.

At the moment she is fed coarse mix flaked barley a handfull of mollichop (sp) This is fed twice a day all year round. She lso has haylage plus soak sugar beet cubes in winter.
 
Two answers if she looks well and moves well than no, but her diet is not very balanced so yes it really depends what you see in front of you.

Mine are both porkers and they get lo- cal balancer and no sugar alfa I am happy that they look well and confident that they are getting all they need vits and mins they need.
 
Balancers are designed to provide the minimum RDA of a long list of micronutrients (vits, mins, essential amino acids). The idea is to make up for any shortages in the rest of the ration. You're feeding primarily forage and straights, so it is pretty likely that your total ration is low in some of those micronutrients. For example, most forage in the UK has low copper and zinc levels, and your bucket feed isn't supplying those particular minerals at any appreciable level.
Now, the other part of the question is what you'd consider a "benefit"? Nutrients are not like medication. Unless your horse is suffering from a pretty pronounced deficiency, you are not likely to see a drastic improvement in any one particular aspect of your horse's health. Rather, feeding a balanced ration is "insurance" that the body has all the necessary nutrients to grow healthy tissues and function well.
So, I'd say based on the description of the current diet that yes, a balancer might make up for some deficiencies in the ration (though as Follysmum points out, you only really know if you go to the trouble of doing a forage analysis). On the other hand, if your horse is doing well, has no obvious problems and at this age is not expected to perform in the future, you might ask yourself if you think it is worth to pay the cost of a balancer as "insurance" against potential future nutrient deficiencies. Up to you.

The other option would be to replace some of your "straight" feeds with a fortified feed (like a cube or mix) that already contains vits&mins. For this to work you'd have to feed at the recommended amount though, which is often more than people really want to feed of a bagged cube/mix.
 
supsup said:
Balancers are designed to provide the minimum RDA of a long list of micronutrients (vits, mins, essential amino acids). The idea is to make up for any shortages in the rest of the ration. You're feeding primarily forage and straights, so it is pretty likely that your total ration is low in some of those micronutrients. For example, most forage in the UK has low copper and zinc levels, and your bucket feed isn't supplying those particular minerals at any appreciable level.
Now, the other part of the question is what you'd consider a "benefit"? Nutrients are not like medication. Unless your horse is suffering from a pretty pronounced deficiency, you are not likely to see a drastic improvement in any one particular aspect of your horse's health. Rather, feeding a balanced ration is "insurance" that the body has all the necessary nutrients to grow healthy tissues and function well.
So, I'd say based on the description of the current diet that yes, a balancer might make up for some deficiencies in the ration (though as Follysmum points out, you only really know if you go to the trouble of doing a forage analysis). On the other hand, if your horse is doing well, has no obvious problems and at this age is not expected to perform in the future, you might ask yourself if you think it is worth to pay the cost of a balancer as "insurance" against potential future nutrient deficiencies. Up to you.

The other option would be to replace some of your "straight" feeds with a fortified feed (like a cube or mix) that already contains vits&mins. For this to work you'd have to feed at the recommended amount though, which is often more than people really want to feed of a bagged cube/mix.
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Sums it up perfectly!

The only thing that I would add is that most balancers (as opposed to general vit/min supplements) also contain probiotic yeasts, the theory behind these being that they help to maintain a healthy population of bacteria in the hindgut to ensure effective fibre digestion, which in turn can make it easier for horses to maintain condition. Factors such as antibiotic treatment, stress, illness or a high carb/low fibre diet can disrupt gut bacteria, so a balancer may be useful if that is the case.
 
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