Blue Chip Concentrated Balancers or other "oompf" recommendation

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Welshie95

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Has anyone had good experience with these? Wanting to give my boy a little lift as he lacks energy and "go" but as he is such a poor doer he is already eating a lot of bulk so don't want to add much more in the way of 3+ mugs extra like most balancers recommend.
He is 15hh /just under 500kg and does novice dressage (looking to move up this year) and hacking.
Currently on ad lib haylage, 2 Stubbs scoops of Alfa A Oil (800g), one Stubbs scoop grass nuts (1.5kg) and 3.5 mugs of micronised linseed split into 3 meals per day, plus succulents and permanent Horselyx.
 
Sorry have never used this but have used other Blue Chip products and found them to be fab! I currently use Allen and Page and have found them good too and cheaper. As a side note are you sure its not a fitness thing? Only saying because mine became sluggish so I thought it was a lack of feed. When my instructor saw him she said nope hes not fit enough so we worked on that and hey presto! Whatever it is I hope you get it sorted and best of luck with competitions x
 
I have used Blue Chip Pro to help with energy and maintaining topline on my older mare, it worked great. I only fed a mugful a day and still had good results.
 
Balencers are more for balancing a feed which is unbalanced (Gosh that's a tortuous statement!) So for filling in a gap if you like. Your lad is a poor do-er so you can feed to manufacturers spec without a problem. If you are using a main branch product that will have all the vits & mins he needs.

Smelly cob is quite right about checking fitness first. Horses can't perform at their best if they are not fit. If he isn't clipped out then clipping him might also help. Its hard to run about in the horse coat equivalent of a sauna suit.

Assuming it is feed...You don't say what make grass nuts - but most look like about 10 - 11Mj/Kg. If you go for a competition type mix / cube you can get 12.5 - 13 MjKg which might make the difference. Alternative you could try something like NAF Ener-G or Propell (Equine America?) I've used both in the past - not together - to help horses needing a short term amount of sparkle.
 
I don't usually find a balancer does much for oomph unless the feed is seriously lacking in some area. I have used Blue Chip Pro and Saracen Stamm 30 and not noticed any energy difference. As Shay has said above you can get far more response from clipping! If you are wanting energy then using a mix for a higher level of work helps Allen and Page and Saracen do pretty good graduated feeds for energy requirements. Mine are using Re leve and I don't find I need to add much to that as it gives consistent energy levels. One of mine goes up a few gears just on a little bit of alf alfa (I give it to help his hooves in winter) but I suspect this is an odd reaction as he also gets a bit spooky too.

Maybe check iron and copper in the diet too, as anaemia for either of these linked elements can give a tired lethargic response just as it would in us. Quite a few competition horses I know get put on Red Cell as a boost in winter.
 
Hi all, you are right and he is definitely not fit at the moment, he is clipped though and now on box rest with mud fever which is totally helping the energy at the moment! I will be working more on fitness now Jan exams are out of the way so hope this will help. Would a mix be safe for suspected ulcers? He's not insured so not scoped, but given his weight loss and extremely worried nature we just treat him as one. I've been looking at Dodson and Horrels Build and Glow which is 15mj DE energy and you only feed 500g per day for a 500kg horse so not too much extra bulk. I've upped the linseed to 4 mugs, they're unbranded from local feed shop, grass nuts are Dengie and them and chaff amounts have remained the same.
 
My WB needed a bit more oomph so I spoke to several of the feed companies and settled on Bailey's no.19 performance balancer.Their helpline was very good. He has it with alfa a and micronised linseed. Before a competition I often give him a few handfuls of Top Spec Turbo as well.
 
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