Blue Chip Feed Balancer...Your Before & Afters?

[Kenzo]

Morning

Just been on their website this morning having a gander as you do, having read and looked at the Before and After pics, it got me thinking, obviously it looks like a very good product and I'm not doubting that, but is it really as good as what the pictures make out?

Because some of the ponies/horses on the before pics do look at their lest say very worst, surely even with a 'normal good diet' they wouldn't look quite that poor (apart from ones that have had an illness or are very old etc which is totally understandable) and then in the after pictures they all look beautiful, with gleaming coats, plenty of weight, muscle etc...which is great, but surely most of that is a combination of good quality food, work, time, a bath, a jolly good groom, lost there scraggy coats, lots of care...as well as the feed balancer....ok with me so far?

So I just wondered if any of you guys use it or have used it on a horse that is actually lets say pretty much 'a picture of health' already, has a reasonable coat, nicely covered etc but could do with that little more condition....basically room for improvement, if so then did you notice a dramatic improvement just purely from using this feed balancer, is it something you would recommend every horse to be fed for example?

Just interested in hearing your before and afters, rather than just the marketing ones.

 

[Maesfen]

I've worked with very poor horses a lot over the years, from the 60's. I find using Blue Chip has helped a lot and makes it a lot easier and quicker to actually see a difference as there's a lot going on inside but you don't see much happening on the outside for quite some time. Because it's only small amounts, it's also better for the horse too. Whereas before, it could take up too a year to be back to proper weight and looking a picture because you can't just pump them full of food, that could be fatal; it has to be the right stuff in small amounts for them. With BC, you still give your small feeds but the added 'goodies' in that, go deep and help them digest it, so making better use of it, which gives them a settled digestive system which in turn makes them look and feel tons better a lot quicker in my experience.
Even with all the baths and titivating under the sun, if a horse is not right on the inside, it'll not look right on the outside; you only get out what you put in.

Up until this year, I have also used it at weaning time and for the first winter for the foals which has helped a lot in keeping them calm and not dropping weight like they sometimes can when they come off the mare. With only one foal to wean which is already with three weaned foals and being the calm sort she is, I don't think there'll be much need of it but I will have some in just in case; they can always surprise you!

Personally, I do rate it, worth every penny in those circumstances (poor, unthrifty or weaning) but I don't use it as a normal feed all of the time, I have too many but if I only had the one, I'd feed it year round without a doubt.

 

[Kenzo]

Thank you, some good info there and I appreciate you have taken time to share your views on it.

Don't want anyone to get the wrong impression here by the way, I'm not knocking it, nor the before of after pics on the site, I just wanted to hear recomendations/opinions etc from people that have started there horses on it that are already looking well but perhaps wanted see if they blossomed any more and if its definately worth feeding etc...if you see what I mean.

Many Thanks

 

[Theresa_F]

I use equilbra - and yes it does give good results. Cairo had it and really perked up in the last months on it.

Chancer has it too and has really put on a lot of muscle and topline - yes he is worked more but not a huge amount more than before he started it so it does do something.

Was also good on my TB mare who was a delicate flower.

Some horses really do well on it and others don't need it, ie old, young and poor condition need it, your average horse probably doesn't.

 

[hellybelly6]

I have just thrown out the blue chip I had. It's protein content is too high for Jake and its caused protein and urea build up in his blood and urine. I do not think the situation was helped by the Alfalfa too.

I have cut both out of his diet and hope his blood test from this morning shows an improvement.

I am sure it is great for horses in poor condition or during high levels of exercise such as race horses/event horses, but for your average horse, its too much.

 

[oofadoofa]

I haven't actually tried Blue Chip, but I have used Top Spec and think it's fantastic stuff. here is a before and after of my boy. Just by way of background, he was really ill about 2 months before the first pic was taken and we were feeding him conditioning feeds but without much success. The pics were taken only 3 weeks apart.

And him now! (he is 22 by the way)

 

[hellybelly6]

Awww bless him, having a wee doze in the sunshine. He looks very good.

Like I said for poor doers and horses in hard work its great, but not for your average joe.

 

[CrazyMare]

Don't rate Blue Chip, however I do use TopSpec. My ponies look fantastic. I have a series of photos over the course of a few years that show the improvement in my mare. My filly has never been fed anything else and has a coat like glass.

 

[Kenzo]

Orr bless him, glad he's better now, certainly an improvement and he does look well for his age and considering the time after he was ill, thats great.

Top Spec seems to be quite a popular one by the sounds of it and what others have said, thank you.

 

[scotsmare]

I use top spec rather than blue chip - we had a show pony once that we were trying to improve condition with, gave her blue chip, she had an allergic reaction to something in it and all the hair on her face fell out (helpful in a show pony

)

Now, obviously that's just one response to it but it was enough to put me off and I've used topspec without a problem ever since.

 

[Adina]

I've used BC for years but not at the rate they say. Also I don't use much hard feed. I first started using it for a very poor Anglo Arab that I bought for my daughter. He was literally starving and his condition was so poor when we had him , I was so embarassed that I kept him rugged up so no-one would see. I was stuffing him with food and nothing was happening, then someone suggested BC. Worked a treat. But since then daughter has grown up gone to the states so he has gone out on loan. He has always been fat with me, but loaners don't always follow your strict feed regime. One girl was feeding massive buckets of feed and he was really thin. Next person I stressed the feed regime - ad-lib haylage BC and small amount mix or nuts - result lovely condition.
I think feed balancers are great if you feed a high forage diet. I don't think there is a lot to choose between them, I've just got used to using BC. But my old boy only gets hay or haylage (out 24/7) and so does my brood mare except in last trimester and lactating. My riding horse gets BC with his feed in winter only but I'm always getting comments about his glossy coat.
I think perhaps that there are some minerals or vits that horses get naturally in the summer out at grass but get used up as they go into winter. Hence the saying " Anyone can keep weight on a horse until Christmas".

 

[carys220]

QR
Before

After

I know that the first pic doesn't look too bad but she was quite thin under all the hair!

And my NF coming in from living out all winter on blue chip.

I think the stuff is fantastic!!

 

[PennyJ]

We've had excellent results on BC.

2 TB's who would drop condition seemingly in the blink of an eye and look like RSPCA cases. We put them on BC about 18 months ago and they haven't looked back, no more hunger strikes and dropping condition, both are not stressy any more, just fed with Hi Fi and feed merchants own brand nuts. Before they were on Build up, beet, barley and goodness what else! This has actually worked out cheaper overall, but most importantly the horses are happy and never turn their noses up at dinner time any more.

NF/TB he looked fine in the first place, but after 2 months was looking absolutely superb. He changed shape which we weren't expecting as he was 10 and just looks so much better. Actually he's off it now as we want to see if he changes back again and if we can do without feeding it to him. A month now and he's still looking good.

Elderly Section A. Was fed a very small amount (1/2 cup) and he got through the winter far better than expected with no loss of condition unlike the year before. Sadly now deceased after a bad bout of colic in April.

2 NF ponies. Both good condition to start with, one very stressy type. Both did well coming through last winter on half the feed required the year before. Lovely shiny coats and a really calm attitude from the stressy one.

Can you tell I think the stuff is worth the money?!

 

[DollyDolls]

It helped Dolls fill her frame as she's growing. Dont use it in the summer due to fantastic grass, but I will from Atumn onwards til late spring. It then means I can cut the supplements out, so it only works out a bit more per month

 

[Spyda]

Why exactly is it that Top Spec seems preferable to Blue Chip? Is there much of a difference in ingredience between Top Spec, Eqilibra and Blue Chip? I've genuinely always wonedered! Hard to compare reading the gumph on the websites, they all promote their products as being THE ONE!

 

[Janette]

Good point. Difficult to compare ingredients, because I don't think they are all published, like the feed values are published on line and on the sacks.

Interesting to hear about the decrease in 'stressyness'.....I usually feed a calmer over winter, and perhaps I won't need to this winter.

I know that the BC website says that you might not need to feed the full ration of hard feed when on BC - has anybody had this experience?

 

[Kenzo]

Just a quick reply to say thank you everyone for sharing your experiances and views, much appreciated

 

[PennyJ]

Yes Janette, we definitely get through less hard feed now than before we started using Blue chip. Also its cheaper stuff now, like pony nuts rather than Build Up, which is about twice the price of nuts per sack.