can anybody recommend a feed balancer?

What do you want the balancer for?

Weight gain.
Top Line.
Or just to balance the grazing.

Baileys Lo Cal is good but about £22 a bag, lasts a while though.

If it is just for Vit's and Min's then feed seaweed as it has it all in it and cheap.
 
What do you want the balancer for? To provide vit/mins etc for a good doer, to put condition on a poor doer, for a veteran horse etc?
 
I use top spec lite on my very good-doing arabs. Lower cereal (has none I think) than most, so helps with sane brains (mare can be a little enthusiatic, loves to work bless her).
 
I used Top Spec Comprehensive for my Tb and he looked amazing all last year on it. Great for condition, hooves and he was very level headed. However it's price kept going up and when it hit £36 a sack I decided to changed to Spillers Original Balancer. It was on offer for £23.99 at first but has now gone to it's rrp of £29.99 but is still saving me £7 which over a year will add up. I can't say I have noticed any difference in my lad. He looks great and his personnality hasn't changed at all. (still grumpy and lazy lol) They also do a lite version which is a little cheaper and I'm sure just as good.
 
I've used Lo Cal for all mine for years - Warmblood X TB, ISH, TB X, Hairy coloured cob boy, and they always look bright eyed and shiny. The stressy natured ones maintained weight and hairy boy didn't get fat.
However, stopped using it and noticed the dark bay's coat is dull and scurfy instead of silky and gleaming for the first time.
Going to get another bag tomorrow, for one small mug full a day, lasts ages.
 
Top Spec all the way here! Not as cheap as some others, but bag does last for ages. Sorted out my skinny TB a treat and my 18yr old DWB looks fab too. Sanity intact for both - really rate it :)
 
I also use Topspec at around £38 bag but I only feed a mug full a day so it lasts a long time and you don't need to add anything else. You can compare the level of nutrients per price of say 100g to see what you you are getting for your money (if you like a mathematical challenge!) I seem to recall a year or two ago Topspec came out as quite good value against some of the others but can't remember the details.
 
Lollii said:
Anyone use Blue Chip? I have heard it is good (for TB Ex Racer - that I want to stay sane! and an over weight WB that is on a diet:rolleyes:) but it is £40 a bag :eek:
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I do! I feed Blue Chip Lami Light to my Welsh D who has had laminitis. She doesn't need to lose any more weight but I'm keeping her weight on with just hay at the moment so she still needs the balancer. I like that it has the hoof supplement and magnesium which supposedly reduces fat deposits. Also she looks really muscled and shiny (she is 21 so a veteran too!). It's about £30 a bag if you buy it off their website as they deliver (next day) free to your house or yard and are always doing special offers and discounts.
 
unbalanced said:
I do! I feed Blue Chip Lami Light to my Welsh D who has had laminitis. She doesn't need to lose any more weight but I'm keeping her weight on with just hay at the moment so she still needs the balancer. I like that it has the hoof supplement and magnesium which supposedly reduces fat deposits. Also she looks really muscled and shiny (she is 21 so a veteran too!). It's about £30 a bag if you buy it off their website as they deliver (next day) free to your house or yard and are always doing special offers and discounts.
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thanks for your comments everyone= i had a bit of a bad experience with the delivery from blue chip so might just pay the mark up and go to the tack shop! I did like the fact it contained everything- its for two good doers, a youngster and veteran who don't need anything really but i want to make sure they're getting all their vits and minerals- does baileys contain everything? Ive always just fed chop, mix, supplements but realised that is probably an expensive and complicated way of doing it!:confused:
 
If your horse is prone to lami then I would probably go with one of the low calorie ones. However, I know a lot of people who use stud balancer for all their horses (me included) as the word on the street is that it's barely different to any of the others but is cheaper because studs won't pay the exorbitant prices with such a large number of horses to feed. So I've used baileys stud balancer for a veteran, an eventer and a native veteran all at the same time and they've done very well on it. It might be worth checking the nutrition on a low cal against a stud balander to see if there's a huge difference.
 
I m a great supporter of Top Spec, we have Top Spec Anti lam here for some and for others I use Top Spec comprehensive :)

Not cheap, but last s a good length of time :)
 
Saracen Biolife 2000 has taken years off my 22 year old. He looks and feels better than ever.

I think it's about £24 per bag, but I only feed 1 small mug per day and I would guess that 1 bag lasts about 4 months!
 
I use Top Spec feed balancer , tho it is quite expensive so only feed 1 mug a day to my 15.2 connie x ID, have run out last 3 weeks and her coat doesnt look quite so good so come payday will pick up some more :-)
Used Blue chip.... and out of the 2 I prefer top spec, found her a little exciteable on the blue chip.
Am also curious about seeweed as have seen that before... anyone using it with a feed balancer or is there no need? Mare is out 24/7 with only chaff really so know this is balanced ebough for her
 
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