Decent balancer (but not forage plus, equimins etc..)

[PurBee]

Dunno, i don't have one to check, as above I'm currently on spillers, so I was going on the datasheet online, which does look like the edited highlights but I'd expect iron to be mentioned as other manufacturers do... :/

http://www.gainequinenutrition.com/...Product-Sheet-Opticare-Balancer-1-page-FA.pdf

that datasheet shows the main elements in it - rather than an exact breakdown, as they dont mention iron at all!

Recalling now - the actual whole mineral ingredients and quantities is on a printed label stuck on the bag rather than accompanying the main bag printed marketing gumph. I’ll update thread with full label when i get a chance to grab a recent bag.

Glad they changed to bioplex copper....rather than the sulphate.
Theyre a good company always developing their mixes, and do upgrade the nutrients for better bio-availability if they (i guess) financially justify it.
As i said, i use it as a background balancer if i cant for any reason obtain something else better balanced. It’s not completely useless and not worth the money, unlike some, as opticare especially has the highest nutrient spec of all Gain feeds, so its financially brilliant to use as a basic addendum to forage. Cheaper than anything else by far, without them using the cheapest ingredients.

My only main bugbear is the iron in it - if only they did an Opticare version without added iron...perfect!

 

[Jeni the dragon]

Mine are both on TS Lite. Both love it! I make one into a sloppy feed at M can be really greedy about it.
I changed when mine was pregnant, so a long time ago now. I was at the Highland and asked the Blue Chip rep for advice as I was feeding it at the time. He could not have cared less! Whereas the Top Spec rep was so helpful, gave me free samples and money off vouchers. Little things do make a difference!

 

[PurBee]

So the basic analytical constituents of Gain Opticare are now on the printed label and the exact breakdown is printed on the back of the bag.



So a quick glance over the minerals and we think its a great balancer. (I think they may have upped the zinc and copper as theyre achieving an almost 1.3:1:1 ratio with iron/copper/zinc in the mix now and i recall when i emailed them yrs ago that iron was much higher than the other too, which is the reason i emailed them in the first place)

But if we take into account the mineral profile of the average uk and ireland forage analysis -which forage plus have written about via their testing of many thousands of samples, we know that iron is routinely high and zinc/copper/mag low in hays/haylage. So we have to account for the kilo’s of hay/lage we feed horses daily and that iron-load they’re getting from that food source - so to add even more iron into a balancer, means these balancers really throw our zn/cu/fe ratio out of whack.

It’s far easier to just add a single iron supplement to their diet IF on the rare example your forage is low in it, than it is to buy in and have to ratio extra zinc/copper/manganese/magnesium ONTOP of a balancer that insists on adding iron.
If these balancer manufacturers would just omit iron it would save this massive headache.

Sorry...rant over!

The most common issues ive dealt with are coat colour and feet - when i altered their feed to omit iron balancers, loadup on copper/zinc/mag to off-set already high iron in forage - i have better coats/feet quality.

 

[Britestar]

Anecdotally, I have a 24yr old chestnut TB on the opticare.
His coat is so orange and bright, and his previously incredibly poor feet, are really good. Not had an abcess since he started on it, and barely lost a shoe in 5 years. Both these things were common place before he changed feed.

He does like to defy the odds and not follow rules.

 

[Honey08]

I changed onto Spillers lite balancer this year with my two oldies this year and they’ve done well on it.

 

[Dexter]

So the basic analytical constituents of Gain Opticare are now on the printed label and the exact breakdown is printed on the back of the bag.

View attachment 67840

So a quick glance over the minerals and we think its a great balancer. (I think they may have upped the zinc and copper as theyre achieving an almost 1.3:1:1 ratio with iron/copper/zinc in the mix now and i recall when i emailed them yrs ago that iron was much higher than the other too, which is the reason i emailed them in the first place)

But if we take into account the mineral profile of the average uk and ireland forage analysis -which forage plus have written about via their testing of many thousands of samples, we know that iron is routinely high and zinc/copper/mag low in hays/haylage. So we have to account for the kilo’s of hay/lage we feed horses daily and that iron-load they’re getting from that food source - so to add even more iron into a balancer, means these balancers really throw our zn/cu/fe ratio out of whack.

It’s far easier to just add a single iron supplement to their diet IF on the rare example your forage is low in it, than it is to buy in and have to ratio extra zinc/copper/manganese/magnesium ONTOP of a balancer that insists on adding iron.
If these balancer manufacturers would just omit iron it would save this massive headache.

Sorry...rant over!

The most common issues ive dealt with are coat colour and feet - when i altered their feed to omit iron balancers, loadup on copper/zinc/mag to off-set already high iron in forage - i have better coats/feet quality.

So what is the point of feeding this? It clearly doesnt balance anything. Maybe I'm missing something, but it just seems like a waste of time and money?

 

[PurBee]

So what is the point of feeding this? It clearly doesnt balance anything. Maybe I'm missing something, but it just seems like a waste of time and money?

I wouldnt go as far to state it doesnt balance anything. it has a lot of nutrients that simply those levels are not in hay, so you’re making up for the forage shortfall with these nutrients.
...and if it didnt have the iron in it, it would be a brilliant nutrient addition to forage. Yet there’s not many balancers out there that dont include iron.
You’ll also find the opticare from gain has one of the highest nutrient values compared to most per kilo. This is regarding pelleted mainstream balancers - not powder mixes/pellets that are pure nutrients without fillers like soy hulls/linseed etc.

 

[Kat]

I think on other thread spillers was coming up as a suggestion a fair bit, for mainstream

Which other thread?

I am looking for an alternative to Equimins at the moment, and Spillers would be easier and cheaper than progressive earth.

 

[MereChristmas]

My horses won't eat it unless it's in a decent size feed (which they don't get in the spring/summer). Plus the "scandel" around their Vit E oil and how they've treated their customers (worth a search for the thread on here or someone may link you to it).

Not a company that deserve £50 plus of my money a month, frankly.

********

Which other thread?

I am looking for an alternative to Equimins at the moment, and Spillers would be easier and cheaper than progressive earth.

********

https://forums.horseandhound.co.uk/threads/equimins-vitamin-e.800790/

 

[TPO]

Can anyone share their maths for Spillers being cheaper than Pro Earth please?
.
I considered spillers but when fed at the correct rate so that the horse would actually get the correct level of vit/mins Pro Earth (pro balance) worked out cheaper and lasted longer.

I understand if you feed less than the recommended amount spillers will last longer and therefore work out cheaper per day but then there isnt much point in feeding it below the required rate unless I'm missing something major?

 

[MereChristmas]

I didn’t calculate a price comparison because I was disappointed by Pro Earth. I emailed them a question and twice their reply was waffle and did not contain the answer.
I have to order ProEarth online and Spillers is readily available at my local store.

 

[milliepops]

I already feed a lot of powder in gastro supps so feed spillers as it doesn't add yet more powder

 

[Kat]

********



********

https://forums.horseandhound.co.uk/threads/equimins-vitamin-e.800790/

Sorry I have seen that, it is one of the reasons I am looking for an alternative to Equimins. I was looking for the discussion on Spillers balancers.

I was going to go back to progressive earth or forage plus but thought Spillers might work out cheaper and/or more convenient. Just wondering which one people use and how the content compares.

 

[Kat]

Can anyone share their maths for Spillers being cheaper than Pro Earth please?
.
I considered spillers but when fed at the correct rate so that the horse would actually get the correct level of vit/mins Pro Earth (pro balance) worked out cheaper and lasted longer.

I understand if you feed less than the recommended amount spillers will last longer and therefore work out cheaper per day but then there isnt much point in feeding it below the required rate unless I'm missing something major?

I make the Spillers original multi balancer 96p a day which is 3p a day more expensive than progressive earth pro hoof. The Lite and Lean balancer is cheaper though and the daily balancer is cheaper again at just 49p a day.

 

[MereChristmas]

Sorry I have seen that, it is one of the reasons I am looking for an alternative to Equimins. I was looking for the discussion on Spillers balancers.

I was going to go back to progressive earth or forage plus but thought Spillers might work out cheaper and/or more convenient. Just wondering which one people use and how the content compares.

OK I thought you wanted the equimins one.
Is this the thread?
https://forums.horseandhound.co.uk/threads/yet-another-bf-balancers-thread.801774/

 

[Kat]

That's interesting, thanks!

Has anyone done a comparison of the Spillers with Equimins/PE/FP? I haven't sat down with paper and pencil to do it yet!