Do all horses need a balancer

[Stinkbomb]

My minis are living out in the day with good grazing for them and hay at night. I was feeding them but they are doing zilch work and are putting on weight. I want to cut out the feed really but was wondering do they really need a balancer or vitamin suppliment??? Or are they all a con??

If so which would be best for two little fatties???

They will not touch the licks so not worth even bothering with them!

 

[Bossanova]

My lot seem to be alive and healthy despite the lack of any supplements/balancers

 

[SpottedCat]

Mine is too....and it survived an entire year of eventing at PN/Novice on half a scoop of pony nuts a day, so I reckon your minis will be ok

Mine is eating mostly chaff at the moment, no supplements, no balancers!

 

[dwi]

If you do decide to go for a vit supplement D is fed Slimline which is a NAF supplement for good doers that is supposed to boost their metabolic rate, certainly seems to work on D.

D has gone periods without vits but she's back on them again now because I'm hoping she'll stay healthier and live longer with them. At university I knew someone who refused to eat any fruit or veg and lived on junk food. Yes he physically kept going, played a bit of sport and didn't get seriously ill but he was always a bit grey looking. If you make sure that you get your 5 a day then to me it makes sense to see that your horse gets a balanced diet as well.

 

[bex1984]

As my pony is on restricted grazing, I find that giving him his vits gives him a little bit of extra sparkle. He has Dodson & Horrell equibites which I think are fantastic - and are low calorie

 

[ISHmad]

If they are on good grazing and have hay at night then I would say don't feed them anything else TBH. We feed Top Spec Anti Lam balancer to our good doers because they have a much more restricted diet than yours and it is essential to me that they get all their vits and mins.

 

[TGM]

I don't think that vit/min supplements or balancers are a con, but I don't believe all horses need them!

Horses DO need vit/mins, but often their requirements are met by what is already in their food, without needing extra supplementation. I would think that minis on good grazing are highly likely to be getting all their vit/mins naturally, although some feed company representatives are likely to argue that you can't be 100% certain and you should supplement anyway.

Where horses do not have access to fresh grazing and are on a hay only diet, then the possibility of a deficiency increases, as the levels of vit/mins in the grass deteriorate as hay is stored. The older the hay, the lower the levels of vit/mins are likely to be. If hay has to be soaked, then this reduces the vit/min level even more - if I had a horse on soaked hay, poor or no grazing and no other feed, then I would definitely supplement.

 

[lachlanandmarcus]

I dont feed balancer but have a large field lick which is designed for the specific deficiencies in the soil in our area (NE Scotland). Partly as we are high grass sickness area so want to make sure they get everything they need.

Pony only uses it part of the year: I guess she knows when she 'needs' something in it.

So I think if pony healthy balancer maybe not essential but would always have a big field lick so that horse can get minerals if it needs them. cheap too!

 

[Theresa_F]

My two were on equilbra - this has really has given them some topline - they have also been worked more. They had half the recommended amount as even in summer they get two small feeds with linseed, BSS and chaff.

Now it is winter, they are on what will soon be nibble grazing, I have stopped the equilbra (purely as they are built up enough) and they are on Feedmark's benevit - excellent supplement and they are on the amount for light work as they still have linseed and BSS to keep feet and coats in tip top conditon.

 

[imafluffybunny]

My Shetland is on restricted grazing in the summer and hay in the winter and gets a little feed of safe and sound once a day, I feed my big horses balancers with their chaff but have never felt the need to feed him any. Shetlands are designed to live on nothing and he certainly has never looked like he needed anything extra!