do u feed a balancer or vit supplement?

do u feed a balancer or vit&min supplement?

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I do supplement because the grazing is appauling at my yard. I give him Feedmark original Balancer in his feed over winter (alongside his rosehips and brewers yeast), and in the summer I drop the balancer but add garlic to the other supplements.
 
Joe is fed Baileys low cal and hi-fi lite, he is a good doer and in light/meduim work and does really well on that combination. B has Tiger Oats, Alf-A lite and Equilibrium 500 balancer, he is in meduim/hard work and is a good doer. They get this in addition to soaked hay at night and there is a decent amount of grass in their paddocks so they are not hungry when they come in at night.
 
I feed mine the Spillers Lite Balancer with his Hifi Lite. I've changed from feeding him a vit and min supplement to a balancer as he has started to do more schooling and I wanted to ensure he had sufficient quality protein for muscle development (he's quite young - only 5 and only broken in this year).
 
i feed D&H equibites - 10 a day - just to make sure she has everything - although i drop them back to a few a day in winter as she gets a complete feed then for energy for hunting...
she lives out 24/7 365
 
Yes I ed The Original “Vit-Min” Cod Liver Oil Condiment by Argo at 7 pound odd per tub its one of the cheapest and most effective on them market I've found, not only does it provide a good source of vit/min it has your added cod liver oil in, does wonders for the coat and seems to give them a new lease of life, I've tried it 4 different horses and the difference is amazing, I wouldn't use anything else.
 
I feed baileys lo cal balancer.
I've fed it to all sorts from 13hh welshies (had the balancer on its own) to Lacey who is 16.3 (has a small handfull of chaff with it, garlic, seaweed and oestress for the stroppy cow) and I must say I have noticed a difference in their coats etc :)
 
I use Feedmark's Benevit and have used it for years. It has 26 vits and minerals in it. I only use it over the winter to ensure my horse gets everything he needs.

Is a balancer better than a supplement and if yes, why?
 
A high Magnesium livestock Salt Block; free access one in the stable and one in the field. Cost about £8 each and last approximately 6 months.
 
Nothing fed atm :) some out 24/7, some in at night with hay/haylage :)

In the summer the Pip and Ginga had a scoop of low-cal a day with a scoop of chaff.
 
Mine are all fed Baileys Lo-Cal Balancer. Ideally, I think every horse should be fed a balancer as they provide al of the essential vitamins your horse needs. It also means you don't have to feed a big feed which you would have to do if you were feeding a compound feed such as a mix/cube to meet your horse's daily requirements.
 
I feed Baileys lo cal, first time I have fed a balancer and I am well impressed with it. She looks great and it is so simple, 2 mugs a day with a bit of chaff and her apples and carrots. Even the OH can do it without needing reminding what she has.
 
Firehorse said:
for horses on a very basic diet, ie, living out, hay/haylage in winter, and chaff as feed.

do u feel it necessary to supplement their diet?
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We feed Top Spec Anti Lam year round. They are all good doers and we have to manage their grazing carefully and other than in the real thick of winter soak their hay. So I think they need the balancer to ensure they are getting all their vitamins and minerals.
 
SJ_Superstars said:
Ideally, I think every horse should be fed a balancer as they provide al of the essential vitamins your horse needs.
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That's a bit simplistic! Whilst balancers are very useful, I don't think every horse needs one! How on earth did we manage for centuries beforehand without them? It is a bit like saying all humans should take a multi vitamin tablet everyday.

Good grazing and quality forage (particularly haylage which retains a lot more micronutrients than hay) provides a good range of vitamins and minerals.

Even if additional vitamins and minerals are needed, not every horse needs the protein and probiotics of a balancer, and a simple powdered vit/min supplement will often suffice.
 
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the ginger one gets a handful of hifi with NAF GP vits/mins and the old on gets the recommended amount of AP veteran vitality which in theory should give him his vits and mins, he look bloody fantastic on it regardless
 
Firehorse said:
for horses on a very basic diet, ie, living out, hay/haylage in winter, and chaff as feed.

do u feel it necessary to supplement their diet?
Click to expand...

Yes, I do feel it is necessary to supplement their diet, as our winter grazing is certainly very poor, and will not provide sufficent nutrient content.

I have always fed handful of chaff, scoop of equivite GP supplement & hay to my good doer in light/medium work over winter. She has always done well on this.

This year however, we won some feed, so she is now on handful of chaff, the recommended rate of Bailey's lo-cal & hay.

It does work out more expensive, so I'm hoping to see results, otherwise I will go back to equivite once we've got through the bags I won.

Hope this helps :)
 
Top spec antilam in summer and top spec comp in winter. There is no grazing in winter, just a "splash paddock".... and I have to soak the hay because both have respiratory conditions so they are not getting anything from that. If I had horses with no health issues, on good grazing Im not sure I would feed a balencer or vitamin supplement though?
 
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