Feed balancer for the lami prone - Help me choose!

[Sadiemay]

Hi Guys,

My veteran girl has suddenly decided that she doesn’t really like her Dodson and Horrell Safe and Sound anymore for some reason

So I am looking to change her onto something else. She currently has two small token feeds a day of Safe and Sound with a chopped apple as a carrier for her various supplements. I am now looking at feed balancers and am torn between the following: Top Spec Anti Lam, Baileys Low Cal and Blue Chip Lami Light, they all seem to be much of a muchness but I obviously would like to start her on the most effective one.

I have ordered samples of each so will see what she makes of them but in the meantime I was hoping someone could give me some feedback on these balancers. I have seen the comprehensive excel spreadsheet comparision someone kindly made of most feed balancers and going by that I assume that the Top Spec Anti Lam is the better of these three?

She is a very good doer who is prone to laminitis if not managed carefully and is now at even more risk now she has Cushings but at the same time she loves her food! So in an ideal world I would love to be able to feed her a semi decent sized feed but without many of the calories, sugar etc..

Currently she has a broad spectrum vitamin supplement, joint supplement, garlic and mint added to her token feeds. Am I right in thinking that if I switch her to a feed balancer I can drop everything except the joint supplement?

I was thinking of mixing the balancer with a low calorie chaff based product to bulk it out and after some research I think I would go for the Top Spec Chop Lite. Does this sound OK? Unless you can recommend something else?(Hi Fi Lite is a no go its too course and dry for her liking)

Any feedback good or bad good be appreciated

Thanks!
Sadiemay

 

[touchstone]

Personally I'd just stick with a good vit/min supplement; I find it is cheaper and I'm not too sold on the balancers to be honest. Out of the balancers though I would go with the Baileys; I have heard of the Top Spec anti lam not agreeing with some laminitics and I think the profile of the vits/mins in Lo Cal is higher than Blue chip, although I stand to be corrected on that.
I'd drop the garlic too as it can kill off beneficial gut bacteria that a laminitic needs. Fast Fibre is good for mixing supplements in if your horse doesn't like chaffs and it is low calorie and speedibeet could be another one to feed in small amounts.

 

[alicep]

I have a quite porky 14.2 mare who is not prone to laminitis but due to losing one previously to lami i am very aware of what shes eating. the problem i have with her is she loves her food and will batter the door down until she gets some, trash electric fencing to get to grass etc etc.

Because i wanted extremely low cal feed (and its only a token feed) i give her happy hoof and blue chip lami light. she has just finished the first bag of lami light (which lasted forever as she only needs 2 mugs a day!!) she looks fab! shes shiney and looks in good condition (minus the pregnant look...). i find its very good value for money and its got all vits and mins they need so you arnt needing to spend the extra on other supplements. with the happy hoof they can eat alot of it without the risk of encouraging the lami to come back.

 

[ISHmad]

Top Spec Anti Lam and Top Chop Lite is exactly what we feed our good doers. It is the best by far as you have seen from the spreadsheets which is why we chose it.

 

[Sadiemay]

Thanks for the replies everyone.

It's given me something to mull over whilst I wait for the samples to come through.

Touchstone,

I didnt know that about garlic I guess I better stop feeding that then, thanks for the suggestion of Fast Fibre, I have tried that already but she turned her nose up at it.....fussy mare!

Agree that in principle the Anti Lam looks to be the best so I hope she will like it but as usual it will come down to whatever her lady ship decides she fancies

Sadiemay

 

[noblesteed]

Spillers Happy Hoof and Dengie Healthy Hooves are both complete feeds for lami prone so you don't need a balancer as they contain all necessary vits and mins. They will work out cheaper than Lo-Cal which is the cheaper of the balancers you suggested. I tried my horse on Lo-Cal but it actually possibly contributed to a flare-up.

I have just swapped mine onto Allen and Page's L-Mix which contains all necessary vits and mins. This is because it contains no molasses which I believe mine to have an intolerance to. It takes a long time to eat, I mix it with TopSpec Topchop Lite.

 

[Sadiemay]

Hi Nobleteed,

What is the consistancy of the L Mix, is it just essentially chaff or are there actually grains and nuts on it? Is it very dry? Does it smell appetising?

I am considering trying the L mix. Allen and Page had run out of samples of it so could only send me the Fast Fibre, however they did send me a money off voucher a sack of any A&P feed so I could try the L Mix.

Trouble is my girl is so fussy and doesnt like course types of chaff or feeds that are based in that so I am not sure if it would be a no go anyway

Sadiemay

 

[TGM]

Spillers Happy Hoof and Dengie Healthy Hooves are both complete feeds for lami prone so you don't need a balancer as they contain all necessary vits and mins..

Remember that feeds like Happy Hoof and Healthy Hooves have to be fed at or near the recommended rate if you are relying on them to provide a decent level of vit/mins - ie 2kg of Happy Hoof is recommended for a 13.2hh pony. A lot of people only give a couple of handfuls of these products and therefore might be better using a balancer or supplement to provide vit/mins. (Whilst a lot of horses can get the majority of their vit/mins from grazing, hay/haylage etc., most laminitics are on restricted grazing and soaked hay, so their vit/min intake is often less than that of 'normal' horses).

 

[Boysy]

I've used Baileys Lo-Cal for a few yrs now and mine look great on it, 2 are lami prone. I tried Top Spec for a good while but it didn't agree at all with my small pony and they do far better on the Baileys. Thats all they have most of the yr and if supplemental feeding is needed then TopSpecChop and Speedibeet.

 

[Silmarillion]

Far better for feet, I found, was Formula 4 Feet. Made my horse's slow-growing feet FAR better quality and quicker-growing, and a friend's cob somehow survived being hammered on the road a week after having come back into work after being crippled with laminitis - she recovered quickly, according to the vet, and I'll never know how she didn't go lame after a week of being ridden (silly novice owner). Point is, I'd personally use it for anything I had if I could afford it. As I can't, and my horse's hooves have been fab quality since having F4F for a year, I feed her Bailey's Lo Cal. Not much between them all, really. Blue Chip always seems like just a lot of money.