feed balancer

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Christmas_Kate

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okay another stoopid question...

Pony has been on grass 24/7 and is FAT. to give you a guide I measured him, he is 11.1hh and weighs 286....
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I have been feeding him nothing, except half a scoop of chaff and 3 carrots about twice a week. He is in very light work, being only a baby so is just being lunged.

Now, from next week he will be stabled at night and out during the day (weather depending), when not out he'll have a walk in-hand or be lunged. So I will be haying him at night (with a haylage net to make it last!) and feel i should be giving him a feed too. I have heard that these feed balancers come in the form of 'pellets' and contain no calories and won't fizz pony up? If that's right does anyone know if they would fit in a ball type stable toy?? (to make it last even longer). Oh, and can anyone recommend a good brand??
 
I think they do have calories as the D & H one says on the back of the bag something about not feeding to overweight horses as it is a conditioner too.
Theres the Baileys Lo Cal balancer which is the cheapest too at about £17 a bag. Im feeding it to my horse as he too is fat.
They are tiny pelletts and would easily fit into your ball although you only feed a small amount, something like 3 mugs a day for a large horse so it wouldnt last long in his ball.
 
I doubt you'll get one with no calories at all. That said, I would also go for Baileys Lo-Cal, as the name suggests it is low calorie!! It is brilliant stuff, and much cheaper than most other brands. You would only feed one mug of it a day (I fed 3 to my 17hh).
 
Why do you need to feed him? If it is to keep him quiet when the others are fed then just chop some carrots/swede/parsnips into his feed bucket. Understand you want to keep him busy but would have thought that his hay in a tiny holed net should be enough especially if he is overweight. Alternatively bury some of the veg around his box and let him root around for it.
 
Hi, I tend to agree with MrsT, if you're giving him hay for overnight in his stable & he is over weight anyway then why feed him anything else? I would just leave him some hay to keep him happy.If he goes below weight through the winter then I would reappraise the situation but at the moment just give hay.
 
He adores the little feed trickler balls. They keep him going for hours!!

Was juust wondering if there was anything I could put in it that wasnt full of calories and had added vitamins etc. Just curiosity really.
 
Kate,Dodson&Horrell do Pasture Nuts which are nutritionally developed for feeding in small quantities whilst still having proper levels of vits and nutrients.
These will work out ALOT cheaper than a balancer......they may be worth considering
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Bethxx
 
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So what when the others get fed and he doesnt? I worry that winter grass and hay won't be enough vitamin wise?

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He'll be fine. But if in doubt get a bag of HiFi Lite and stick a vitamin suppliment in to a small handfull of that.
 
If you're woried about vitamins, then put a scoop of Equivite into his feed, it'll give him the vitamins without any calories. A tub is very cheap & it won't affect his weight.
 
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