Feed Balancers - Top Spec / Blue Chip / 365 Complete

[trottingon]

Hi,

(Sorry have just put this in with the genereal posts before realising feed queries should be listed here!)

Just wondering about your opinions on feed balancers. Which do you rate the best for showing condition without fizz for a 4 year old good-doer? All feedback would be interesting but I am particularly thinking about small ponies for in-hand and ridden M&M, and Leid-Rein/First ridden classes
Many thanks

 

[HollyP]

I cant rate blue chip highly enough, im only on my 3rd bag but it is fantastic stuff! defo taken the fizz out of my mare and she looks lovely!

 

[vicksey]

My lad is on the Dengie alfa Balancer at the moment and looks in brilliant condition, however the baileys low cal is really good for good doers, Dengie is slightly higher in energy I think.

 

[kerilli]

Baileys Stud Bal and Low-Cal Bal are both excellent. i pay £20.55 for a bag of BSB,
cheaper than Blue Chip etc.

 

[CILLA]

We have our 4yr old on Blue Chip and she looks superb stands out at shows and people ask what she is being fed on ! because she is in such good condition for winter.

 

[HazellB]

I've been using Top Spec for about ten years, on everything in the yard. Before that I tried others (worked as a journalist, so got loads given to try) and Top Spec is the best.

I feed about 10% of the recommended rate to any animal in work and about 5% of the recommended to those at rest. The results are animals who have all been strong in the hoof (we haven't had any shod in the ten years, even though I've Hunted, etc!) and all have been just fine. We obviously also feed a decent diet, or I would offer more Top Spec of course.

Mainly they've all been on sugarbeet, chop (MolliExtra being favourite and best value), assorted basic pony nuts and vegetables plus of course year round grass/hay ad lib. Fussy ones have had Readigrass instead of chop and sometimes to replace some sugarbeet. Really fussy ones, and when everyone is changing coat spring and autumn, I feed the sugarbeet soaked in something like blackcurrant cordial mixed weak plus a little extra Top Spec.

Frankly, you can put a better coat and hooves on any horse with a good balancer, so long as the rest of the diet is high fibre and good to start with. If the rest of the diet is poor, no balancer in the world will help.

Top Spec sacks, at the rate I feed, last a Warmblood about five months I guess. Now that's damned good value!

 

[CrazyMare]

I feed mine TopSpec all year round and they look fantastic, and it removed some behavioural issues with my mare who was being wound up by high levels of starch in her mix.

 

[Maggie2]

HazellB does that mean that if your say 500kg horse was supposed to have 500g of TS (if I am right in thinking that is the full feeding rate for that size horse) you'd only feed 50g alongside the mix or nuts? Would that be sufficient if you fed a seriously reduced amount of nuts if the horse didn't need that quantity of feed, for whatever reason. I'm sure that many of us don't feed the 4kg a day that manufacturers typically recommend, which would mean that they'd need more than 10% a day of any balancer or vit/min supplement.