Feed balancers?

[Supertrooper]

For a horse that doesn't need feeding but needs vit/mins are they a worthwhile way of doing it?

 

[Buddy'sMum]

Yep. If the horse doesn't need extra calories than go for one of the 'lite' versions.

 

[L&M]

or just put a mineral lick in their field/stable?

 

[Spring Feather]

Yes. I actually believe that balancers are the way to go with any horse tbh. They are often significantly more expensive to buy per bag which is probably what puts a lot of people off them, but I think they are so worthwhile feeds. All my horses are fed balancers only.

 

[amandap]

I seems much of UK grazing and hay fields (hay) is short of some minerals and also lysine so feeding a decent balancer is important.

 

[Supertrooper]

I'm looking at Topspec lite or Baileys lo cal. Any reviews much appreciated xx

 

[FaldingwoodLivery]

I'n a big fan of balancers, most of mine are just fed ad lib hay, balancer and a small amount of chaff and look fantastic on it. I believe any horse should be on either a general purpose supplement or a balancer.

One thing to watch when deciding on a brand is the amount of protein in each one. The percentage is often quite high, we've found a balancer can fizz up the quietest if horses in some cases, we've also had a horse tie up whilst fed on balancer alone. Like someone above suggested, if your horse doesn't need condition stick to a light version, they are considerably less in protein. Personally I use spillers

 

[dalidaydream]

I seems much of UK grazing and hay fields (hay) is short of some minerals and also lysine so feeding a decent balancer is important.

but also high in iron and manganese. High levels of iron will inhibit the uptake of copper and zinc so please make sure the balancer you use does not contain iron.

 

[happyclappy]

i have been using a topspec balancer, but i am feding, otherwise, without feeding anything, i would second the mineral block

 

[rosie-ellie]

I feed a multi vit for my cob and she looks lovely on it

 

[thatsmygirl]

I won't feed most balancers now due to the high iron in them, most grazing is high in iron and horses really don't need more. Manganese is another one I won't feed extra off, and tbh iv done a lot of research on balancers now and topspec is actually very low in the copper and zinc that I need but the iron/manganese is to high. I really feel for what they are, they are far to expensive so iv settled with equimins advance complete which is a lot cheaper, far higher spec and high zinc/copper and NO iron/manganese. Oh and cost wise with my 4 its saving me £30 a month than using topspec.

 

[khalswitz]

I personally love a balancer. It is a good source of easily digestible protein, as well as a good range of vits and mins.

I don't use then for overweight or very good doing horses, I prefer a powder then, but otherwise it is a very efficient way of ensuring good protein supply.

I personally use a stud balancer as a cheaper alternative to a performance balancer, and find I need to feed less hard feed when on a balancer so defo recommend.

 

[Wheels]

I use forageplus mixed with a handful of speedi beet and small amount of micronised linseed - my horse has never looked better

 

[Charlie007]

I have been feeding TopSpec balancer all winter with chaff only and my 17.1 hanxtb looks fab. Have just changed him onto the lite version with top chop lite.

 

[Fides]

I've tried loads and my horses have never looked as good as when on the topspec one... When you look at what it has compared to how much you need to feed it works out cheaper despite being the most expensive. One I tried was about 2/3 the price but you needed to feed 300g a day!

 

[Rocky01]

Not all forage is high in Iron so careful with that. Agree, be careful with protein levels. My two are on Equilibra 500 (GWF) and are already looking and behaving much better.

 

[cblover]

My Clyde x cob has a diet that is specifically balanced to forage analysis results. I think anyone feeding balancers need to know what they are balancing to.....if you don't have a starting point, how do you know how to balance it up?

 

[khalswitz]

My Clyde x cob has a diet that is specifically balanced to forage analysis results. I think anyone feeding balancers need to know what they are balancing to.....if you don't have a starting point, how do you know how to balance it up?

But equally, not everyone has a regular source of forage to test, so analyses will never give an accurate reflection. I agree to try and balance specifically what is lacking if you can, but it not then a general balancer is at least a step towards it.

 

[cobwithattitude]

Our two are on Top Spec balancer with joint supplement. Advice at Top Spec fab and spot on what I needed to know. They are looking good.

 

[Supertrooper]

Slightly confused now ;-) but have decided to use fast fibre as I know it, used it before and easier to give a liquid joint supplement in.

Thanks all xx

 

[TigerTail]

fast fibre isn't a mineral supplement - you need to look at the labels, same as with human food, and go for high magnesium copper and zinc, low metals - the only two I would use if I hadn't done a bespoke plan is Forage Plus or Pro Hoof as they're the only two that have high levels of the good stuff and aren't full of fillers - i.e. wasting your pennies on factory floor sweepings!

 

[thatsmygirl]

Cblover I totally agree with you about analysis but it isn't always possible, hence in my case I tested my fields and iron was very high ( hi lighted in red) where as copper and zinc was hardly present. So iv gone for the highest copper/zinc I can find and extra iron is a big big no. I can't test all my hay but at least iv got a rough idea what I'm looking at.
A lot of companies who forage test ( forage plus) are selling balancers to go with the trend in which they are seeing day in/day out and equimins have also started to pick up on it instead off them just sticking to the NRC recommendation. Since being on equimins my horse has gone from dark bay to jet black and the chestnut has totally changed colour as well. So I'm happy with my choice but balancers in general are a good idea but people could improve more I'm sure if u look into things more in depth but its not always possible if on livery/changing fields/different hay suppliers etc

 

[thatsmygirl]

Tiger tail why not equimins? Linseed based no fillers/no iron and good copper/zinc compaired to most balancers.

 

[thatsmygirl]

Super trooper I would still be adding a vit supplement or balancer to the fast fibre

 

[smellsofhorse]

I think so, I use equilibra.

 

[maisie06]

I used to use a balancer, but found I was paying nearly £40 for a "top of the range" with no real results, changed to a cheaper one and horse still wasn'y quite "there" Gave up with the balancer and changed to cheapo pony cubes with half a mug of micronised linseed with good quality hay and grass nuts if more energy required- My lot have never looked better, or felt better, my lad doesn't need a joint supplement now either, I won't be going back to balancers I'm afraid.

 

[L&M]

But Fast fibre claims to be fully balanced?

No wonder we all get so confused....

 

[TigerTail]

How can a feed be balanced?! What is it balanced to if you don't know what is in your grass and hay? It's just marketing hype!

I looked at equimins but its still far too low in goodies to get any where near my forage as all their mixes contain selenium which is rarely low in the uk.

 

[tankgirl1]

Confused.... so much info out there from feed companies, hard to know what to do for the best

 

[khalswitz]

How can a feed be balanced?! What is it balanced to if you don't know what is in your grass and hay? It's just marketing hype! .

No, it's not. A balanced feed is balanced in itself. For feeds like fast fibre or for example the dengie feeds, these are designed to be fed as complete forage replacers, so feeding to recommended amounts gives the full RDA. I've personally done this in the case of laminitics, or horses in convalescence who wouldn't eat hay.

Obviously, most people do not feed recommended rates, so therefore are not feeding the full RDA of vits and mins. If you have an analysis and weight of forage provided you can more accurately choose a vit/min spectrum, energy content and weight of feed to best complement your forage, if that's what you prefer.

Personally, as long as you aren't massively under or over supplementing any particular vits/mins (particularly trace) then my opinion is that it doesn't matter - horses, like humans, are designed to function without optimal diet. So providing ONE decent vit/min supp to your horse's feed, be it powder, balancer or complete feed, is generally adequate for avoiding vit/min deficiencies/poisoning.