Forageplus pelleted balancer

[HelenBack]

I was just wondering if anybody feeds the Forageplus pelleted balancer and how your horse gets on with it if so? Mine is currently on the hoof and skin health powdered balancer and he will just about eat it but I have to add things like mint to his bowl and leave it with him overnight. Even at that he doesn't lick his bowl clean. He's not a big eater at the best of times so I can imagine I might struggle when the summer comes.

I was just looking at the different options and see the pelleted balancer has a fairly similar spec so thought it could be a good one to try. I'll probably get one of their sample packs anyway so I don't waste my money if he doesn't get on with it. I just wondered if anybody here had tried it with success though?

I know the Equimins one is quite popular but I've always thought the spec looks a bit weird when I look at the vitamin and mineral levels. Maybe that's just because of the way it's laid out on their website though as I don't find the information terribly user friendly!

 

[Leo Walker]

I like Equimins, my horse eats it happily and shes VERY fussy. The spec is good. Its not quite as good as forage plus, but its half the price and IMHO more than adequate. Mine both look good on it and they are rock crunching. It drastically improved my mares feet when she was put on it, and its doing the same with the baby highlands feet now as well

 

[HelenBack]

Thank you, I'll have another look at the Equimins as you're right that the Forageplus is pricey. It just annoys me that they don't state the mineral levels in an easy to understand way.

Do you add in extra magnesium as I think it's a bit low in that isn't it? I haven't had an analysis done of our soil myself but I believe from others that magnesium levels are generally low in our area and a lot of the horses on our yard are supplemented with it.

 

[Leo Walker]

I don't. I add salt and feed pink mash and grass nuts and both of mine look and feel good. My barefoot driving pony is doing 10k on the roads on a regular basis. We aren't in a particulary low magnesium area though. I know others who are add extra

 

[HelenBack]

Okay, thanks for that. I think I would probably have to add it to be on the safe side. I just had a look at the pink mash actually and like the look of that too - I know lots of people use it but haven't really bothered to look into it before now. I'm currently giving him speedibeet but am tempted to swap when the current bag is finished. Do you find the pink mash palatable or even tempting for fussy horses as he can be a bit prone to turning his nose up at things!

 

[Leo Walker]

I love pink mash and really rate it for almost everything. Mine is the fussiest fat cob you have ever met and she eats it normally. I've found if I add grass nuts she eats it with no issues at all. I had problems last summer when there was loads of grass and she just wasn't interested. She wouldn't eat anything then though, so I don't think it was an issue with the pink mash!

 

[ester]

I add extra mag to equimins because our forage is usually high calcium and said beast is treated as metabolic these days (27, took him off the mag and crest appeared shortly after so went back on it!)
He’s fussy too, he went off the pellets so I started using the powder so he couldn’t leave it but then he moved and has been fine on pellets ever since.

 

[HelenBack]

Well you can order a free sample of the Pink Mash off their website so I've just done that. At least then I haven't wasted any money if he doesn't like it!
I do like the sound of the Equimins as you only have to feed such a small amount which will be helpful in the summer when he's not really interested in feed. I think I would have to add the extra magnesium to be on the safe side though.
So at the risk of sounding like a complete geek, is there a way to work out from the details given on the website what the actual levels of stuff like copper and zinc are or do I need to stop being so nerdy and just give it a try? His feet are looking good on the Forageplus, which I guess is partly why I'm nervous about changing, but the Equimins does generally seem to get very positive reviews.