Which is better Baileys Lo-Cal or Spillers Original?

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NicoleS_007

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Im about to change my mares feed as she is a good doer and needs to lose a few pounds. Have emailed feed companies and have been suggested 3 mugs Baileys Lo-Cal OR 500g of Spillers Original Balancer. Which is better?

Thanks
 
If you want a balancer for a horse that you want to lose weight, then the best option is Topspec lite; it has the fewest calories and the most nutrients.
 
I dont think we have Topspec here, iv never seen it at any of the feed stores!! Il check there website :) ... She doesnt need to lose an excessive amount shes 600kg atm so would like about 25-ish kg off. Shes on 2kg H&P cubes and a scoop chaff so was planning on cutting it down to balancer with a few handfuls of oats or speedybeet
 
I have always used lo cal but my feed store didn't any left so i have swapped over to Spillers Lite. So far I am pleased with it and it is also around £7-8 cheaper a bag!
 
The spillers has a higher spec and a lower feed rate so works out much cheaper in the long run. I have used it for the last couple of months and am very pleased with it :)
 
I prefer lo-cal although to be fair I use it on my TB and it keeps him in good condition?! I probably wouldn't use it for a fatty but use a powder vits and mins in a handful of HIFI light.

I like lo-cal because it's low on starch and not stupidly high in protein unlike some other balancers. There's been journals written lately about the damaging effects of too much protein.
A normal horse needs around 9% protein for muscle development. lacerating mares and youngstock
need 12%. Baileys lo cal is 16%, something like blu chip is 30%!

Balancers were originally developed to feed to brood mares and youngstock in winter as hay often wasn't enough, they were designed to be used in large studs where it was impractical to feed broodmares/youngstock lots of hard feed.
 
Amaranta said:
The spillers has a higher spec and a lower feed rate so works out much cheaper in the long run. I have used it for the last couple of months and am very pleased with it :)
Click to expand...

Is this the Original or Lite one?

OM - the only problem is i dont know any stockist for the spillers balancers :eek: so il have to phone around lol
 
firewell said:
I prefer lo-cal although to be fair I use it on my TB and it keeps him in good condition?! I probably wouldn't use it for a fatty but use a powder vits and mins in a handful of HIFI light.

I like lo-cal because it's low on starch and not stupidly high in protein unlike some other balancers. There's been journals written lately about the damaging effects of too much protein.
A normal horse needs around 9% protein for muscle development. lacerating mares and youngstock
need 12%. Baileys lo cal is 16%, something like blu chip is 30%!

Balancers were originally developed to feed to brood mares and youngstock in winter as hay often wasn't enough, they were designed to be used in large studs where it was impractical to feed broodmares/youngstock lots of hard feed.
Click to expand...

The protein level of Blue Chip is actually 18%, TopSpec is 24%, you then have to take into account the rate of feeding. So, for instance, a stud mix may be 12% protein and the average balancer say 19%. You would need to feed say 2.5kg daily of the stud mix but only 500gms of a balancer, so, by feeding the balancer you are feeding less protein.

The original balancers were indeed fed to racehorses and broodmares, however, balancers have changed beyond all recognition and there are now balancers for every type of horse. These balancers are specifically tailored to the individual needs of those horses.
 
firewell said:
I prefer lo-cal although to be fair I use it on my TB and it keeps him in good condition?! I probably wouldn't use it for a fatty but use a powder vits and mins in a handful of HIFI light.

I like lo-cal because it's low on starch and not stupidly high in protein unlike some other balancers. There's been journals written lately about the damaging effects of too much protein.
A normal horse needs around 9% protein for muscle development. lacerating mares and youngstock
need 12%. Baileys lo cal is 16%, something like blu chip is 30%!

Balancers were originally developed to feed to brood mares and youngstock in winter as hay often wasn't enough, they were designed to be used in large studs where it was impractical to feed broodmares/youngstock lots of hard feed.
Click to expand...

That very interesting, thanks :) ... The protein content does worry me if its quite high!! Someone told me that sometimes alot of protein can make a growing horse grow to quickly and damage the joints, or something along thise lines!! But i dont know weather its true or not! ... We used to have my gelding on a stud balancer as it was the only thing that would help him develop muscle after his box rest and give him enough energy without being silly, he was an odd one :rolleyes:
 
NicoleS_007 said:
That very interesting, thanks :) ... The protein content does worry me if its quite high!! Someone told me that sometimes alot of protein can make a growing horse grow to quickly and damage the joints, or something along thise lines!! But i dont know weather its true or not! ... We used to have my gelding on a stud balancer as it was the only thing that would help him develop muscle after his box rest and give him enough energy without being silly, he was an odd one :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

Please do not worry overly about the protein content of balancers - see my post above!
 
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