Balancer Vs Suppliment

[Widget]

I feed a balancer to Ruby because she does well enough on haylage not to need a feed so just making sure she gets all she needs vitamin wise etc. Would a broad spectrum vit suppliment do just as well? Mixed with a bit of chaff or something. Or is she better off with the balancer?

Also have a 20 month old who is on the same. She is new and a bit ribby. Should I start her on a feed or wait for her to gain weight when they hit the grass in a month or so?

[Roofio]

I feed baileys lo-cal - i really like it as a feed, makes them feel like they're getting a decent dinner even in summer but admittedly it would be much cheaper to feed chaff and a general supplement. i'm not sure, but think there tends to be a bit more in the balancer than in most supplements?! someone must know!

as for the youngster, i would leave it for now, the grass is coming through here already and its better to have them on the skinner side IMO, much easier to make them fatter than get weight off, especially when they're young and can't do much 'work'

[MelanieD]

Balancers have some protein in, which horses on a high fibre fatpony diet may need, vitamin and mineral supplements don't have protein. Whether you need a balancer or just a vitamin powder depends on what else you want to feed and how good your hay/haylage is.

I would give the youngster a balancer to make sure she is getting everything needed for growing. Unless she's a breed that tends to get fat on fresh air and is only thin through lack of food before you got her then I would feed a youngster a bit, but not huge amounts of mix or anything for loads of weight gain. Balancer and a bit of speedibeet and chaff should be fine. Watch out for too much weight gain but at that age if they do start to get fat all you need to do is cut down the feed and wait for the next growth spurt :)

[puzzles]

The nutritional difference between a balancer and a vitamin adn mineral supplements, is that a balancer contains a protein base (so is useful for horses in work/needing condition, although he volume is so small it can safely be fed to most mature horses).

x