Will A Balancer Make My Horse Fat?
Feed balancers are designed to balance a horse or pony’s ration nutritionally in terms of vitamins, minerals and quality protein. Forage alone will often fail to supply a horse with their daily nutrient requirements, but will adding a balancer make your good doer fat?
The simple answer is 'No! A balancer alone will not make your horse fat.'
Balancers are nutrient dense and only have to be fed in small quantities to provide all of the vitamins and minerals your horse might require on a daily basis. Balancers have an average feeding rate of just 100g per 100kg of body weight, whereas traditional mixes and cubes typically have to be fed at much higher quantities to meet nutrient requirements.
The calorie content of a feed is measured by the digestible energy (DE) that it will provide in MJ/kg. In the case of our Essential Balancer, this will provide an average 500kg horse with 6.1MJ per day. If we were to compare this to an intake of 7.5kg of hay per day, the hay will be providing approximately 66.75MJ of energy (or calories) per day. Furthermore, horses with access to grazing on a 24-hour basis could consume up to 15kg of grass, which could contribute 135MJ/kg to the diet as a whole.
| Feed / Forage | Calories / Energy (MJ/kg) |
|---|---|
| 500g Essential Balancer | 6.1 |
| 7.5kg Hay | 66.75 |
| 15kg Grass | 135.0 |
The National Research Council (NRC) states that a leisure horse has an average requirement of 70MJ per day. Looking at the possible calorie intakes above, it will often be the forage aspect of the diet that will exceed a good doers daily calorie requirement. Balancers alone are therefore highly unlikely to encourage weight gain as their calorie contribution to the diet as a whole is minimal.
When should I feed a balancer?
- If you are feeding a forage only diet; In order to optimise micronutrients supply.
- You are feeding below the manufacturers feeding recommendations of a coarse mix or cube; In order to make up the shortfall that is not being provided by your mix or cube.
- You own a horse or pony that has a tendency to become very overweight; To meet the micronutrient requirements without the excess calories
- Your horse becomes unmanageable when fed traditional coarse mixes or cubes; To meet micronutrient requirements and allow for more emphasis from alternative fibre sources for energy
- You are feeding a diet that is based on using straights e.g. oats, barley etc. To provide adequate levels of Calcium, vitamin E and other micronutrients
- When there are specific problems such as poor coat or hoof condition; To ensure adequate levels of protected (chelated) micronutrients essential for coat and hoof condition e.g. Biotin, Methionine etc
- There are high demands being placed on the horse such as frequent travelling and competition; To provide essential dietary elements to horses with limited appetites or reduced fibre intakes
- When you have a horse that is on box rest or convalescing; To provide antioxidants, prebiotics and yeast.
NEED GUIDANCE?
If you would like any further information about Essential Balancer please feel free to contact our nutritional team on 01622 718487 or email info@saracenhorsefeeds.co.uk.
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