It can feel overwhelming when trying to find the correct feed balancer for horses because there are so many on the market and some people question if they even need one at all.
Whilst a forage only diet can go a long way to meeting all of our horses requirements, if the diet is restricted for health reasons or natural grazing access is limited, topping-up omega oils, minerals and vitamins is advisable and most easily done with a feed balancer.
Feeding a balancer can also help provide support for the horse's hooves, coat, digestion and immune system – or support more specific issues - to keep them in tip-top shape, feeling and performing to their best.
Selecting one of Simple System’s balancers is often a great starting point when changing onto our feeds and we have a wide range of options. There are essentially two types of horse balancer we offer, those with a forage base which are pelleted and those which are presented “loose form” in a meal-like, powder consistency.
Which you chose may depend on your budget, your horse’s preference or calorie requirements, or any more specialist support your horse requires. The pelleted balancers are typically more palatable, have an easy to portion feeding rate and can be fed by themselves – ideal for good doers who don’t require additional feeding. The loose form balancers need to be mixed with a feed, but their concentrated feeding rate makes them more economical. They can take fussier horses and ponies a little longer to get used to though.
All of our pelleted balancers, including Simple Balance +, are fed according to the horse’s ideal weight and the calculation is very easy. Whatever the horse’s ideal weight is in kilo’s, you feed this in grams, so for a 500kg horse, you would give 500g of balancer. The pelleted balancers can be fed by themselves when soaked as a mash or for horses requiring more nutrition, add them into the appropriate or necessary feeds. Our pelleted balancers include the “Balance Plus” range and popular MetaSlim.
Our meal or powder balancers, such as Total Eclipse, are also fed according to the horse’s ideal bodyweight but the calculation differs according to the product, varying from 25 – 40g per 100kg of the horse’s ideal weight.
Simple System supported rider, Georgie Wood (pictured) chooses FlexiBalance for her showjumpers. This is a great option for performance horses in harder work whilst for older horses, the pelleted Veteran Balance + helps support joint health if they are starting to become stiff or show signs of aging.
Whilst alongside our balancer range we also have a few specialist Blends: Eclipse Recovery can be used to boost the immune system and supply natural levels of antioxidants whilst Joint Eclipse can be fed alongside your existing horse feed balancer to supply standalone joint support.
Many balancers contain unnecessary fillers and bulkers to make up the feeding rates but at Simple System, nothing is included without good reason. Using a forage base in our pelleted balancers for horses does more than just add bulk - it helps top-up quality protein and essential amino acids.
People also often ask if our balancers are “complete” – this term can be misleading! Fully balanced horse feeds risk over supplementation as the majority of our horses vitamin and mineral requirements are supplied by what they eat the most of – their grazing and hay. A balancer should not be “complete” and should not provide a horses total daily requirements of any one thing as it is not the only thing they eat – instead, it should provide a top-up and will, as part of a bigger picture, help to complete the diet.
Using concentrate feed balancers that provide high levels of chelated minerals may be necessary on a cereal-based diet as cereals are poorly balanced - a forage-based diet is a naturally balanced and more bioavailable source of these essential nutrients.
Our entire range is registered with The Vegan Society and we do not use any artificial or manufactured vitamin and mineral premixes which often contain animal derived ingredients. All of our ingredients are naturally occurring or plant based and for those with sensitivities or intolerances, we sell many of our core ingredients as separate Complementary Feeds for a more bespoke approach.
For help selecting the most appropriate balancer for your horse, you can view our balancers in our brochure, click here to order yours for free. You can also view our blends and balancers for horses here. For those looking for suggestions and advice, contact our Feed Line who will be happy to help. The Feed Line nutrition team can be reached on 01728 604 008 or by completing our advice request form.