Being able to balance the nutrients being consumed by a horse is important as an unbalanced diet can lead to poor health and performance, and slow recovery time from exercise. A balanced diet helps to keep the horse in great condition, can enhance performance and can also help them to recover quicker from their work. It is important that a balanced diet supports the horse’s:
- Skin and coat
- Bones, tendons, ligaments, muscles and joints
- Immune system and nerves
- Metabolic and digestive system
- Liver function
- Growth in young horses
Balancers, available in pellet or powder form, are designed to provide the vitamins and minerals a horse requires to help maintain and support health and condition. There are different types available to complement different diets. For example, forage balancers are available that work alongside a fibre diet.
Similarly, if a horse is fed hay and a cereal e.g. oats, a balancer would be required. Special oat balancers are fed alongside oats to counteract the deficiencies of feeding that specific cereal.
If the horse is not being fed the recommended amounts of a commercially prepared horse feed, a balancer might also be needed. This is because complete feeds containing vitamins and minerals rely on the horse receiving his full ration of feed to provide the full amount of vitamins and minerals. You might find that you need to feed less than the suggested amount of your balancer alongside hard feed. In this case, it’s worth speaking to the product’s manufacturer.
Balancers are available in different formulations for different types of horse and different workloads. It’s important to pick the most appropriate one for your horse, to ensure he gets the right amount of vitamins and minerals. Again, if you’re in doubt, calling a feed advice line can really help.
Balancers are usually low in calories, non-heating and often contain a combination of the following, depending on the type of horse it has been made for:
- Vitamins and minerals such as calcium, biotin, methionine, phosphorus, magnesium and zinc
- B vitamins (for energy metabolism)
- Protein and amino acids (to support the muscles and tissues)
- Antioxidants (to support the removal of toxins from the body)
- MSM
- Prebiotics and yeasts (to support healthy digestion)
- Glucosamine (to support joint health and mobility)
- Omega 3 oils (for shiny and healthy coats)
It is worth checking the ingredients of an intended balancer to ensure it meets the needs of the intended horse in terms of age and performance levels. Specific balancers are available that are intended for different purposes e.g.:
- Performance balancers contain the vitamins and amino acids needed to help balance the diet of a performance horse in order to support stamina, muscles and help performance.
- Senior horse balancers may contain a joint supplement such as glucosamine to help with mobility.
- Laminitis balancers tend to be very low calorie and contain supplements that are designed for those prone to, with laminitis or recovering from laminitis.
- Stud balancer is normally designed to promote muscle development.