Balancers
By Hannah Botha, MSc Equine Science (Royal Agricultural College, UK), Equine Nutrition Specialist for Equus Feeds
Balancers have been on the market for a long time, yet their mechanism of action seems poorly understood. Often balancers are added when not required or are given in such high levels that unbalanced rations are ultimately created. Below we discuss best practices in terms of feeding balancers to allow you to use them with confidence.
What are they for?
Balancers are created to be a low-intake, highly concentrated source of essential protein, vitamins and minerals. They are designed for all types of horses, where extra calories are not required.
Essentially, due to their low caloric value, it is best to think of them as vitamin and mineral supplements, although in reality they are much more than that. Generally, insofar as the case with human nutrition goes, vitamin and mineral supplements supply only microminerals (such as copper, zinc and selenium) and vitamins, with little or no protein or macrominerals (such as calcium, phosphorus and magnesium). Balancers, on the other hand, supply all of these things, making them an ‘all-round’ solution to balancing diets. No other type of vitamin or mineral supplement should be required alongside a balancer.
Balancers do not, however, provide vast amounts of energy (calories) due to the low-energy ingredients they contain, as well as the low volume required by each horse. This makes them ideal to feed to horses who have no need for extra calories, but are in need of a more balanced ration.
Generally speaking, the suggested amount of balancer is 100g of balancer pellet per 100kg of body weight, so for a 500kg horse that would be 500g per day.
The protein ‘problem’
One of the biggest questions when it comes to balancers is about the level of protein contained in them. The majority of balancers are around 25% protein and this often leads people, incorrectly, to assume that this would be too high for their horse. You must, however, remember that protein is not the same as energy and thus a protein level of 25% is not going to make your horse ‘hot’ or difficult to ride.
If you sit and do the calculation, 25% protein is 250g of protein per kg feed, so when the balancer is fed in the low quantities described above, that is only 125g per 500g per day. If, on the other hand, you feed 3kg of 10% concentrate, then your horse will be receiving 300g of protein per day, which is far more than the amount contained in the balancer pellet ration.
Methods of feeding
Balancers can be fed in several ways:
- Fed alone to provide essential nutrients for horses fed on only hay and grazing:
It is true that many nutritionists will advise very high forage diets, instead of using lots of concentrates, and this is undoubtedly the healthier option. However, it must also be remembered that while a forage-heavy diet is healthier, the hay and grazing today is generally speaking not nutritionally balanced, so providing a balancer can be very useful. This is especially the case in stud animals who have 24/7 access to grazing, but need a higher rate of nutrients due to life stage (for example, late pregnancy, lactation or weaning).
- Combined with straight grains, beet pulp and/or chaff mixes to create a more balanced ration:
Many people still like to create home mixes, which often contain things like cereal grains, chaffs, oil and brans. While these are all perfectly fine ingredients on their own, they are often very changeable in their vitamin and mineral content, and rarely provide a totally balanced diet. The benefit of adding a balancer in these situations is that you can guarantee a more inclusive and complete diet.
- Fed as a ‘top dressing’ to enhance the nutrient density of a commercial feed:
Using balancer as a top dressing is often the most common way of using balancers. However, it is not necessarily needed nor is it best practice for all horses, especially those being fed higher than recommended levels of commercial feeds.
Horses who would benefit from a top dressing include those working at a higher level; those needing to build more muscle; those returning to work after illness; mares in late pregnancy or lactation who maintain their weight easily but have higher protein, vitamin and mineral requirements; older horses; and younger horses. In these cases, it is advisable to feed 50 to 100g per kg of body weight depending on individual circumstances.
A top dressing is also useful for those horses who are being fed below the recommended feeding rate of a commercial feed due to being overweight or having a tendency to put on weight easily. Commercial feeds are designed with minimum nutrient levels in mind, and so if a product states that you should feed 3kg per day, but you can only feed 1kg (to avoid your horse gaining weight), then his vitamin and mineral levels are likely to be unbalanced. In this situation, for every 1kg under the recommended feeding rate, you generally have to provide 100 to 250g of balancer pellet, but do check this with the manufacturer first.
Balancers are for the most part low in starch, but they can vary in sugar level due to the variation in molasses content (the most common binder for pellet feeds), so do check with your chosen manufacturer. However, quality balancers will include a small amount of oil to help bind the ingredients without adding large amounts of sugar to the diet – which also makes them suitable for horses with conditions such as laminitis, insulin resistance, tying up and other related conditions – along with other low non-structural carbohydrate (NSC) products.
Take-home message
When used correctly, balancer pellets are a great tool to allow you to tailor each horse’s diet to ensure optimal performance, recovery, health and well-being, by creating a balanced ration. However, it is important to remember that horses are all individuals and it is always best to consult your nutritionist or vet about your horse’s diet. You must also bear in mind that if a change to your horse’s diet is needed, it must only ever be done gradually.
