With so many balancers on the market, it can be hard to decide which is most suited to your horse.

What is a balancer?

Balancers are small, nutrient dense feeds (often pellets) designed to provide a concentrated supply of vitamins, minerals and amino acids. Due the low feeding rate - typically 500g per day or a 500kg horse -  balancers provide negligible amounts of energy (calories), starch and sugar per daily serving, making them the ideal choice for good doers.

Does my horse need a balancer?

Although many horses and ponies maintain weight easily on forage alone, forage only diets may be lacking in key nutrients including copper, zinc, selenium, vitamin E and lysine – an essential amino acid or ‘building block’ of protein which plays an important role in supporting muscle health – this is where feed balancers come in. A balancer is also a great way of topping up vitamin and mineral intake in horses fed less than the recommended amount of compound feed or feeds without added vitamins and minerals.

Tip: As a guide feed half the recommended amount of balancer if feeding half the recommended amount of compound feed.

Choosing your balancer

When choosing a balancer consider which, if any, functional ingredients may be of most benefit to your horse.

Daily Balancer provides an excellent value for money option for providing vitamins and minerals without bells and whistles. It delivers a broad spectrum of vitamins, minerals and amino acids and 15mg of biotin per 500g serving proven to support hoof health.

Original Balancer  provides the nutrients needed every day plus digestive, immune & hoof support. It delivers a broad spectrum of vitamins & minerals and amino acids including lysine and methionine to support muscle development and topline. It’s formulated with probiotic live yeast and prebiotic MOS to support digestive health.

Supple & Senior Balancer isn’t just for seniors and is an ideal balancer choice for owners looking to provide their horses with joint support in the form of glucosamine, MSM and Omega 3 as well as probiotic live yeast and prebiotic MOS to support digestive health.

Lite & Lean Balancer is specifically formulated to balance a forage restricted diet. It is high in amino acids including lysine, methionine and threonine typically deficient in calorie restricted diets to support lean muscle and topline.

Gro N Win Balancer is the perfect solution for youngstock that do not require the high level of calories provided by traditional stud feeds but still need the vitamins and minerals required to balance forage. Gro N Win Balancer is suitable to be fed up to the age of 24 months.

Ulca Balancer as well as delivering a broad spectrum of vitamins and minerals, provides elevated levels of pre and probiotics as well as lecithin and pectin to support the stomach lining and acid buff to help neutralise stomach acid. It has the BETA EGUS approval mark too.

For more advice on choosing which balancer to feed, contact the SPILLERS Care-Line on 01908 226626 or [email protected]

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