Equine Balancer feeds are specially formulated supplements designed to provide essential nutrients that may be lacking in a horse's diet. These feeds are not complete feeds like traditional grains or forages but are meant to balance and complement the existing diet to ensure horses receive optimal nutrition.
Why Are They Used?
Balanced Nutrition:
Equine Balancer feeds are used to fill nutritional gaps in a horse's diet, ensuring they receive all the essential vitamins, minerals, and amino acids needed for proper health and performance.
Customization:
Horses have diverse nutritional needs based on factors like age, activity level, and health status. Equine Balancers allow for tailoring the diet to meet individual requirements.
Support for Specific Conditions:
Some horses may have specific health conditions or dietary sensitivities. Equine Balancers can be adjusted to address these concerns without overloading the horse with unnecessary calories.
Equine Balancer feeds are valuable tools in maintaining the health and performance of horses. Understanding when and how to use them, along with choosing products from reputable companies, ensures that horses receive the tailored nutrition they need for a happy and healthy life. Always consult with equine professionals to create a nutrition plan that best suits your horse's individual needs.
When and How to Use Equine Balancers:
When to Use:
Incomplete Diets: When a horse's diet lacks certain essential nutrients.
Specific Life Stages: During growth, pregnancy, lactation, or in senior horses with changing nutritional needs.
Performance Horses: To support the increased demands of training and competition.
How to Use:
Before incorporating Equine Balancer feeds into your feeding program, it's crucial to consult with a professional to assess the horse's current diet and specific nutritional needs. The type and quality of forage available is a major factor in what conentrates should be used to balance the ration.
Proper Mixing:
Equine Balancers are typically added to the existing diet, whether it's hay, pasture, or grain. The correct mixing ratio is essential to avoid over-supplementation.
Regular Monitoring:
Regularly assess the horse's condition, performance, and any changes in health to adjust the Equine Balancer feed as needed.
Companies Supplying Equine Balancers:
Several reputable companies supply Equine Ration Balancers, each offering different formulations to cater to various needs. Companies like Kentucky Equine Research, Buckeye, Nutrena, and Purina have been at the forefront of research in equine nutrition.
Nutrena:
Nutrena's Empower Topline Balancer is a popular ration balancer to support optimal growth, 
performance, and maintenance. The formula has ingredients to support digestive health and topline strength building.
ProElite is also a Nutrena line that offers 3 Equine Balancers to complement alfalfa or grass forage as well as topline specific formulas.
Kentucky Equine Research
KER’s All-Phase Ration Balancer provides extra protein, minerals and vitamins that complement any low grain feeding situation regardless of the phase of horse.
Buckeye
Buckeye Feeds was one of the first companies to formulate a concentrated ration balancer for horses. Their early research opened the feed industry to understand how to provide quality nutrition without creating metabolic disorders from overfeeding cereal grains. Gro ’N Win and Senior Balancer are the Buckeye Equine Ration Balancers available through The Mill.
Triple Crown
Triple Crown’s 30% Balancer and Balancer Gold are 2 formulas available at The Mill that provide good levels of nutrients to easily complete a balanced feeding program.
Purina Animal Nutrition:
Known for its research-backed formulations, Purina’s Enrich Plus Equine Balancer is a formula that adds well-rounded supplementation to basic feeding programs.
McCauleys Equine Balancers available at The Mill are M10 Balancer and the M30 formula.
Hallway Feeds has Stamm 30 Balancer now has a buffered mineral complex and is easy to incorporate into the diet of horses with various lifestyle stages.
If you have questions about how to provide needed nutrients without overfeeding your horse or spending more than necessary for feed supplements, ask us about the right balancer to complement your feeding program. The Mill's equine nutritionist and sales specialists can help you ensure that your horses are getting a balanced diet!
