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T O P I C R E V I E W
birdof1977
Posted - 16 Feb 2010 : 09:31:13 AM Do any of you guys use them? If so which ones? I currently have my lad on Baileys Local. Its great, but he has lost rather a lot of condition during the winter. It is the first winter I have had him, when I got him he was overweight, and only lightly hacked once a week or so. Now he has been in fulltime work all winter, he has started to lose condition. I don't want to start adding extra feed at this time of year, but I thought that Maybe I could change the quality of what he's getting. He is 15.2 and weighs about 450Kg at the moment. He is quite a solid arab too. At the moment he gets 500g of Local balancer, 500grams of unmollased beet, and 800g of mollichaff alfalfa-oil a day, split into 2 feeds, plus addlib haylage.
I was thinking that if I put him on a different balancer, this might help. I have been looking at either bluechip original, or baileys outshine? Or would any of you recommend a different balancer or anything different I could adjust with his diet.
Thanks in advance.
12 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First)
gg
Posted - 16 Feb 2010 : 9:07:46 PM I use D & H ultimate balancer with alfa a and have no problem with weight loss. I only feed once daily so she only has half amount as suggested though has mineral block in field if extra needed. I reduced the amount of alfa or swop to hifi in the summer or barrel months!!!!
Julie
Alsgold
Posted - 16 Feb 2010 : 8:29:22 PM Sorry forgot to add i use global herbs Flax oil. which is supposed to be one of the best oils for horses. Like i said i would email both NAF and Global herbs after all it is free advice. good luck x
Zenitha
Posted - 16 Feb 2010 : 8:27:23 PM Pink Powder IS a balancer [;)
The instructions state that it can be used as a 'pick me up' after illness/digestive upset, or as a balancer.
It is probably the most cost effective balancer you can buy, and its really good too. I use it with all my horses and they do really well on it.
If your boy is losing condition on Lo cal I would drop it altogether until he is back in condition again - replacing it with an ordinairy balancer or complete feed aimed at weight gain. Baileys Outshine is great for adding condition and coat, but is a supplement not a balancer. Blue Chip is a great balancer (expensive) but as with all balancers, is only fed in small amounts, which will mean you still have to bulk up on other feed for calorie content. You may find it more cost effective and successful to just feed the recommended amount of a complete feed, eg baileys top line & conditioning cubes, until you are happy with his condition again.
Good luck
Alsgold
Posted - 16 Feb 2010 : 8:24:07 PM i have owned my mare three years now and this winter is her third with us. The previous two winters i have had real trouble keeping weight on her until i found out about pink powder by NAF. She as been on baileys, topspec etc in the past. Pink powder states that it can be used as a feed balancer on the tub and if they put too much weight on with it NAF do another product called SLimline i beleive which my friend uses on her weighty cob. I would email NAF and tell them they will give you advice. But in my opinion i sware by pink powder. hope this helps.
birdof1977
Posted - 16 Feb 2010 : 5:02:45 PM
Originally posted by arabic
Hi,
If you are looking into other balancers, you may want to consider Pink Powder. It can be fed at a balancer rate and compares well with the big brands. I had to take Freddie off it because he gained to much weight, other than that I would have stuck with it. He would gain weight at the drop of a hat and was better suited to a straightforward supplement but PP gets my vote every time.
Do you mean the naf Pink powder?? I have used this on another pony I had. It worked really well on her. Its not really a balancer though, more a probiiotic. The balancer I am using at the moment contains loads of stuff to keep the gut funtioning properly, the problem is, I don't think his calorie intake is high enough. Thanks for the advice though. I am going to try the extra oil first, and see how that goes for a month or so. If especially when the spring grass starts coming through properly there is still no change, I may consider the pink powder then as my next option. Thanks again.
arabic
Posted - 16 Feb 2010 : 4:41:11 PM Hi,
If you are looking into other balancers, you may want to consider Pink Powder. It can be fed at a balancer rate and compares well with the big brands. I had to take Freddie off it because he gained to much weight, other than that I would have stuck with it. He would gain weight at the drop of a hat and was better suited to a straightforward supplement but PP gets my vote every time.
Karon
Posted - 16 Feb 2010 : 4:26:54 PM I usually just feed corn oil when I'm adding oil to my lot's feeds.
birdof1977
Posted - 16 Feb 2010 : 1:38:17 PM
Originally posted by Karon
I found Baileys Outshine was very good, that or one of the Top Spec balancers. You could always increase the chaff, too, or add oil to his feed rather than change his balancer.
Thanks for all of the answers. I am looking into all of the different ones at the moment. But Karons suggestion of adding some extra oil to what he is already fed might be what I will try first. So which oil would you recommend? Soya, omega, linseed or good old fashioned veggie/sunflower oil?
spirit
Posted - 16 Feb 2010 : 1:15:40 PM Baileys Stud balancer on all my horses, they range from 11hh - 15.3hh, but are all good doers! Stud balancer is high in protein but very low in calories, fed in the correct amounts it supplies your horses with the correct mineral and vitamin intake, along with the necessary protein and other ingredients. Lo cal is very similar but slightly lower in calories but works out quite a bit more expensive when fed to a few horses. This is probably better if you only have one horse. If your horse is lacking condition the Outshine is a fantastic high Oil balancer to add to your feed. The main thing is to make sure they are getting the correct quantities and enough calories for their workload. Baileys Top line cubes are also very good, but fed at the correct quantities are more expensive and the feed is alot bigger.
sab2
Posted - 16 Feb 2010 : 12:31:53 PM I use Redmills its designed for all horses but mainly broodmares and youngstock but i have my older ones on it too.It is also a lot cheaper than some of the more well known ones.
Karon
Posted - 16 Feb 2010 : 11:48:57 AM I found Baileys Outshine was very good, that or one of the Top Spec balancers. You could always increase the chaff, too, or add oil to his feed rather than change his balancer.
pinkvboots
Posted - 16 Feb 2010 : 10:02:01 AM I feed Baileys Lo Cal I switched to it when Arabi was on very rich grass, then when we moved yards the grass was not as rich,he also had a really bad infection which caused him to drop weight. I stuck with the same balancer as he will put on more weight in the spring and didn't want to keep changing, I changed his chaff from Dengie Light to Alfa Oil and started giving him the Simple Systems Pura beet, which is very similar to what your feeding,1 scoop of chaff and half a scoop of pura beet in each feed twice a day, he put the weight back on within about three weeks so I have reduced it a bit now. I also feed the dried Linseed which will help with keeping condition, I think you can feed the Outshine alongside the Lo Cal, you could ring Baileys they are really good I have asked there advice a few times. A friend of mine has also used Equi Jewel and I couldn't believe the transformation in about a month he looked like a different horse, I think its about £30 a bag but it does work they do have a website if you want to look them up. I would definitely consider the Equi Jewel the results are amazing.
