Ration Balancers

jackspark · Ration Balancers

http://thehorsehealthzone.webs.com/rationbalancers.htm

Are these just pelleted food or something entirely different? I feed pellet food and have not heard it referred to as a ration balancer. Still fighting weight gain problems with my aging senior, looking to make a change.

merle

Over the winter I started feeding a ration balancer made by Pennfield Feeds called All Phase.

Here is a link to it.

http://www.pennfieldequine.com/products_phase_allphase.php

My horse and mule were eating only pasture and hay. I was not giving them any thing that had vitamins and minerals. Over the past few years I've been debating back and forth if that was sufficient for them or not. Last year the organization I volunteer at, CORRAL, started feeding All Phase. They were raving about the difference they saw in the horses. I tried it and I like it. My mule who typically sheds out in May/June started shedding with the 'normal' horses in Feb/March (I live in NC). She also is not as bloated as she used to be and has much less watery stool. I think she was missing some thing that the All Phase is supplying.

Edited to Add - I feed 1 cup per animal per day.

jackspark

Thanks so much Merle! That is exactly the info I needed; and I saw that brand name in my search. I think I might look into changing some diets around here; don't think we are getting all of the right nutrients in our pelleted feed plus prairie hay. Difficult when ya have a couple of Jack Sprats and a couple of their wives

ShannonE

Purina here in Canada makes Equalizer as their ration balancer and my horses have been on it for 5 or 6 years. There are no calories in it which is a bonus for my easy keeper as he thinks he's getting something wonderful.

My old horse lived to be 29 and my husband's old boy is still going strong at 31. I certainly don't think that's just from the Equalizer, but I do believe it helps some. Our 4 year olds are also on it as they get nothing else but hay and they are healthy little dudes.

It is a more expensive way to get a vitamin/mineral supplement into them but it can be soaked and fed warm. They especially love that in the dead of winter. Our old boy has a choke probem so nothing gets fed to anyone here that doesn't look like porridge.

It's a product I'd certainly recommend.

Shannon

learningthedance

Here is a good, easy to understand write up about ration balancers.

http://www.understanding-horse-nutrition.com/ration-balancer.html

I have all mine (and my sisters) on Buckeye Gro n Win ration-balancer for grass hay/pasture. They have one for horses on alfalfa too.

http://www.buckeyenutrition.com/r...alancers/gro-%27n-win/Detail.aspx

jackspark

Talked to my feed store and they said that they could get me the Kent Topline (HorseGo) Might try it this summer when the horses have access to pasture and then go from there.

jackspark

Feed stores....... AAARRRRGGGGGG Has anyone used Calf Manna instead of equine ration balancers? Easy to access here and cheaper; I compared the ingredients and not too much difference soooo

learningthedance

jackspark

OK, I've changed my mind about my feed store. They called and told me my RB would arrive tomorrow and they got an extra bag cause the owner thought he'd like to give it a try

I hope it'll help my girls( who get almost nothing but big round bales of average quality hay) be assured the vitamins and minerals they need. All of mine have been slow to shed out this year and it makes me wonder if they are getting enough

jackspark

Horses have been feed the Ration Balancer for a month now and Hubby keeps sayin' "Man the horses look good this year" I don't know if it has anything to do with it but I plan to continue for the next few months to see if I think it has made a difference.

Side note: Rookie has not has an incident of laying down after eating since I began to soak his food making a mash out of it. Amazing what I learn from this forum

My horses thank all of you!

becdubie

So....anybody having trouble getting their horses to eat this stuff? the article say's not all horses will eat it.
Do you soak it and/or mix it with something else?

jackspark

Yes and No I soak the pellets for my gelding but not for the mares. They seem to like it a lot! I sometimes just use it as a treat for clicker training.

Copious_Amour

A lot of the farms in Oregon fed Calf Manna to horses. Don't know anything else other than that but it sounds like the RB Is working well

jackspark

Basically the same thing, Em. I may do that if it's cheaper and easier to get. My feed store is having to get it in just for me so I don't know how long they'll keep making a special trip to go get it.

Clarissa

Nancy that photo you posted of your mares in your thread about cooling heels, certainly shows fat horses! So something you feed them is working. I wouldn't want to see them any fatter really.

becdubie

I dont' think it's a ration balancer but I bought some nutrena safe choice yesterday. It's nutrient dense with controlled starch...they recommend feeding about 2-3lbs a day.
$15.00/50lb bag, so I can't feed it as a main food, but will start putting it in with their beet pulp they get 3-4 times a week. They all love it. I printed off severl $5 coupons so that'll save me some money over the next several months. Gotta start making sure Bubba is ready for winter......LOL!

I've got to get Bubba off the senior feed he is on...it's too expensive and pretty high in sugar, he doesn't need those empty calories....but he does need the extra calories in something.

jackspark

Bought some beet pulp shreds today. My gelding is needing some extra and I thought I'd try it. So........ how much do I give and how often? He is thin and really needs to put some weight on. I changed his pellet amount by making a mash. He was having trouble with them before. Also what kind of oil do I add? Regualr vegetable of Canola or......

Clarissa

Nancy I just got my feed recipe analyzed by Kohnke’s using that computer software 'FeedXL' & she told me all I needed to add was canola oil for omega3. I add sunflower seed to my feed which is omega6 & just needed to balance that. They offered me a ‘complete’ oil supplement with all 3 omegas in it but I will just buy canola from the supermarket again & feed 1/4cup daily. That will provide the correct ratios of 3&6. The omega9 is already in his other feed.

Copious_Amour

Clarissa,
Is it dangerous to feed BOSS without the canola oil? Just started my two on a very small amount of BOSS and am now wondering if I need to balance it with canola oil which would be easy to do if need be

Clarissa

Copious_Amour

jackspark

High crude fiber in pelleted feed can cause weight loss? If you decrease the amount of fiber you decrease the about you need to feed? Been reading some about diet.

Do companies add crude fiber to decrease the feed price? So do ya end up feeding more to keep weight on?

Thanks Clarissa, I'll be adding some oil too! I have Canola so that is where I'll start.

Clarissa

High crude fiber in pelleted feed can cause weight loss? (YES)

If you decrease the amount of fiber you decrease the amount you need to feed? (YES BUT BE CAREFUL)

Do companies add crude fiber to decrease the feed price? (YES)

So do ya end up feeding more to keep weight on? (YES)

I feed a processed feed to Sonny now which I discovered last year called Promita made in this country by Mitavite. I’ll photograph the analysis panel so you can compare with feeds in your country.

It is full of goodies much more than all other feeds & suited to this sub-tropical coastal area. It is also VERY EXPENSIVE!! But I only needed to feed ¼ the recommended amount for Sonny to put on all the weight he wasn’t able to hold & then I cut it back even further during the summer to just 1 small handful daily. Now with winter here again & my horses restricted in range this year due to the hoof issues I am feeding 1 cup x twice daily. Still very economical but does work out at $2kg so every individual pellet is worth picking up if spilt!

The Mitavite website is

www.mitavite.com.au

jackspark

Thanks Clarissa, good to have the label to look at! It's becoming an issue.....two hard keepers and two easy keepers

stella

Nancy, I've been using Calf Manna for about 35 years(when it was still owned by Carnation, even), for a variety of horses/reasons, and I think it does a great job balancing the diet. I use it on horses that need better bloom, underweight/overweight, mares with foals, foals that need more nutrients for growth, etc. So, I'd have to call it "tried and true," very reliable.
Its also relatively inexpensive, as it only takes a bit...being I have Pasos, which are smaller, I tend to use less per horse than recommended, and can see the difference within 2 weeks, usually.
I average 30 head of horses, for many years now, so have a good bit of experience with it, and it hasn't let me down yet.