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What is a good ration balancer at a good price?

6K views 60 replies 14 participants last post by  deserthorsewoman 
#1 ·
So the vet recommended I switch my air fern of a gelding to nutrenas balance ration balancer. Problem is that it's near $26 for a 40 pound bag. Now, would it be worth it to just put him on that or is there a different ration balancer that would work equally as well for less amount of money? I'm on a bit of a budget. I also don't know how he'll do on it. I got him in November and he needed weight. He's been doing great on safechoice original but the lowest amount I can feed him for his weight is 3 pounds per day and he's getting huge. He also has a risk of foundering. Any input is appericiated :)
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#3 ·
I just got him in November so I'm not sure if he'll actually maintain his weight with just a ration balancer alone which is why I'm weary to switch. But he is definitely getting too fat off of the safe choice. I'm just going off vets recommendations with the RB. Currently he's on 3# of safechoixe original. (Smallest amount i can feed for his recommended weight) and a pound of Omega max flax seed until spring hits then he'll be off that.
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#9 ·
They have a calculation online and that's what I've been going by. Per his weight it says to feed between 3-6 pounds per day to get all vitamins and minerals, which is alot. But I will just switch him to the balancer. How much should I end up feeding him? Only a pound? Or two? Sorry, I've never used a balancer before.
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#7 ·
^^that. Or put easier, 3lbs/day of SC=90lbs/month = little over 2 bags(don't recall 40 or 50lb bags)=37$. RB 1lb/day=30lbs/months=less than a bag=less than 26$ a month.
If he got fat on SC, only 3lbs, he'll do just fine on RB
Other possibility would be some alfalfa or grass pellets, and a vitamin/mineral supplement and his flax mixed in, soaked, of course.
Speaking about flax, a lb of that has tons of calories, too. I feed omega horseshine, 1/2 cup a day. Definitely not a lb. Something to take into consideration;-)
 
#10 ·
About a pound. Provided he has free choice hay, preferably in a slowfeeder.
Btw, I never fed any commercial feed according to the company's suggestions. As was mentioned above, good hay alone provides a bunch of the needed vit/mins already. Their amounts will make sure its the recommended daily amount, without taking hay/pasture into the equation . They do want to sell their feed, after all;-)
 
#11 ·
He will have free choice hay when the grass is grazed down probably in mid summer. Right now though while its cold he will have a round bale. But he will be wearing a muzzle during spring-summer. The grass doesn't grow much anyway where he'll be kept becuse it's about 4 horses on 2-3 acres.
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#12 ·
I would either buy a vit/min supplement thru a catalogue and sprinkle it over timothy pellets or, if you can get McCauley's try their M-10 balancer.

It is oat/corn/soy free and only takes one pound per day.

McCauley's® M10 Balancer

I started feeding the M-10 to one insulin resistant horse and my horse with serious oat/corn/soy intolerance.

It's only been a few months but so far, things seem to be going well. My food allergy horse is very calm and not looking for trouble all the time, so I know it's working for him.

The IR guy is eating the M-10 because his insulin spikes just breathing, every day, but he needs his vitamins/minerals from a safe source.
 
#13 ·
I've been using SmartVite Ez Keeper Grass, and I'm really liking it. I feed it along with a small amount of grain and 24/7 pasture. You don't have to feed it with grain, however. I just do because I feed other supplements that can't be eaten alone. ;) It costs around 20 bucks a month.
 
#14 ·
Would it be a total overkill to feed 2 pounds a day with a pound of flax seed? And slowly reduce if still getting too fat?? I just worry about loosing too much weight if he's only getting a pound per day.

It's so hard to tell sometimes if they're loosing weight when you see them everyday. :(
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#15 ·
I also have an air fern. Currently he is on the Nutrena Balancer for grass hay/forage and he gets less than 1 pound a day.
More like 6 oz in the AM with his hoof supp. and a tablespoon of whole flaxseed.
Pm feed is about 4 or 5 oz with no supps.
Very average hay and forage when there is some and he is sleek (well soft and fuzzy right now) and rolly polly.
(He's in my barn here- Name's Digby and he has put on weight since I bought him and brought him home from KY.)

I've also used the Buckeye Grow N Win RB and liked it. Slightly cheaper than the Nutrina RB, but my supplier was having ussues.
Anyway, one bag of horse "feed" lasts me two months at a time and all told I think it costs me maybe 0.75 cents a day to feed him, not including hay.

I do have out a mineral block and I did run all the data through FeedXL to make sure I wasn't missing something and he scored nearly perfect.
For air ferns, RBs are the way to go.
 
#16 ·
When I got him he definitely needed weight, which he gained but the vet suggest I put him on the nutrena RB because he was '100 pounds overweight' according to her. But she didnt even feel for his ribs or anything. Plus, being he's a Wooly mammoth his coat makes him look morbidly obese. But when she came out I was able to feel his ribs or issues. Now he's gaining alittle more weight and I hve to press to feel them. Currently the 3 pounds of safechoice is too much. He definitely doesn't need to loose 100# though. But maybe a few. I just get so paranoid about him loosing weight which is why im not sure to work up to only a pound a day or two pounds. He's on a pound of flax because he needed weight but I wasnt going to lower the flax amount just yet until I get the RB all squared away.
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#17 ·
Do you know about how much your horse weighs?

I'm with deserthorsewoman on this. Don't feed what the bag tells you. I use Nutrena's Ration Balancer myself and so far really like it. Both our horses are on it and get 1lb of it a day with 1lb of timothy pellets and 24/7 grass hay.

Going this route has saved us a good chunk of money because I was feeding SOOO much more of the Strategy they were on.
 
#19 ·
Poulin's EquiPro MVP is a couple dollars cheaper. Doesn't have as much protein. Feed rates are about the same.

The ration balancers do work out to being much cheaper because you feed so much less.

If your horse is gaining too much weight why not cut back on the expensive fat supplement rather than cutting out the thing that gives him a broader range of nutrition?
 
#20 ·
You mean cutting back the flax?

The vet recommended I change his grain as he has te possibility of foundering due to a slight rotation in one of his hooves. Nothin major but I don't want him to founder and get too fat. I'm just not sure how he'll do on the RB. Vet said keep him on flax but take him off the grain and change to a RB. Once I'm done switching him to the RB I will cut back the flax. He only gets in during winter because it has omega 3s.
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#21 ·
I'm a rb convert. Used to feed Strategy. I don't think I'll feed any other way now aside from my old man that needs a mash. I feed Progressive Nutrition's ProAdvantage, it's a bit more pricey than the bigger brands like nutrena or purina but it is still so much more cost effective. It is currently running $34/bag.

What pleases me the most about it is my youngsters. I did feed ultium growth to the young ones but with my 9 month old filly we went the rb route for her dam and now for her. She gets 3/4 lb a day and free choice tim/orchard. She looks fantastic as do the rest of my gang.
 
#22 ·
That's about the going price. My RB (Buckeye Gro N Win) is a quality feed and it is $26/50lbs

But, I am switching back to Triple Crown. My mare is in work now and I am going to TC Lite for a few more calories.
 
#23 ·
I see, you haven't switched him to a ration balancer yet. Just switch him. He will do fine if he has free choice hay and is an easy keeper. Get a plastic ziploc bag. Take a measuring cup full and weigh it on a good scale. You can sneak a baggie into the supermarket and use their scale. You will be amazed how little a pound is. From there on you can eyeball it.

If he acts like your starving him to death you can add some hay pellets to his meal for bulk. My fat old pony gets 1/3 cup of ration balancer and acts like her throat has been cut so I get the lowest carb hay stretcher I can find and mix a little with it for her. I guess this is the start of the second year of me feeding her like this and she hasn't lost a lb but she hasn't gotten any fatter either. Her overall condition and attitude have improved greatly.

My other 2 seem to need a touch more but not much. The large pony/small horse mare (never really measured, hovers at around 14.1 I think) gets the ration balancer and hay stretcher mix with a couple of measuring cups of the purina mini horse food added. She's a small sturdy app, senior horse. Tends to be chunky and cresty.

My TWH is 16.1 and gets 3 cups of the mini horse feed with her hay stretcher/ration balancer mix and a measuring cup of rice bran. Much bigger and long and lanky compared to the other 2 and in her early teens she just needs a few more calories than the smaller older girls. More than just lb for lb size difference would dictate but not much. I'm using very low carb/high fiber foods for all 3.

It works well for me because I feed outside in the pasture. The two bigger horses eat their special stuff up first. If I have to abandon my mealtime vigil because of subzero weather the pony only gets a mouthful of hay pellets by the time she thinks to run the other 2 off their dishes. Saves me frostbite, panic and worry. Usually her tummy is filled by a meal with an NSC value of 6.9 so she doesn't bother or there is only crumbs left anyway.

You want to get his carbs way down if he's having a little trouble with laminitis.

I could probably drop out the mini food for all that I'm feeding doesn't amount to much but it does seem to make the two bigger girls finish theirs a little quicker and leave my chubby old alpha witch with nothing to steal. Works for me. You will just have to play around and adjust and watch and adjust until you find it.
 
#24 ·
He hasn't been lame that I'm aware of but when I had X-rays done of his front feet it showed that he had a 1-2 degree of rotation in one of the front feet. Can't remember exactly off the top of my head. And some lipping? I'm not positive what that is. But anyway, vet told me he could loose 100# which benefit of the doubt it was freezing that day and his coat was puffy. Truthfully he has a huge hay belly. Though.

But I had him on 3# of safechoixe original which was still making him gain weight. I just spoke to the vet and she told me to watch his hay intake. (Which I cannot do as ill be moving him next week and hell have a round bail til spring) and just give him 2# a day to start of the RB along with the flax. (Which I'm going to reduce how much I give him a day after he's completely switched over to the RB)
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#25 ·
If he'll be on a roundbale and doesn't have to compete with anybody for it, he'll do just fine with 1 lb Ration Balancer and max 1 cup flax. In fact he should be doing alright with the hay alone, if it's decent quality

The lipping of the tip of the coffin bone happens when the angle of the hoof is not corrected after rotation( steep). The tip of the bone deteriorates slowly. Very important to keep him trimmed properly.
 
#26 ·
He is pretty low in the pecking order so I'm sure he will be chased some. Especially for the first few weeks.

I just got him and he's been on a 6 week trimming cycle with me and I have the X-rays to show my farrier next time he comes out :)
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#28 ·
Off topic- Would the minor lipping and 1-2 degree of rotation be that big of a deal? Vet said it wasn't but to definitely keep his weight under control and keep his feet trimmed correctly.
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