Looking for opinions on Gro n' Win vs. KER All Phase

The facility I board with is making changes in its prices and what it is providing. He is kept outdoors 24/7 with free-choice grass hay. He has been doing very well with this since he's a very easy keeper. See below for his additional feeding info.

I am working to get his weight down since he's a very easy keeper. Bloodwork has been done to rule out underlying medical reasons. He does not currently wear a grazing muzzle (there is just not enouch cooperation to have it put on/removed at specific times).

The situation now is I am responsible for grain. I can choose my own product to be fed or can continue with what he is on and be billed at the end of each month.

He is currently being fed Kentucky Research's KER All Phase (feed balancer). I don't recall the weight per day because I was not present for his nutrition consult when they switched to this product. He should only be getting approx 1-1.5lbs but ... when its someone else doing the feeding you can never be 100% sure. He gets supplements added into this (1 scoop glucosamine, 1tbsp yucca, 1tbsp white willow bark and 1/8 cup apple cider vinegar). When he was switched to outdoor board they began feeding the ration balancer and supplements ONCE daily (when he was stalled overnight it was twice daily feeding).

Before switching to the KER All Phase he was on Gro n' Win and I think I prefer that product better. It was a forced switch because Gro n' Win is no longer available locally - if I choose to switch back to it I have to drive an hour each way to get the product. This is not a problem for me, I do not mind going the distance or spending the money if its going to be a better product to use in the long run.

Here are my questions: Has anyone used the KER All Phase by this company? What are your opinions on it? Has anyone used with with a horse with IR or other metabolic problems? I have concerns that ingredients are not listed on their website or feed bags. I want to avoid a balancer that contains molasses. I contacted the company and they say it doesn't but without knowing for sure.... All Phase: Kentucky Equine Research

What do individuals here think about the Gro n' Win product by Buckeye? What are your opinions on it? I am more familiar with the product and I was happy with the results when it was being fed. I do know that it does not contain molasses and is low-statch. I don't have metabolic issues with this horse but it lingers in the back of my mind because he is too easy of a keeper. Gro 'n Win

It's difficult to find a balancer pellet that does NOT contain molasses and that is either local or within an hour of my location. Other brands available here do contain the molasses so I will not consider them.


The once a day feeding also concerns me. I prefer to split between two feedings but he doesn't get much in terms of "grain" compared to others ... it ends up being more supplements then anything. It's working for him but its certainly not my preference. He still has free choice hay available in the pasture and constant access to fresh water.

I have been looking for a back-up facility but I cannot get a facility with free-choice hay, twice a day feeding for his pellet and supplements and auto-wateres that is within a reasonable distance and price range. Everyone just tosses the outdoor boarders out on grass pastures. It's a challenge but we're looking.

Any and all opinions are much appreciated. Thanks in advance. Brands available locally: Master Feeds, KER, Purina and Buckeye is semi-local.

Have you looked at Nutrena Empower Balance? I'm not sure if it contains molasses or not, but says that it is designed for IR/Cushing's horses.

I feed Triple Crown 30% Supplement and have been very happy with it, but I know it has a small amount of molasses in it (even though it's way down towards the bottom of the list).

I wouldn't worry about only feeding grain once a day since you feed a ration balancer. It's such a small amount of food and most balancers contain little to no actual grain, so there's no health worries there. I split my horse's 1-1/4 lb ration into 2 feedings only because my barn feeds twice daily and he'd throw a fit if the feeders went by without dropping anything in his bucket

ETA- just noticed you listed the locally available brands. The only one I'm familiar with is Purina and it seems like they love putting molasses in their feeds

I would love to feed Triple Crown because I've always heard such good things about it but there is only one dealer that I can find in my province and its 3 hours away. Now should I ever re-locate to that area for work I would feed it in a heart beat.

I'm thinking stick to the Gro n' Win because at least with that I know what I'm getting...

My horse is an easy keeper too that doesn‘t have any issues per say, but I‘m mindful of what I feed him anyway.
I researched all the ration balancers I had access to… Enrich 32, Grow-n-Win, and Hubbard 30%.

My initial choice was the Grow-n-Win for grass pastures, but the independently owned feed store owner, who is fairly knowledgeable, where I could buy it from suggested I try the Hubbard 30% as many of his horse customers really liked it and it was considerably less expensive. I tried it and it was ok.
So I switched over to the Grow-N-Win despite costing more and am happier with it.

My horse also has free choice hay, 24/7 fresh water, and a brown mineral horse block.
I feed less than pound a day. One cup in the AM with flaxseed, organic kelp, and extra vitamins, then about ½ cup in the evening with no supplements. The only reason I do the evening feed is because he is used to that and it keeps him happy.

Since they are getting so little of it, as compared to pounds and pounds of typical grains, it is my understanding that once a day feeding is perfectly ok because there is no reason to spread out the meals for the health of the horse.

The glucosamine, yucca, and vinegar are often given just once a day in many stables, but many people do spread white willow bark or those class of supplements between two or three meals.
When I was using it on one of my rescues, I only gave it once a day and it worked well.

Anyway, in my rambling I meant to say that while I haven’t used any KER products, I have used Grow-N-Win. I’m very happy with it even though I pay quite a bit more for it and have to make a special trip to buy it.

Hi,

Re those choices, as I've recently looked into All Phase for my guys, thought it'd be easy to pull up my feedXL analysis & do one on Gro n win too for you. But it seems gro n win isn't available over here, so is not in my program. I don't know anything about that besides what's on their site.

As for KER, I believe they're a good feed/nutritional co & their products are good. Having horses on pasture who also definitely don't need added calories, I emailed them re ingredients. It's mostly soy based & similar list to the gro n win, without distillers grain. It does have molasses in it, but I decided it was negligible - pretty sure it's not in the top 4 ingredients(sorry can't find the list now) & with the amount I needed to feed.

Based on analysis with good quality C3 pasture &/or hay, KER All phase needs to be fed at only around 350g per day to balance the diet *except for selenium & iodine, which still come up a bit short. While it's better to feed over at least a couple or more meals daily, with that small an amount, and it being low starch, it shouldn't make a big difference.

Of course the feed recommendations from the companies that sell it advise a fair bit more. I think from memory All Phase recommended 750g/day & Gro n win says .5-1kg looking at the nutritional analysis, it seems KER has a lot more trace elements & vitamins in it, including biotin & lysine - good for feet.

Other alternatives if you want pelleted balancers include SmartPack & KER Gold Pellet that are extremely low dose(approx 60g/day) & if you do a search on 'pelleted ration balancer' there are definitely others. While I do think it's prudent to avoid grain & molasses, yes, that can be difficult with this sort of product, but do consider dose rates, as that may make the ingredient concerns negligable. Also you could consider a small amount of beet pulp or dampened chaff mixed with a powdered supp instead of pellets.... if your horse isn't so fussy!