# Which feed balancer - for a fat horse?



## enchantedunicorn (30 December 2013)

Hi, I have had my first horse for a month now, he has been out of work for a year with his previous owner and has become very fat. I have been advised to take him off his evening feed and just give him carrots for his morning feed. I also had the vet out today, she told me to give him a feed balancer. She said a low calorie and a balancer that reduces the risk of laminitis would be best, but there are so many! Any recommendations for any feed balancers would be much appreciated.

Thanks, in advance


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## MileAMinute (30 December 2013)

I use Baileys Lo-Cal to good effect. Not noticed any weight fluctuations on it either


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## enchantedunicorn (30 December 2013)

Hi, thanks for replying! Do you have to soak it like calm and condition feed- because someone told me i needed to soak anything with pellets and someone said you don't need to


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## Flora (30 December 2013)

give Top Spec a phone they are really helpful


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## JenJ (30 December 2013)

Can't recommend it as such as I haven't used it yet but I've just bought Saracen Shape Up for my girl. She was on Happy Hoof but I wanted something a bit less chaff-y, and this new one is a mix format. No soaking needed. Smells lovely too


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## skint1 (30 December 2013)

another vote for Bailey's Lo-Cal.  Or..maybe something like Formula4Feet,


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## amandaco2 (30 December 2013)

Id give fast fibre plus pro balance. Cheap, very low cal.


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## fusspot (30 December 2013)

Baileys Lo Cal-doesn't put weight on,my Welsh D which is Insulin Resitant has it as he is not allowed to put weight on.Dont need to soak it,just damp his feeds,they are very small,thin pellets.


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## xLove my horse!x (30 December 2013)

Top spec do many feed balancer's, their fully comprehensive one has everything any horse would need in it and its low sugar and starch, is ok for laminitic prone but if your needing weight loss then one of their lower kcal one may be better. They are very helpful, you could ring or email them, would recommend them.


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## Roasted Chestnuts (30 December 2013)

I liked the spillers lite, half the price of some of the ones mentioned above and did great for my growing coblet


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## Tayto (30 December 2013)

Another vote for spillers lite balancer - reasonably priced, don't need to feed as much as top spec lite balancer making it even more cost effective.

Spillers lite balancer is also recommended by the laminitis site

I split the recommended amount into 2 small feeds morning and evening. I also mix with a small amount of spillers cool fibre and my fatty mare is doing really well on it


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## Janee (31 December 2013)

enchantedunicorn said:



			Hi, I have had my first horse for a month now, he has been out of work for a year with his previous owner and has become very fat. I have been advised to take him off his evening feed and just give him carrots for his morning feed. I also had the vet out today, she told me to give him a feed balancer. She said a low calorie and a balancer that reduces the risk of laminitis would be best, but there are so many! Any recommendations for any feed balancers would be much appreciated.

Thanks, in advance
		
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 Carrots have sugar in them, probably better with a very low sugar chop just to mix with balancer you decide on , Dengie Hi Fi Molases free?


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## Feathered (31 December 2013)

My cob who is permanently on a diet, has top spec lite balancer with Dengie hi fi good doer, which I'm fairly certain is the lowest calorie chaff dengie make.

I'd also as someone else said cut out the carrots, very high in sugar, not good for fatties.

And no you don't have to soak a balancer just feed as is. Usually it's 100g of balancer per 100kg of horse


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## Micky (31 December 2013)

Spillers lite has all the correct amount of vits and mins in it,( as does dengie vits n mins), carrots are ok in small quantities, try and soak your hay if you have it and if you have to give a chop, hi fi molasses free is the lowest sugar/starch chop bar top spec chop lite....fast fibre/speedi beet if doing a lot of work and need more energy


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## Darremi (31 December 2013)

If a horse is overweight I wouldn't  be giving it any hard feed at all. They don't need these feed balancers.


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## PolarSkye (31 December 2013)

Darremi said:



			If a horse is overweight I wouldn't  be giving it any hard feed at all. They don't need these feed balancers.
		
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I'm afraid I agree with this . . . good quality forage and lots of it.   And if you must give a bucket a feed, a handful of the lowest-calorie/sugar chaff you can lay your hands on.

P


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## Izzwizz (31 December 2013)

Top Spec Lite is good as is the one they do for laminitics, cant remember fully what its called, google Top Spec and their products are there to read up on.  I wouldnt feed any carrots at all, they are full of sugar.  My ISH is a good doer and he just has the required amount of Top Spec Comprehensive balancer daily, he is in regular work and looks great on it.  That is all he has to eat along with hay or haylage.  If he seems a bit down in energy levels as he sometimes gets, then he has a little competition mix too.  He has never looked so well.

I followed the advice of my Trainer and it seems to be working.   Good luck!


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## Shysmum (31 December 2013)

Top Spec Lite - £24 for a bag that lasts The Boy three months. 

Baileys Lo Cal contains molasses, so I'd steer clear.


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## enchantedunicorn (31 December 2013)

Hi, thanks for everyone's replies I have decided to give him top spec lite balancer and topchop lite - he no longer has carrots in his feed and calm and condition. I rang top spec and this is what i had been advised to give him , in order for him to lose weight. She said to keep him on 2 feeds a day and give him 250 grams of the balancer and topchop in each feed - I didn't understand how this would help him to lose weight by putting him back on 2 feeds a day?


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## Darremi (31 December 2013)

enchantedunicorn said:



			Hi, thanks for everyone's replies I have decided to give him top spec lite balancer and topchop lite - he no longer has carrots in his feed and calm and condition. I rang top spec and this is what i had been advised to give him , in order for him to lose weight. She said to keep him on 2 feeds a day and give him 250 grams of the balancer and topchop in each feed - I didn't understand how this would help him to lose weight by putting him back on 2 feeds a day?
		
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This is the problem with so many different feed companies nowadays. They have a million products and make everybody think that horses cannot survive without being fed twenty different balancers/multivitamins/supplements/gold leaf/ground diamonds three times per day. Keeps the money rolling in I suppose.

This is a very expensive way to help a horse lose weight. You could just feed it nothing but hay and life would be much simpler and cheaper! It's an overweight native horse that in wild would survive on rough grass and O2. 

Sorry that sounds a bit like a rant, but I think the way many people manage horses nowadays is over-indulgent and over-complicated!!


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## Shysmum (31 December 2013)

Rubbish !  Topspec has transformed my lad, and costs less than any feed I've given him. His coat gleams, his barefoot hooves are fab, and he loves going out for his rides. 

I cannot stress enough, it does work.


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## Darremi (31 December 2013)

Yes but the OP wants her horse to lose weight not improve its condition! Totally different priorities. I'm sure a balancer would be fine once he has lost the weight.


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## Micky (31 December 2013)

Nope don;t listen to the feed companies...he needs exercise, a handful ( literally) spillers lite balancer, soaked hay and a small scoop of mag ox if he has fat pads, that will rid fat and get him fitter....i know, just been through it with my cob x, he was over weight and diagnosed with PPID ( cushings) back in may, he is now leaner, livelier, and happier...if you need a carrier for the balancer, please use the previous chops i recommended...Carrots will supply vit e at this time of year when or if the grass is non existent or the horse is on resttricted grazing, less sugar than other fruit/veg and feeds!!! So a small carrot cut lengthways in his tiny feed will not harm!!


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## Cortez (1 January 2014)

He probably doesn't need anything other than hay, and hay fed at 1.5% of his optimal weight, and soaked for 12hrs to remove sugars as well. Balancers are mostly to assuage owners who like to feel they are doing their "best" for their horses. What would probably help your horse the most is lots of exercise. Good luck; don't listen too hard to the feed companies!


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## meesha (1 January 2014)

I am a fan of balancers as u know they r receiving all vits and mins they need but u don't need to put anything with it to feed it and could just give once a day.  Alternatively good quality forage and a mineral lick.  I wouldn't bother with any chaff or carrots or anything else, apart from lots of exercise, some good hill work combined with lunging and some fast work.


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## dangermouse (2 January 2014)

I have overweight mare and older horse with cushings, I use Top Spec lite balancer, but I think as long as you go for a low cal, low sugar I there is not much difference between them.  I also soak hay for 10 - 12 hours to reduce sugar content and go easy on the carrots.  If you give Dengie a ring or one of the feed companies they will give you advice on hay quantities etc. good luck


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## Honey08 (3 January 2014)

I feed a light balancer for my fatties, but don't bother with chaff or anything as they have so little feed they don't really need slowing down!

When our section A had lami the vet said avoid carrots as they have more sugar than an apple.


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## JoClark (3 January 2014)

Do what your vet has advised. I used to be anti balancers and whats the point. Then i tried them and i really think they are great, after a bag they really start to glow. I use them for weight but my friends dales x freisan is a very good doer, she uses the baileys lo cal twice a day, he looks great and is losing weight. With the worst of winter to come 2 small feeds is no big deal. Good luck x


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## TPO (3 January 2014)

The job of the feed company is to sell you their feed and for people to buy as much as possible 

Personally I'd soak the hay as per Cortez's post. If stabled then leave out mineral blocks that he can have free access to. Another option would be the tiniest amount of Allen & Page Fast Fibre with either Pro-Balance or Equine Answers 365 as a vit/min supp.

Can you up his work at all?


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## touchstone (4 January 2014)

I think that feeding an adequate amount of soaked hay along with a balancer is ideal - soaking removes many nutrients and vitamins that overweight horses need and as they are restrictred they can't get them from alternative forage sources.


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## NooNoo59 (8 August 2014)

Hi Micky, how is your horse doing? mine has cushings and is overweight but lacking in energy, being worked 5-6 times per week so very interested in the diet you are using. Did you get the mag ox from Proearth? and what if any chaff do you use and how long do you soak the hay for? I do 12 hours at the moment but this is obviously stripping a lot of the feed value out of the hay, not sure whether to soak for 12 and then rinse or just soak for one hour, any pointers gratefully received.


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