Favorite overall ration balancer?

[frugalannie]

I fed Poulin E-Tek Ration Balancer to a number of horses with success for years, but got an OTTB with gastric ulcers last fall and despite lots of ulcer meds, wasn’t doing as well as I had hoped.

My vet recommended switching to Platinum Performance GI, and it has made a world of difference. Not the least expensive, but I now have a happy horse, gaining weight and progressing in his work. Saving money as I don’t have to give Gastroguard/ Ulcerguard. Added bonus, the feed comes with colic care eligibility.

[Texarkana]

Let me see, over the past 20 years or so, for my personal horses I have used:

Buckeye Gro N Win
Purina Enrich Plus
McCauley Bros M30
Tribute Essential K
Hallway Stamm 30
Triple Crown 30% Balancer
And several complete vitamin & mineral supplements including High Point & EquiPride

Out of the lot, I come back to Gro N Win again and again, even though I get frustrated with Buckeye at times.

But I don’t have problems with most of the others. A couple of them didn’t work out great for my horses. A couple of them my horses didn’t want to eat. I really liked M30 & Stamm 30, but they are harder to source nationwide.

[NaturallyHappy]

I’m curious….why do you get frustrated w Buckeye? Thank you!

[Texarkana]

@NaturallyHappy

I’m curious….why do you get frustrated w Buckeye? Thank you!

They are all over the place with their pricing (especially years ago).

They added corn back to their ingredients quietly, without warning, after years of bragging about “corn free” products.

I have heard complaints about working with them from several of my feed dealers over the years.

Something always goes awry when I am using them (example: last summer’s fire).

But with all that said, I still come back to their products again and again.

[ladipus]

For many years I fed Progressive Nutrition Pro Advantage Grass Diet Balancer and my horses did great …various ages/breeds/work loads …I’ve also fed Buckeye Gro N Win and TC’s 30% Balancer …however I now feed Hygains Meta Safe because it has the lowest NSC on the market and is soy free…several of mine have metabolic issues …when that’s not available I feed Triple Crown’s Balancer Gold -I like that it’s soy free, has gastric buffering and electrolytes built in

[BlueDrifter]

Are you supplementing cu/zn to make the desired ratio, or because you feel a certain absolute amount is needed?

Sorry to be picking your brain, but with the addition of a second horse I am trying to simplify what I feed and since I like TC30%, it seems like an option might be to drop the vitamin.

[JB]

@BlueDrifter

Are you supplementing cu/zn to make the desired ratio, or because you feel a certain absolute amount is needed?

Land of red clay When I use Vermont Blend Pro for the Summer, I don’t add extra cu/zn, just when using the TC Balancer

@BlueDrifter

with the addition of a second horse I am trying to simplify what I feed and since I like TC30%, it seems like an option might be to drop the vitamin.

which vitamin? Where do you live/where does your hay come from?

[BlueDrifter]

I am in SoCal. I board and feed orchard, which I assume is from Pacific Northwest. But no hay analysis. I use FeedXL to give me some idea, and I was supplementing with High Point Grass vitamins, and adding Cu/Zn/Mn to get the ratios closer to ideal. Then, with the addition of a second horse, I chose Manna Pro’s ShoGlo vitamins, and dropped the Cu/Zn/Mn.

With your comments, I was thinking maybe I could drop the vitamin completely.

[StormyDay]

I’ve fed Purina Enrich Plus for years because it’s the only grain that I’ve never had an issue with. I’ve never gotten any weird grain in it, or a moldy bag, or had a horse think it tasted bad.

[TheJenners]

I feed TC30 and supplement vit e on top when they are off grass. That’s it for most.

[horsepoor]

Another vote for Triple Crown Balancer Gold here. My horses aren’t particularly picky, but they really seem to like it compared to anything else I’ve fed. The only issue I have with the TC is having to order it in since the feed store I use doesn’t stock it, but that’s not a big deal.

[Fruitarider]

Mad Barn’s Omneity.

[JB]

New question - how is your daughter defining “ration balancer”?

I ask because there are also a lot of forage balancer products listed - Omneity, Vermont Blend, KIS Trace, High Point Grass, etc

Forage balancers don’t have calories or protein, some have amino acids but not all. Almost none of them have Ca or P, a few have Mg.

[FromTheGalaxy]

I have a lot of young growing horses, so I like Buckeye Gro N Win. I also feed Purina Enrich Plus to my older guys because it is a bit cheaper and easily available from the local Tractor Supply. I have to either order Buckeye products from Chewy (which the price of a 50# bag of Gro N Win has gone up $10 in the past year) or drive 1.5 hours to the closest feed store that stocks it.

[lenapesadie]

I like TC Gold Balancer and Purina Omega Match best. My horses say the latter tastes better. I like the added electrolytes in the TC better for my anhidrosis horse though.

I think a lot depends on the needs of the horse and what’s available.

[autumn50]

Ration balancer: pelleted or textured vitamin and mineral supplement to compliment hay and pasture.

[FjordBCRF]

This sounds more like the definition of a forage balancer to me. Ration balancers are more like nutrient dense feeds that allow for smaller feeding rates than traditional “grain”.

[JB]

@autumn50

Ration balancer: pelleted or textured vitamin and mineral supplement to compliment hay and pasture.

There are ration balancers (which have calories and protein and amino acids and calcium and phosphorous and magensium) and which are all pelleted. I’m not sure there’s any textured ration balancer.

There are forage balancers (which have little to none of the above, they don’t have calories or protein other than incidental to maybe what’s provided by some alfalfa meal to help make a pellet) which can be pelleted and powdered. Most are powdered.

[autumn50]

Tribute Wholesome Blends Balancer is textured. Ration balancers that are fed at 1-2 pounds a day. Not supplements measured in small scoops.

[JB]

@autumn50

Tribute Wholesome Blends Balancer

You’re right, I forgot that one is textured. It’s an anomaly for sure.

The point is - there are forage balancers that are also pelleted. with vitamins and minerals to compliment hay and pasture.

What distinguishes are ration balancer from a forage balancer is, pretty universally, calories and protein, not whether they’re pelleted.