Fillers for forage balancer?

[OzarksRider]

@JB

Ok, so now we know ,this is a ration balancer

Well, duh!! It says ration balancer right on the bag, if I would only learn to read.

@JB

Does alfalfa “wind him up” in just small amounts?

Yes, apparently it does. A few years ago I tried feeding him 3-4 soaked alfalfa cubes with his balancer and even that little bit made him want to bolt off with me every time I rode him. I can’t prove that the alfalfa was the cause, but the problem began when I started feeding those cubes with his balancer, and resolved when I took him off the extra alfalfa. I’ve looked for plain timothy cubes or pellets, but none of the stores near me (Tractor Supply and local farm stores) carry it. Everything they stock contains alfalfa.

@JB

nutrition doesn’t play a role here, you’re not using enough for it to provide anything of significance

Yes, this is why one option is to just go with the oats/cracked corn until I can get oats again. It’s definitely the cheapest option ($12 for a 50# bag). The sudden unavailability of oats made me wonder what others use for a filler; hence my question in the original post. And now I’m also thinking I could experiment with different fillers just to give them some variety.

[JB]

@OzarksRider

t says ration balancer right on the bag, if I would only learn to read

it’s all good! To make things worse ,there are some ration balancers that absolutely say “forage balancer” on them.

In reality, ALL feeds are “forage balancers” in that they’re aimed at filling in known or assumed gaps in forage.

Categorically, they are:

• regular feeds - fed at usually 4lb or more for an average horse, occasionally 3lb
• ration balancers - 1-1.5lb per 1000lb or so, almost all in the 30% protein range (a few grass balancers are low teens, and then alfalfa balancers are low teens too)
• forage balancers - no calories or protein, no ca or phos, sometimes mg, few to no vitamins, always cu/zn and sometimes mn, and some more robust ones, like High Point Grass, have more nutrients, typically 4-6oz serving size
• v/m supplement - 1-2oz serving size usually, usually lots of nutrients, but not usually of any significance

[Real_Rush]

I use Triple Crown’s Safe Starch Forage in addition to the balancer for my gelding. It keeps him occupied longer than the 2 mouthfuls the pellets alone would, which makes him think he’s getting as much as everyone else. In the winter months, I give him a full 8 qt buckt (a Fortiflex pail) full since the other horses need more calories (and therefore more feed). This has worked spectacularly for me for several years now.

As a side note, one of my mares is greedy and likes to bolt her feed, so I also mix some of the chopped forage in her feed to slow her down. Has also worked like a charm.

[candyappy]

@OzarksRider

My horses are on Purina Enrich Plus forage balancer, which is a pellet. This is the only forage balancer available at any of the feed stores within 50 miles, and only one store in my town stocks it. Lucky for me the horses like it and will eat it even without a filler.

This is exactly what I feed my 3 and it is a ration balancer? Do they make the same thing as a forage balancer too?

They eat it willingly , no issues.

[JB]

@candyappy

This is exactly what I feed my 3 and it is a ration balancer? Do they make the same thing as a forage balancer too?

no forage balancer, it’s a ration balancer

[candyappy]

@JB

no forage balancer, it’s a ration balancer

That is what I thought. So really OP needs no filler at all.

[JB]

@candyappy

So really OP needs no filler at all.

she said she uses is to increase the volume of the meal.

[DMK]

I do the same, using beet pulp pellets (takes up less storage area in the feed room), it’s a no harm, no foul approach to feeding in the summer when neither horse really needs it, and in winter it’s a great way to give the retiree the same volume of food as the one in hard work, when I add soaked alfalfa and oil to his ration balancer. Plus who would feel like adding some more water to their diet is a bad thing?

[IPEsq]

I’m pretty sure Enrich Plus has alfalfa in it. The only yummy mixed feed I know of that is alfalfa free is Omelene 400 because my barn has a horse that’s super alfalfa intolerant.

[JB]

@IPEsq

I’m pretty sure Enrich Plus has alfalfa in it.

it does, I told her that, so I’m unclear how a few cubes of it can set the horse off, but seems ok with the Enrich. Maybe the horse is just that sensitive? I’m not sure how much alf is in 1lb of Enrich. I could imagine 1 cube’s worth but maybe it’s not even that much

[OzarksRider]

@JB

I’m unclear how a few cubes of it can set the horse off

Yeah, I wonder about that too. All I know for sure is that 4-5 years ago my horse went through a spell when he wanted to bolt off with me every time I rode him. It lasted 3-4 months, and it corresponded with the time he was eating extra alfalfa cubes. This was not spooky bolting; it was more like “WHEEEE!! THIS IS FUN!!” I could stop him, but I could not get him to settle. He was just full of beans and HAD to move those feet. It was getting to be more than I wanted to ride, so I sent him to a trainer for a couple of weeks and took him off the alfalfa at the same time. When he came home, he was his old self; he still had energy, but it was obedient energy. Was the change due to eliminating the alfalfa? Or the refresher boot camp? I’ll never know for sure, but I’ll always suspect the extra alfalfa had something to do with triggering the problem. The trainer did say that some stock type horses are sensitive to alfalfa. In any case, I don’t want to feed him any more alfalfa other than the little bit he gets with his balancer.