Selecting a Ration Balancer - Nutrena, Purina or Pro-Elite?

[4LeafCloverFarm]

I want to switch two of my horses over to a ration balancer, as they are both relative air ferns year-round. They currently get Nutrena Safe Choice Special Care, along with some alfalfa pellets and Horseshine (in addition, in winter, to hay + pasture). They are given just enough feed to make them feel like they are getting fed something, and gives me time while they eat to give them a good once over every day. These are pasture ornaments and not in work. One Welsh pony and one 15 hand appaloosa cross gelding.

My local feed store has three Ration Balancers available. The Purina is lowest is NSC, but that doesn’t necessarily make it the best choice. Anyway, of these three, which would you choose? And no, I don’t have access to Triple Crown, unfortunately.

• Purina Enrich Plus - 10% NSC
• Nutrena Empower Topline Balance - 14% NSC
• ProElite Power Balancer - 13% NSC

Thanks in advance.

[JB]

At 1lb, the NSC doesn’t make a real difference for those numbers, so unless someone is extra sensitive, that wouldn’t be a concern.

Personally I’d choose the ProElite, but if cost is a factor, any of them will be fine. If you had a forage test then the nutrient levels would factor in a lot more, otherwise, flip a coin

[Laurierace]

I agree that NSC is relatively irrelevant with ration balancers due to the small amount fed. I avoid Purina products whenever possible as a personal preference so don’t have experience with that one but have fed the other two. I am feeding the Pro Elite now and it is good but I actually preferred the Empower Balance. I switched to the Pro Elite when the balance went to 40 pound bags from 50 pound bags. When Pro Elite inevitably follows suit and goes to a 40 pound bag I am going to switch back.

[Scribbler]

You can also do a side by side comparison of the guaranteed nutrition and see if they all have similar levels of the vitamins, minerals, and amino acids. Also if you paying for something you don’t necessarily want like joint support in any of them.

[4LeafCloverFarm]

I had not noticed that the Nutrena was a 40LB bag. So thanks for pointing that out @Laurierace!

@JB - no the hay I’ve finally found for these two has not been tested. Local hay is scarce this year here and what I have found is of fairly low quality compared to what I’m used to feeding (this mixed pasture hay with some Orchard Grass was imported from out of state and re-baled in small square bales). It’s not up to par with the lovely, soft, needle thin stemmed local Bermuda I’ve used for over 12 years. My supplier’s Bermuda is simply too course/thick stemmed this year due to the roller coaster weather we had here in Middle TN, and the boys were moving it around and not eating all of it.I’m ecstatic to have gotten my hands on 75 bales of softer, thinner stemmed hay that actually resembles grass! lol

I could not find the ingredients list for the Purina or Nutrena. The top ingredient in the ProElite is soy. There may be soy in a lot of feeds, it’s just not an ingredient I’m really familiar with as the #1 on the list. I’m assuming it’s there for the protein?

[Scribbler]

@4LeafCloverFarm

I had not noticed that the Nutrena was a 40LB bag. So thanks for pointing that out @Laurierace!

@JB - no the hay I’ve finally found for these two has not been tested. Local hay is scarce this year here and what I have found is of fairly low quality compared to what I’m used to feeding (this mixed pasture hay with some Orchard Grass was imported from out of state and re-baled in small square bales). It’s not up to par with the lovely, soft, needle thin stemmed local Bermuda I’ve used for over 12 years. My supplier’s Bermuda is simply too course/thick stemmed this year due to the roller coaster weather we had here in Middle TN, and the boys were moving it around and not eating all of it.I’m ecstatic to have gotten my hands on 75 bales of softer, thinner stemmed hay that actually resembles grass! lol

I could not find the ingredients list for the Purina or Nutrena. The top ingredient in the ProElite is soy. There may be soy in a lot of feeds, it’s just not an ingredient I’m really familiar with as the #1 on the list. I’m assuming it’s there for the protein?

Yes, soy gives you protein.

It seems to be fine for most horses.

You can contact the companies for ingredient lists. Some feeds do not have a fixed ingredient list. They might use corn and/or oats and/or wheat and/or barley for instance. They will send you this list.

But they will have a fixed or at least a minimum nutrients list, how much % protein guaranteed, minerals, etc.

In a ration balancer, the guaranteed nutrients is the most important I think, because you are feeding such a small quantity of feed that the nutrients will be manufactured and added (like a vitamin mineral supplement) rather than inherent to the basic ingredients.

[4LeafCloverFarm]

@Scribbler I looked and looked but really couldn’t find an article or even a table comparing all the contents of various balancers. Found one table, but it only listed NSC and how much to feed, but didn’t include the ProElite because its relatively new.

So here are the basics for future folks looking at these three balancers…
[TABLE=“border: 1, cellpadding: 1, width: 500”]
[TR]
[TD] [/TD]
[TD]Purina Enrich Plus[/TD]
[TD]Nutrena Empower Topline Balance[/TD]
[TD]ProElite Power Balancer[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Protein[/TD]
[TD]32%[/TD]
[TD]30%[/TD]
[TD]30%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Fat[/TD]
[TD]5%[/TD]
[TD]5%[/TD]
[TD]3%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Fiber[/TD]
[TD]5%[/TD]
[TD]8%[/TD]
[TD]6%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Starch[/TD]
[TD]5%[/TD]
[TD]9%[/TD]
[TD]6.5%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Sugars[/TD]
[TD]10%[/TD]
[TD]5%[/TD]
[TD]6.5%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]NDF[/TD]
[TD]14%[/TD]
[TD]17%[/TD]
[TD]17%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]ADF[/TD]
[TD]8%[/TD]
[TD]9%[/TD]
[TD]10%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Calcium
(min-max)[/TD]
[TD]3.25-4.25%[/TD]
[TD]3.0-3.5%[/TD]
[TD]2.5-3.5%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Phosphorus[/TD]
[TD]1.6%[/TD]
[TD]1.5%[/TD]
[TD]1.5%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Copper[/TD]
[TD]185ppm[/TD]
[TD]250ppm[/TD]
[TD]200ppm[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Zinc[/TD]
[TD]500ppm[/TD]
[TD]750ppm[/TD]
[TD]600ppm[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Vitamin A[/TD]
[TD]18,000 IU/lb[/TD]
[TD]18,000 IU/lb[/TD]
[TD]26,000 IU/lb[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Vitamin E[/TD]
[TD]600 IU/lb[/TD]
[TD]600 IU/lb[/TD]
[TD]1,000 IU/lb[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Vitamin D[/TD]
[TD]not listed[/TD]
[TD]1,800 IU/lb[/TD]
[TD]4,000 IU/lb[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Biotin[/TD]
[TD]not listed[/TD]
[TD]1.5 mg/lb[/TD]
[TD]8mg/lb[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

[Scribbler]

NO, this is work you need to do yourself! And you have!

Honestly, they seem pretty similar to me on most counts, though I’d be likely to rule out the Purina because biotin is useful for hooves.

[4LeafCloverFarm]

@Scribbler

NO, this is work you need to do yourself! And you have!

Honestly, they seem pretty similar to me on most counts, though I’d be likely to rule out the Purina because biotin is useful for hooves.

:lol: There needs to be a table like SmartPak has for all the supplements for all the different horse feeds… which can be dizzying these days to weed through. Sometimes I long for the 1970’s, when it was sweet feed, bran or crimped oats!

The ProElite has a litany of things in it that I didn’t list above and seems more fortified than the other two (though how beneficial that is, I don’t know). However, the ProElite does have probiotics and prebiotics that the other two don’t have and I do think that’s a good thing.

I’m already using the ProElite Senior for my other guy, who turns 28 in two weeks. I just wish it weren’t so pricey! LOL The horses eat better than we do! :yes:

[Scribbler]

Well, calculate the costs.

Actually, I just googled them though and I see that both Proelite and Nutrena have vitamin E and probiotics so honestly I don’t see that much difference between them

I bet it is cheaper to feed a ration balancer including probiotics than to add a probiotic supplement. On the other hand, do you need them? I feed probiotics to horses that are showing diarrhea from hay changes, but I don’t feed it daily forever to horses that have no problems. I figure their gut microbes are doing the job just fine already.

My vitamin mineral supplement has some joint support via MSM and glucosamine in it that I don’t think we really need, but who knows? Maresy has been on this for almost a decade and is in great health so maybe its’ had some cumulative effect?

Remember that RB are generally fed at about a pound a day.so a 50 lb bag is 50 servings, 25 days for two horses. So figure out the per pound or daily cost of the feed, for your monthly cost. 40 lb bag is 20 days, obviously.

[joiedevie99]

I fed the Empower for a while and was very happy with it.

[4LeafCloverFarm]

I suppose as long as the ProElite keep theirs at a 50 pound bag vs the 40 pound bag of Nutrena (which I hadn’t noticed until it was pointed out), even though the ProElite is more expensive, it actually works out cheaper due to the extra 10 pounds you get. I just meant that the ProElite feeds are all more expensive per bag than Nutrena and Purina and other feed brands.

The ProElite has been on sale since last October ($3 off each bag) and that sale ends today. :sadsmile:

[Hilary]

Empower is high in selenium and contains no iron - but I think Nutrena makes very high quality feeds.

[Scribbler]

Most horses don’t need iron and it interferes with the copper zinc uptake. . Selenium depends on your locality. High doses are toxic so I doubt any feed has an overdose.

[JB]

Here’s a google sheet a few of us put together
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1AD5MvqpKgP8-gcqHOqEGPGI7M5w-AbkrNZOtesbMDoo/edit?usp=sharing

It’s got a section for ingredients. Note how similar the balancers are, and how almost all of them start with soy meal/hulls. It has to be that way, for the most part, to get the protein level into the 28-32% range. The alternatives would make for a lot more $$ product.

Never look at just cost per bag. Look at the cost per pound and the cost per your serving. If you’re feeding just 1lb of a balancer, then look at the $/lb. If you’re feeding a regular feed, then you may be feeding more of a lower $ feed, but less of a higher $$ feed and still spending less.

[4LeafCloverFarm]

Finally got around to the cost comparison - since the Nutrena and ProElite were essentially “even” in my mind choice wise. I went with the ProElite after crunching the numbers. And thanks for everyone’s input!

Nutrena Empower (40lb bag) - .69¢ pound - .52¢ a day for pony/.93¢ for horse
ProElite Power Balancer (50lb bag) - .64¢ pound - .32¢ a day for pony/.55¢ for horse

(based on manufacturers feeding guidelines per weight of horse on daily “maintenance” amount of food)

Do you feed a balancer in just a single meal or do you split the amount into two meals? Seems like giving a lot of protein in a single meal. And although they are used to a single meal a day, would rather do two meals if is better to split the portions and spread out the consumption.

Also, all my horses get alfalfa pellets as part of their meal. The Welsh pony is on about 1/3 pound and the appaloosa gets 1 pound. Any reason to not continue this when switching to the balancer?

[paintedpony]

JB Thank you for sharing the spreadsheets. I have marked for future reference. Do I have permission to share in the future?

[JB]

@4LeafCloverFarm

Do you feed a balancer in just a single meal or do you split the amount into two meals? Seems like giving a lot of protein in a single meal. And although they are used to a single meal a day, would rather do two meals if is better to split the portions and spread out the consumption.

1lb of a 30% balancer is 272gm protein. 4lb of a 12% feed is 217gm protein, 4lb of 16% alfalfa pellets is 290gm, so you can see how it all compares. Not a big deal

Also, all my horses get alfalfa pellets as part of their meal. The Welsh pony is on about 1/3 pound and the appaloosa gets 1 pound. Any reason to not continue this when switching to the balancer?

Alf pellets on top of a balancer is more about calories, so continuing is purely based on their need.

@paintedpony

JB Thank you for sharing the spreadsheets. I have marked for future reference. Do I have permission to share in the future?

No problem, it’s a shareable link for view-only so it’s all good

[JB]

@Hilary

Empower is high in selenium and contains no iron - but I think Nutrena makes very high quality feeds.

I guarantee there is iron in the Empower Balance, it’s just a matter of how much, and if there’s any added (which I suspect there is). I’m looking for an ingredient list to see if any iron is added (I’d be surprised if there wasn’t), but I guarantee there is iron in it, since a lot of ingredients used have inherent iron.

[brynmawr]

My thoroughbred mare, now 13, has been fed just hay and a balance rationer since she was two. It certainly has worked for her. Most of her life she has been on Progressive. I did try Essential K by Tribute but was not satisfied. Her coat lost its luster and her hooves were not as strong. I just bought a bag of Pro-Elite to try. The formula is very very close to Progressive’s. I would choose Pro-Elite in your case.