RATION BALANCERS…WHAT’S ALL THE HYPE?
I’ve been mentioning ration balancers for months now, as you’ve probably noticed. What’s so great about them? What can they do for you and your horse? How do you use them? We’ll have a conversation and show you how they can be a valuable addition to your feeding program.
What is a ration balancer? Ration balancers are technically supplements, not feed. I know it can be hard to wrap your head around that because they come in a large bag, they look like pelleted feed, and you get them at the feed store. Change your thinking, though, and view them as supplements. Specifically, they are high-protein supplements that contain vitamins and minerals too. They are typically low-fat, low carb, and have a low to mid-range fiber content.
Ration balancers are fed at a different weight than commercial feeds and grains. Please note that I wrote “weight” and not “amount.” This is because the weight really does matter here. You don’t feed ration balancers by the can or scoop, you feed them by the pound, which is usually closer to a couple measuring cups per meal. Since you only need to feed between a half-pound and two pounds per day in most cases, it is important that you know how much you are feeding. Otherwise, you might as well grind up twenty-dollar bills and feed them to your horse. (Kidding…not really.)
How do you do that? Take the amount that you usually feed (and your measuring container) to your feed store and ask them to weight the balancer on their scale. Determine the weight that you should be feeding based on the bag information and mark your container with a line to help you see what it looks like when you scoop. Better yet, ask your feed store if they have a specific measuring container for that product. Make sure it is the right one for your balancer though, meaning that it comes from the same company. Balancers differ in density from one manufacturer to another. That means that a half-pound from Company A may take up more room in a bucket than that from Company B. If you are using a measuring container from another company, you are either overfeeding or underfeeding.
Ok, got it. But why use balancers? There are three main reasons to use ration balancers. The first is in place of commercial feeds. Let’s say Pudgy Pony gets fat just by watching you open the door to the feed room. He probably doesn’t need any calories from commercial feed, and obesity-related health issues are a great concern. He would do best on a diet of forage, which should be the primary part of a horse’s diet anyway. But it’s possible that the hay or grass won’t provide enough protein, vitamins, and minerals to keep him healthy. You won’t know what it contains unless you have your hay analyzed. Grass is even trickier to assess because its nutrients change throughout the day. Adding a ration balancer (in the appropriate weight) will supply those nutritional needs and fill in the gaps. A good way to understand ration balancers is think of them this way: use them when forages aren’t enough, but commercial feeds are too much. As far as Pudgy Pony cares, it rattles just like feed in his bucket so he thinks he’s getting what everyone else is!
Second, ration balancers can be used in addition to commercial feeds. Pudgy Pony’s cousin, Easy Keeper, needs a bit more than just forage to keep up his weight, but if you fed him to the specification on the feed bag, he would resemble Pudgy Pony. He is a great candidate for a “lite” feed or, as an alternative, he can have less of the commercial feed and some of the ration balancer. The ration balancer will help fill in the nutritional gaps caused by not feeding the recommended weight of commercial feed.
Third, let’s say you are really committed to feeding your horse grains instead of commercial feeds. Grains are the seeds of grasses, such as oats, corn, and barley. No matter how much you feed, you will be depriving your horse of nutrients because no grain contains all that a horse needs. (Forget what your grandfather said about oats being the perfect feed for horses- we know much more about nutrition now.) Ration balancers can be used to provide the necessary protein, vitamins, and minerals. They allow you to customize your horse’s diet.
Perhaps you have a horse who actually is eating the recommended weight of a commercial feed, and he is performing at a high level in his job. Ration balancers can help him too. Think of the athlete who eats a balanced diet but drinks protein shakes. The additional amino acids in the shake help to support his muscles during intense use. Amino acids are the building blocks of protein, and protein is a key component in balancers. A ration balancer can do the same for your performance horse, because protein is important for muscle building, maintenance, and support.
Ration balancers are appropriate for overweight horses, those with metabolic concerns, easy keepers, all life stages, and those that need help building a topline.
Whoa…what? Topline? Where does that come into play? Here is the real power of ration balancers: they have a high protein content that ranges from 24%-30%, depending on the manufacturer. What most people don’t realize is that exercise alone won’t build muscle. Protein builds muscle. Exercise just conditions it. If your horse isn’t getting enough protein through his forage and commercial feeds, you can’t expect decent muscle development. It gets even more complicated: the quality and quantity of protein matters. These attributes can vary widely in forage. Protein in ration balancers is much more consistent. If your horse has a poor topline, adding a high protein balancer could be the fix you need. Of course, it can’t change genetics or age, but given time, you will likely notice an improvement in your horse’s topline.
What about that high protein level? Won’t it make my horse hot? No. Carbs make your horse hot. More specifically, excess carbs make your horse hot.
Isn’t that too much protein though? Won’t it be harmful? Remember, you are not feeding ration balancers by the scoop, you are feeding a small weight as recommended on the bag. A little bit goes a LONG way. A bag may last you a month or more! Most horses have no problem excreting excess protein in their urine. In fact, it’s what leads to that strong ammonia smell in their stall. If your barn reeks, ask your vet or feed store to help you evaluate your feeding routine. Be prepared to answer questions such as how many pounds of hay, how many pounds of feed (NOT coffee cans), and how often you feed. They will also want to know your horse’s personal info such as weight, height, breed, age, and activity level. (This is a good time to ask about having your hay tested too, if you haven’t done so.)
Okay, so if a little is good, more must be better, right? Not necessarily. Remember, horses excrete excess protein. They don’t store it as they do with excess carbs and fats. Excess carbs lead to a fat horse, excess protein yields a smelly stall. It’s possible to overdo it with vitamins and minerals too, but generally most horses can clear the excess unless they have underlying health issues. One notable exception is selenium: too much of it is not good for your horse. Here in the northeast we tend to be selenium-deficient and many people add selenium supplements. If you add selenium, take a moment to evaluate your feed and get a true picture of how much you are feeding to your horse. Remember too that ration balancers are not meant to be fed like commercial feeds. You’ll feed much less balancer than commercial feed. If you feed six to eight pounds per day of balancer, that’s way too much! Make sure that you are feeding the proper weight of ration balancer for your horse’s situation.
Yikes! I just looked at the price! That’s a lot of money for a bag of feed. Again, remember that this is not a bag of feed, it is a supplement. A bag will go a long way if you feed it correctly. If you feed too much in a meal, you will be wasting your money because the horse can’t use that excess protein (see smelly stalls above.) Take a moment and figure out the cost per feeding per horse (not per pound) and you will realize that is it a small cost for big dividends.
Are there things that ration balancers cannot do? Oh yes. Ration balancers, if fed properly, will not make your horse overweight because they are low in calories. If you are trying to fatten your horse by adding ration balancers, that won’t happen. He needs more calories from fats or carbs, not protein. Ration balancers also won’t make your horse hot because they are very low in non-structural carbohydrates. While protein can be used by the body as a source of energy, it’s quite expensive for the body to do so, so the carbs and fats are tapped first. Ration balancers can’t replace fiber and forages. Forage, whether pasture, hay, or chopped forage, should always be the largest part of a horse’s diet as long as he can chew it. For older horses that can’t chew forage, a ration balancer won’t replace their forage, or the calories they get from forage. A high-quality complete feed is the best choice for them and will likely contain beet pulp as a fiber source.
Then what is the difference between a complete feed and a ration balancer? A complete feed means that it has everything your horse needs, including the fiber, if you feed it according to the weight suggested on the bag. (Except for water, of course. And you should always offer free-choice salt.) A ration balancer, while an excellent tool, can’t do that, no matter how much you feed. A complete feed is the appropriate choice for a horse that can’t manage long-stem forage. A complete feed can also be fed at a lesser rate if your horse can eat forage. If you look at the bag, you’ll see directions for feeding with or without forage. That is your tip-off that it is a complete feed. If you aren’t feeding the recommended weight though, you are once again depriving your horse of nutrients. You can add a ration balancer to a complete feed to make up the difference. Just a reminder, as this question frequently comes up: not all complete feeds are senior feeds, but most are appropriate for seniors. Not all senior feeds are complete feeds. Lastly, senior feeds aren’t just for seniors. That’s another column for another time!
Let’s wrap this up. What’s the best ration balancer? That’s a tricky question. I’m not going to recommend one over another. While they all have a similar purpose, there are a few differences that you need to know. The primary differences are the amount of protein and fiber, and the type of diet they are supplementing. There are balancers for grass/grass hay diets and balancers for alfalfa/legume hay diets. This is because these forages differ in their nutritional content, so the balancers differ accordingly too. There is even a soy-free option on the market now if you would rather give your horse a soy-free diet. The major feed companies all have some type of balancer, so if you are generally happy with their products, try their balancer. Always do your research and read the feed bags so you know what you are buying. Read the feed bag again when you get home and feed as it recommends. And of course, always offer salt and make sure your horse has access to plenty of fresh and clean water.