As you will know, horses require a careful balance of nutrients to remain fit and healthy throughout their lives, from protein and fibre to vitamins and minerals. Unfortunately, a diet that is solely dependent on forages, such as grass from grazing, hay and haylage, tends not to meet these vitamin and mineral requirements in full which is why some horse owners look to balancers to help make up the difference.
In this article, we take a look at what balancers are and why high-quality complete feeds may be a better and more natural alternative for your horse than supplementing forage-based diets with balancers.
What Are Balancers?
Balancers are concentrated pelleted compound normally fed in small quantities to supply micronutrients and protein without providing too much energy or starch. They are designed to address nutritional deficiencies in the horse’s diet, so are fortified with vitamins and minerals.
They are generally formulated to be fed alongside a diet based on forage alone which does not provide all the essential vitamins and minerals needed for a balanced diet and optimum health. However, for horses that are fed high-quality feed specifically designed to meet all of their nutritional requirements, such as complete feeds, balancers do not need to be included in the diet.
Mollichaff Complete Feeds as An Alternative to Balancers
When fed at the correct levels, complete feeds provide all the vitamins and minerals healthy horses and ponies need. As the sole bucket feed, horse owners do not need to purchase several different bags of feed and supplements or spend extra time mixing feed together – everything is already put together for you.
Mollichaff complete feeds also promote a more natural diet for your horse by feeding a fibre-based ration rather than cereals. Fibre-based horse feeds have digestive, psychological and physiological benefits for horses.
The Mollichaff range includes four complete high fibre feeds, suitable for horses, ponies, and donkeys with varied requirements.
Mollichaff HoofKind Complete is specially formulated for good doers and laminitis-prone horses and ponies with low levels of high-quality protein and restricted calories. It’s low in starch and sugar and contains no cereals, whilst providing a balanced blend of oat straw, alfalfa, fibre pellets, soya oil, vitamins, minerals, trace elements, antioxidants, and biotin.
Mollichaff Calmer Complete is a complete feed designed to decrease anxiety and exert a calming influence over excitable or nervous horses and ponies. It’s low in sugar and starch and contains a combination of camomile, lemon balm and mint which are known for their calming and soothing qualities.
Containing a balanced combination of high oil, low starch and high fibre quality ingredients, Mollichaff Condition Complete is suitable for encouraging weight gain in underweight horses or maintaining optimal weight and condition for competition horses and ponies.
Mollichaff Donkey is a highly palatable complete feed specifically designed to cater to the unique nutritional needs of donkeys and mules. It can be used as a total forage replacer or alongside good quality forage at recommended levels, requiring no further supplementation.
If you’d like to discuss which of our complete feeds is most suitable for your horse or pony, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with our expert team – We’re always happy to help. Alternatively, if you’d like to receive a free sample in the post to try before you buy a whole bag, you can request one here.
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