Unsure whether your horse’s balancer is giving him all he needs? Want to know if you need to add supplements? Clare Barfoot BSC (Hons) Rutr, and equine nutrition expert at Spillers answers:
If it’s a well formulated balancer and you’re feeding it at the recommended rate for your horse’s bodyweight you shouldn’t need to feed additional vitamins and minerals. If however your horse has a need for a respiratory or joint supplement, you’ll need to check if your balancer supplies him with enough nutritional value to support this. Some balancers do have additional functional ingredients to support specific needs such as digestion, joint, hoof and respiratory health but you’ll need to check the level of inclusion. Often supplements designed to support specific areas will have higher levels of active ingredients although this isn’t always the case so it’s always worth checking.
