Breaking Down Ration Balancers – Horse and Rider
Walking down the grain aisle at the feed store can be overwhelming and frankly, a little confusing. Looking at the different options that tout ‘high protein, adequate fat, designed to complement a forage-first diet’, can be like reading another language. Another common option you’ll find is called a ration balancer. But what does this MEAN? Let’s take a brief look at some facts about ration balancers.
Do you know what a ration balancer is? Read on to find a simple breakdown of this horse feed. Rita Kochmarjova/adobe.stock.com
Forage First
A ration balancer is a low-volume feed that is very nutrient dense. They are designed to provide protein, vitamins, and minerals needed to balance a forage-first diet. A forage-first diet is where your horse is getting the bulk of his calories and nutritional requirements from hay and pasture.
A ration balancer can be a good option to supplement a forage first diet.
Mark J. Barrett/adobe.stock.com
If your horse has access to pasture and he’s being fed good quality hay, you might not have him on a complete feed or grain concentrate. However, there’s a good chance a ration balancer could help him reach his nutrient requirements without the added calories. A ration balancer “balances out” the forage by providing the high-quality protein and vitamins/minerals that may be lacking in a horse’s forage-only diet.
A Ration Balancer Is Not…
- A complete feed designed to replace forage.
- A performance feed designed to satisfy the extra calorie needs of heavily exercising horses.
- A high-volume feed.
A Ration Balancer Is…
- A way to provide nutritional balance to a horse’s normal feed ration.
- A low-volume, nutrient-dense, concentrated feed designed to provide protein, vitamins, and minerals needed to balance a forage-first diet.
- Beneficial for “easy keepers” and horses that have metabolic issues.
Horses That Might Benefit From Ration Balancers
Easy keepers or overweight horses. An easy keeper is at risk of getting fat on traditional feeds in the amounts recommended to provide a full complement of vitamins and minerals.
Horses with metabolic issues. Ration balancers can meet the nutritional needs of horses with metabolic conditions (such as insulin resistance and laminitis risk) while minimizing the nonstructural carbohydrates that these horses should avoid. (Always check labels to be sure the product you choose is safe for your horse.)
‘Hot’ horses. Horses that need more than hay/pasture but get hot when fed traditional commercial feeds can benefit from a ration balancer. If you simply cut back on the amount of complete or performance feed you give your horse, you’re cheating him of the vitamin/mineral and protein content of the feed. With a balancer, you give him a full complement of nutrition without the extra energy that he really doesn’t need.
[READ: Is Your Horse Bored Of Your Riding Routine?]
Breeding stock. Young, growing horses can benefit from a feed that provides concentrated nutrition with fewer calories, all of which supports a slower, healthier growth rate. Stallions and newly pregnant mares can also benefit from this concentrated feed choice.
