Balancers are a well-established feed for horses and there’s a vast array available – Lisa Elliott, MSc, Equine Nutrition Solutions explains what balancers are, what are the benefits of feeding one, and how you can use one to provide optimum nutrition for your horse.
What is a Balancer?
A balancer is a nutrient dense feed containing vitamins, minerals and essential amino acids – the ‘building blocks’ of protein, alongside a negligible number of calories.
Balancers are normally created in a pelleted form but are also available as a powder or mix. They effectively ‘balance’ the diet, supplying essential micronutrients for optimum health and performance. This makes them perfect to feed alongside a more natural, forage based diet where the forage provides the energy for condition, and the balancer providing essential micronutrients that can be lacking in forage.
The nutrient density of a balancer makes it an extremely useful addition to your horse’s diet, because it supplies essential micronutrients in a very small amount of feed (typically 100g per 100kg bodyweight).
When a balancer forms the base of the diet, macronutrients (energy and protein) can be added or not, according to the individual horse’s requirements. This makes balancers as extremely versatile and flexible feed and suitable for all types of horses from natives and good doers to competition horses and youngsters.
Many balancers also contain other beneficial ingredients such as pro and prebiotics, which have been shown to support and nurture beneficial hindgut microbes and improve fibre digestion. This allows your horse to get the best out their diet and potentially reduce feed costs.
Introducing Coligone Balancer
The newly created, scientifically formulated Coligone Balancer is an advanced specification balancer to support optimum equine health and performance.
It brings together the benefits of highly digestible fibres, alongside a superior specification of Coligone to provide supreme nutritional and digestive support for your horse.
Coligone Balancer supports overall muscle development, immunity, hoof, skin and coat quality, optimal digestive health and temperament, alongside superior levels of vitamins, minerals and micronutrients to support health and performance, yet is extremely low in starch and sugar.
The Benefits of Feeding Coligone Balancer
- Supplies generous levels of highly digestible fibres, which not only adds diversity to support a healthy hindgut microbiome but also supports specific microbes responsible for maintaining a healthy gut lining.
- Contains soluble fibres which have a potential gastro-protective effect on gut membranes, helping to promote and maintain digestive tract health and integrity.
- Delivers a superior range of naturally nutritious vitamins and minerals for normal physiological function alongside immunity boosting antioxidants for enhanced overall health and wellbeing.
- Rich in beneficial Omega 3 fatty acids, which are important for optimum health and must be supplied in the diet, but also provides essential Omega 6 fatty acids, which have significant physiological functions within the horse.
- Supplies a range of essential amino acids, providing quality protein to support muscle repair, development and integrity and strong, healthy hooves.
- Provides calcium to help promote a healthy nervous system and maintain calmness, helping your horse to stay focused and relaxed.
- Actively helps neutralise excess acid within the stomach and maintains healthy acid levels throughout the entire digestive tract, to optimise digestive health.
- Contains key pro and prebiotics which are scientifically proven to mitigate disturbances to the hindgut microbiome, maintain a healthy microbial balance, stimulate and promote beneficial bacteria and improve fibre digestibility, helping your horse to get the most out of their forage.
- Helps to maintain digestive health at times of change or any time the digestive system needs additional support and re-balance.
Coligone Balancer is perfect for a wide range of horses and ponies – including elderly horses, those who need support with condition and stressy types.
As Coligone Balancer provides only ‘negligible’ calories it’s a great choice for overweight and the laminitis prone, or for horses and ponies with a metabolic condition – as well as providing beneficial nutrition for all performance and leisure horses.
If you have any questions about creating the best diet for your horse and keeping your horse healthy through the right nutrition, please contact Coligone – 0333 0503785/07986 183616 or sales@hbradshaws.co.uk.
