What is a Forage Balancer?
A forage balancer is a supplement that fortifies a horse’s forage-based diet with essential nutrients. It helps provide a balanced nutritional profile for your horse by supplying vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and fatty acids that are often lacking in most equine diets. A true Forage Balancer does not contain added calories, sugars, or carbohydrates. It acts as the feeding program for the horse, eliminating the need to feed compound feeds. This gives horse owners more control of calorie intake without risk of over- or under-supplementation. With a Forage Balancer, horse owners can feed horses individually and adjust calorie intake to meet the energy requirements of each horse.
What Type of Horses Can Be Fed a Forage Balancer?
A Forage Balancer can be utilized for any horse, regardless of age, breed, or activity level. Easy Keepers, Hard Keepers, backyard leisure horses, and Performance Horses would all receive the nutritional benefits of a quality Forage Balancer. Forage Balancers are especially recommended for easy and hard keepers to help maintain body condition.
Mares and Growing Horses require additional nutritional support compared to the average horse. Feeding a Forage Balancer formulated specifically to support Broodmares and Foals is recommended to help support fetal growth, lactation, and weight management. The unborn foal also receives nutritional benefits when fed to the Broodmare.
Horses with Metabolic Issues, such as Insulin Resistance, Cushing’s Disease, and/or Laminitis, do not need a Forage Balancer. Specialized formulas are available for these horses. These formulas replace a forage balancer to provide nutritional support for these Metabolic issues.
Complete Feeds VS Forage Balancer
No forage provides every nutrient your horse needs. For example, wild horses must roam long distances to meet nutritional requirements through grazing. The domesticated horse is limited and only receives nutrients from the pastures and forages that horse owners provide. This is where a Forage Balancer comes into play, fulfilling the nutritional gaps in the natural equine diet.
Many horse owners utilize Complete Feeds or products that combine a complete feed with a Forage Balancer in their feeding programs. Complete Feeds are easy to use, affordable, and provide energy for the horse. However, they may contain excess fats and sugar and often lead to a diet rich in fats and carbohydrates. Complete feeds also adhere to the “all-in-one” concept, tethering calories and nutrients together. This creates opportunities for over- or under-supplementation, when horse owners adjust feeding levels to manage body condition. This most commonly occurs when feeding Easy Keepers and Hard Keepers.
A true Forage Balancer does not tether nutrients and calories, making it easier to maintain body condition. The average backyard horse and Easy Keeper can be sustained alone on Forage and a quality Forage Balancer. Whole oats, copra, beet pulp, and/or vegetable oil can be added for horses requiring additional calories, such as Hard Keepers and Performance Horses.
Benefits of a Forage Balancer:
- Brings the Horse Back to its “Basic” Forage Diet
- Separates Calories from Nutrients
- Low in Calories, Starches, and Carbohydrates
- Reduces the Risk of Metabolic Disorders
- Increases Feed Utilization of Hay and Pasture
- Helps Maintain Proper Body Condition Score
- Helps Manage Calorie Consumption
- Eliminates Feeding Complete Feeds
Recommended Forage Balancer for Adult Horses
Life Data® Forage Balancer
Life Data® Forage Balancer, formerly Barn Bag® Hay and Pasture Balancer, fortifies the natural diet of the adult horse regardless of activity level. It is low calorie, low starch, and can be fed alongside Farrier’s Formula® for additional nutritional hoof health support. The average 1,000 lb. horse would be fed ½ standard kitchen measuring cup daily. Visit our website for additional information, feeding instructions, and ingredients.
Recommended Forage Balancer for Broodmares and Foals
Life Data® Broodmare and Growing Horse
Life Data® Broodmare and Growing Horse Pelleted Feed Concentrate is a source of required daily nutrients for all broodmares and growing horses. It allows the horse owner to separate the calorie requirements for gestation, lactation, or growth from other nutrient requirements. Proper feeding during gestation and growth results in a healthier horse! Visit our website for additional information, feeding instructions, and ingredients.
Recommended Formula for Metabolic Syndrome Horses
Life Data® Insulin R Formula
Life Data® Insulin R Formula supports insulin-resistant horses by supplying active ingredients to assist with glucose metabolism, fat metabolism, insulin action, and help reduce inflammation. It also supports proper metabolism to encourage weight control and general health. For horses with:
- Insulin Resistance
- Insulin Resistance and PPID (Cushing’s Disease)
- Insulin Resistance, PPID, and Laminitis