Ration balancers- flash in the pan or solid nutrition?

"Ration balancer"= Feed designed to be fed in small amounts (1-2# daily) to compliment high roughage diets. A grass hay balancer would typically contain 30% protein, 2% lysine, 2% fat, and very low in starch and sugars. (Range from 13 to 23%, depending on manufacturer.)

30% protein, what's the deal with that?!!

Well, this is why. The 2007 NRC requirements of the working 1100# horse are 768g protein and 34g lysine.

Now, let's say your first cut hay is rolling in at about 9% protein and .1 to .2% lysine. (These are assumed figures, testing your hay is necessary to correctly calculate a ration.) Your horse is being fed 23# daily of that hay. Cipher it out and from you're hay you're feeding 937g CP, and 20g lysine. Well, you've met your requirement for CP, but are deficient in lysine. That's a pretty big problem, since without adequate levels of lysine the horse can't utilize the CP. (And, if you're feeding hay grown in the NEK, you can safely assume you aren't even coming close to meeting the selenium requirements of your horse- 1 to 3mg daily)

Now, the average vit/min supplement contains 3,500mg lysine per pound, and is usually fed at a rate of 2 oz daily. Fed at that rate it would add .43g of lysine to your the diet. Not nearly enough to make up the 14g needed in the diet. (most supplements contain adequate selenium)

The ration balancer, being fed at 2# daily provides 18g of lysine. It also adds 271g of protein (unavoidable to provide amino acids such as lysine.) , which provides more protein than necessary. Is this a huge problem? Will your horse get flighty or founder?

In the past, when owners fed grains that were high in protein, they were also high in carbohydrates. So, the behaviours and illnesses of horses fed high carbohydrate diets was unfairly blamed on protein. Point blank- spring founder didn't happen because of high protein, it happened because of high carbohydrates in pre-bloom grasses.

For extensive info regarding laminitis and pasture/forage, PLEASE go to www.safergrass.org.

IMO- "Ration balancers" are sound nutrition.