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What Is The Best Balancer For Horses With Laminitis?
Laminitis is a painful and debilitating condition affecting horses. Managing laminitis involves a combination of veterinary care, lifestyle changes, and appropriate nutrition.
In this article we will explore how using a horse feed balancer specifically designed for horses with laminitis can help improve their health and well-being, while covering which types of feed to avoid and also how to modify your horse’s feeding habits to aid in recovery.
How Can A Balancer For Horses With Laminitis Help?
A horse feed balancer designed for laminitis provides a carefully formulated blend of essential nutrients, while controlling starch and sugar intake.
This targeted approach to nutrition helps to support hoof health, manage weight, and reduce inflammation, all crucial elements in managing laminitis effectively.
Improved Hoof Health
A feed balancer for laminitis provides essential nutrients, such as biotin, calcium, phosphorus, and magnesium, which promote healthy hooves and support recovery from laminitis.
Weight Management
Laminitis-prone horses often require careful weight management. A specialized feed balancer provides balanced nutrition while maintaining a healthy weight, reducing the pressure on inflamed hooves.
Reduced Inflammation
Antioxidants, such as vitamin E and selenium, found in laminitis-specific feed balancers, can help reduce inflammation and support overall health.
Controlled Starch and Sugar Intake
Horses with laminitis need a diet low in starch and sugar. A laminitis-friendly feed balancer ensures that these components are kept to a minimum, helping to prevent further complications.
Best Balancer For Horses With Laminitis
As a horse owner, ensuring the health and well-being of your equine companion is a top priority, especially when dealing with a condition as challenging as laminitis.
Providing the appropriate nutrition is crucial in managing laminitis and preventing future episodes.
Let’s take a look at the best horse feed balancers specifically designed for horses who have or are prone to laminitis – helping you make an informed decision and provide the optimal care for your beloved horse.
1. Blue Chip Lami-Light Feed Balancer Review
Blue Chip Lami-Light Feed Balancer is specifically formulated to address this concern, providing essential nutrients, vitamins, and minerals to maintain optimum health and well-being for all types of ponies and horses.
- Blue Chip Lami Light - formulated specifically for...
- Quadruple-action digestive supplement - Lami Light...
- SoundHoof - Like all Blue Chip balancers, Lami...
- Immune support - When blood circulation is...
- Skin and coat - Lami Light contains added levels...
Blue Chip Lami-Light is a low starch, molasses-free, and no added sugar balancer that supports digestive health, fat metabolism, and hoof quality. The quadruple-action digestive supplement, which combines a probiotic with prebiotic MOS, nucleotides, and sepiolite clay, creates the ideal conditions for a healthy digestive system, crucial for horses prone to laminitis.
SoundHoof™, a complete hoof supplement, is added to the formulation, containing biotin, methionine, lysine, organic zinc, organic copper, and MSM for the formation of strong, pliable, and good-quality hooves. Furthermore, PrimoVento™, a complete respiratory supplement with antioxidants and garlic, soothes the airways and maintains lung health and integrity.
The inclusion of Omega 3 and zinc ensures healthy, scurf-free skin and a glossy coat, while antioxidants like selenium, vitamin C, and vitamin E promote a healthy immune system.
Nucleotides support immunity, stamina, cell replication, and repair of damaged cells. The de-stressor magnesium keeps horses and ponies calm and stress-free, and the complete vitamin, mineral, and nutrient package ensures proper functioning of the metabolic system, central nervous system, immune system, growth rates, bone strength, and joint health.
Blue Chip Lami-Light Feed Balancer is an excellent choice for those seeking a comprehensive, palatable solution for horses prone to laminitis or those requiring weight management. Its impressive combination of essential nutrients, vitamins, and minerals, along with its focus on digestive health, hoof quality, and overall well-being, makes it a standout option for maintaining the health of your beloved horse or pony.
2. Baileys No 14 Lo-Cal Horse Balancer Review
Baileys No 14 Lo-Cal Horse Balancer is a top-specification, nutrient-dense pelleted balancer designed to provide all the essential nutrients for a horse or pony’s health and well-being without the calories commonly associated with traditional mix or cube feeds.
- Targeted at: Horses and ponies, at rest or in...
- Good-doers on restricted grazing (and soaked...
- The laminitis-prone who need essential nutrients...
- Weight 20kg
Lo-Cal Balancer is an ideal option for horses and ponies at rest or in light work requiring a low-calorie diet, good-doers on restricted grazing, and laminitis-prone equines who need essential nutrients without excess calories. The balancer contains quality protein sources that supply essential amino acids for building and repairing muscles, tendons, hooves, and other tissues. Added linseed contributes essential Omega 3 fatty acids for supple skin and a glossy coat.
The superior vitamin, mineral, and antioxidant content in Lo-Cal Balancer supports good health and includes chelated minerals, which are more easily absorbed by the horse’s body. It contains healthy levels of biotin (30mg/kg) and other nutrients known to encourage healthy hoof growth.
With low starch and sugar levels, Lo-Cal Balancer is suitable for equines prone to laminitis. The protected probiotic yeast and Digest Plus prebiotic support fibre-digesting bacteria, general gut health, and digestive efficiency, which is especially important following a laminitic episode.
Lo-Cal Balancer is accredited by BETA as suitable for equines prone to gastric ulcer syndrome, making it a great option for leisure horses and ponies with restricted forage intake. The balancer can be fed as the sole concentrate, alongside forage, or added to reduced quantities of other hard feeds, ensuring a fully balanced diet. It can also be fed with straights like oats for added sparkle, or combined with Light Chaff or Speedi-Beet for low-calorie bulk and increased chew-time.
This high-quality, low-calorie feed balancer is designed to support the overall health and well-being of your horse or pony. Its comprehensive nutrient profile and suitability for laminitis-prone equines make it an excellent choice for maintaining a balanced diet without adding excess calories.
3. Spillers Happy Hoof Molasses Free Balancer Review
Spillers Happy Hoof Molasses Free Balancer is a unique, low-calorie blend designed specifically for horses and ponies prone to laminitis.
By reducing the molasses content, this feed aims to minimize the risk of triggering the painful inflammatory condition that affects the tissues bonding the hoof wall to the pedal bone within the horse’s hoof.
- MOLASSES-FREE HORSE FEED – High fibre,...
- SUPPORTS HOOF HEALTH – our horse feed contains...
- LOW IN STARCH & SUGAR – SPILLERS Happy Hoof...
- LOW IN CALORIES – Highly versatile horse feed...
- "WITH VITAMINS & MINERALS – Includes a full...
Happy Hoof Molasses Free is a high-fiber, low-starch and sugar feed that produces a low insulin response, making it suitable for laminitis-prone horses and ponies. The low-calorie formula is ideal for good doers, native breeds, and those in light work. It is a highly versatile feed that can be used on its own, alongside a balancer, or as a hay replacer.
The ingredients in this balancer include a palatable blend of straw, alfalfa, grass nuts, garlic, and rapeseed oil. Each component offers its own unique benefits: garlic is a well-known superfood with anti-inflammatory properties, while alfalfa is an excellent source of energizing protein.
The inclusion of short-chopped alfalfa and straw in the mix helps to extend eating time, promoting a more natural feeding pattern. This balancer also contains 15mg of biotin per 3kg serving, which has been proven to support hoof health.
Furthermore, Spillers Happy Hoof Molasses Free Balancer is fortified with a full range of added vitamins and minerals to provide a balanced diet for your horse or pony.
This low-calorie, laminitis-friendly feed option is designed to support the overall health and well-being of your horse or pony. Its carefully chosen ingredients, low molasses content, and added vitamins and minerals make it an excellent choice for maintaining a balanced diet without increasing the risk of laminitis.
Types Of Feed to Avoid for Horses with Laminitis
Cereal Grains
Avoid feeding cereal grains, such as corn, oats, and barley, as they are high in starch and can exacerbate laminitis symptoms.
Sugary Treats
Refrain from giving sugary treats or fruits, as they can increase the overall sugar intake and worsen the condition.
High-Starch Forage
Avoid forages high in starch, such as certain types of haylage. Instead, opt for low-sugar hay or haylage.
Changing Feeding Habits for Horses with Laminitis
- Monitor Feed Intake: Regularly weigh your horse’s feed to ensure accurate and consistent portion sizes.
- Slow Feeding: Use slow-feed hay nets or multiple small meals to promote a steady intake of forage throughout the day, preventing blood sugar spikes and minimizing the risk of further inflammation.
- Soak Hay: Soaking hay for 30 minutes to an hour can help reduce the sugar content, making it more suitable for horses with laminitis.
- Regularly Analyze Forage: Have your forage analyzed to ensure it meets the low sugar and starch requirements for a horse with laminitis.
Managing laminitis in horses requires careful attention to nutrition, in addition to veterinary care and lifestyle changes. Utilizing a laminitis-specific horse feed balancer can play a significant role in improving a horse’s health and well-being, making it an essential component of any laminitis management plan.
Home / Health / Horse Feed & Supplements /Last update on 2024-04-27 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
