[spyro1]

Thanks Karyn I think I will go with cubes over the pellets if I need any at all.

[Haas Horse Farm]

Okay someone will have to break this down for me... What the heck is RB? Not sure that is available where I live. Thank goodness I can have a balanced feed mixed by a vet at a local mill and delivered in bulk to my barn.

[PeggySue]

RB = Ration Balancer

Spyro I am not adding anything at this time I feed Buckeye's Gro N Win.. he is currentlyl getting 1 lb per day.. He is worked 3 to 4 days a week for anywhere from 15 to half hour depending upon what we are doing... he is not being ridden yet saving that for later... he has pasture or hay in front of him free choice and actually my horses are not acting as hungry at feed times as they did before... as in I have no more running like crazies at feed time ... I will take new pics today he just went though a upward spurt so he is showing ribs alittle ... if he does not balance back out here shortly I am prob gonna add some stablized rice bran to his RB

[3WishesDun]

Beth,
I am now feeding all of mine Seminole Equilizer ration balancer.
I add flax, source, and then magox to whoever needs it.
I have been feeding it for almost 6 months now, and love it!

[Haas Horse Farm]

I know that RB = Ration Balancer but what is it exactly? Why is it called ration balancer?

[spyro1]

Oh I LOVE the smell of Buckyeye Gro N Win Yummy.
One of the reasons I am going with the TC 30% because we are a TC dealer at work and I have easy consitant access to it.
I think I will probably add some Max E Glo to it as well. I was reading tags today and I can go with 1-1.5#'s of the Ration Balancer and I will start them on 1# of the Max E Glo. They have free choice coastal (I dont have pasture) and they get T&A am and pm. Gosh, it just seems like I should be adding or feeding more than that!!!

I'm not going to do anything with Tricky's regiment right now. He is 30 and looks/feels just awesome on what I am feeding him now.....

Haas, Ration balancers are a complete vitamin/mineral supp that you only feed approx 1-2# of per day. The horse gets everything that they need from that.

[imacowgirl2]

Originally Posted by Haas Horse Farm

I know that RB = Ration Balancer but what is it exactly? Why is it called ration balancer?

Do a thread search for "Ration Balancer: Specific Products"...it has a list of products that are ration balancers.

RB's are called balancers because they are meant to be a high quality source of nutrition to balance the forage in a horse's diet by providing the missing minerals/vits depending on forage type.

They are a (usually) pelleted feed that is made from forage products, not grains, making it healthier for the horse's digestive system. They are nutrient dense, only needing to be fed at a rate of 1-3#'s/day in most cases, depending on the horse's life stage and activity level (making them good for any horse, but especially easy keepers) -- 1# is your maintenance level with most of them and 3# is your lactation/early weanling level with most. Because such a small amount is fed, people often find that they pay less to feed an RB vs. a grain product, even though the price/bag is often higher, as the bag lasts a lot longer.

[Haas Horse Farm]

Okay in that case I do not need any of that since my feed is custom balanced after my hay is tested and the soil is tested. That is why it did not make sense to me. LOL I already have a balanced feed so I could not figure out why I would need to ad anything. I love my feed.

My farrier has another customer who gets feed from the same place who quit feeding the feed because their horses got too fat on it. Instead of just feeding less of it they went to a more expensive commercial feed. Wow is that crazy or what! (The guy does make a great margarita though~ ) My fairier also my feed.. that is a joke) because he has had nails break on my white hooved horses! LOL

[wyldterv]

Originally Posted by Haas Horse Farm

I know that RB = Ration Balancer but what is it exactly? Why is it called ration balancer?

A ration Balancer is a VERY nutrient Dense pelleted feed. Normally feed at about 1-2 lbs per 1000 pound horse. It has vit's/mins/amino acids/proteins etc packed into on might package. Generally has NO grains in it at all, so is excellent for horses that should not have grains for what ever reasons.

They were originally designed to be mixed with unfortified grains, such as plain whole oats, so that they equaled a balanced diet.

Many of the Ration Balancer's on the market are also geared specifically for either a 50% or higher grass/grass hay diet or a 50% or highter Alfalfa/legume diet.