 Extreme Veteran
Posts: 495
 
Location: Washington | Purina SuperSport is not a ration balancer. They do have Omega Match and Enrich that are ration balancers. I highly suggest either of those. We have a SUPER easy keep that I have Omega Match. She looks amazing and can keep her on free choice forage (alfalfa/grass mix) and she doens't get stupidly obese, she's stay looking fit. I have all our performance horses on the SuperSport and have been happy with the results. But those horses also get Purina Ultium but where on it for quite a few months before adding SuperSport. |
Expert
Posts: 1694
 
Location: Willows, CA | Most horse owners do not understand what a ration balancer is best uesd for. In general, ration balancers are very high protein (around 30%), soy based supplements that are best used if there is not enough quality protein provided by remainder of the diet. If you have quality alfalfa in the diet like the OP does, additional protein requirements are minimal or not necessary. A simple Vit/min addition or a small inclusion of a fortified higher fat / medium protein additive may be a better choice. For growing horses a total protein level of around 15% is healthy and safe from developmental problems. For mature horses 11% protein for the whole diet will meet their needs. Some horses handle high protein from soy fine, but many do not. Because of this, I never use soy in formulations, and recommend that it be kept out of the diet if possible. While the protein quality of soy is good, that can't necessarily be said of the remainder of the soy make up or the high estrogen present in soy. If you are feeding very low protein hay, a ration balancer at the appropriate amount may be one of your options. A better option, in my opinion, is always better hay if available. Either way, I would not feed a soy based ration balancer along with alfalfa to growing horses as the combination of higher calcium and higher protein can create a risk of developmental issues. |
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