10/24/2026
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN VIT/MIN SUPPLEMENTS AND BALANCERS?
UK forages are always short of minerals for horses (and vitamins in conserved forages e.g. hay and haylage) so you do need to 'balance' the diet with a feed or supplement.
In reality every vitamin and mineral supplement that is designed to make up for shortages in forage is a 'balancer'.
The term 'balancer' tends, however, to be used in the UK to describe a - usually but not always - pelleted concentrated compound feed that supplies vitamins, minerals, some good quality protein plus a little energy. They often also contain other additives such as live yeast, herbs and suchlike..
Vitamin and mineral supplements are technically still balancers but they are fed in a smaller daily quantity and don't supply the good quality protein or energy that 'balancers' do. These supplements are generally fed at a daily rate of around 50-100g for a 500kg horse.
The pellets typically used in the manufacture of a concentrated feed 'balancer' are generally fed at around 500g for a 500kg horse, per day. These are an alternative to a regular compound feed that is typically fed at around 5-600g per 100kg BW (2.5-3kg for a 500kg horse). That rate is too high for many horses and would oversupply energy i.e. make them too fat.
Pelleted balancers are more palatable than vitamin and mineral supplements for some horses, but many will happily eat a vit/min supplement mixed with chaff or soaked beet/forage pellets/mash.
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