Madelief is the "Manager Nutrition & Education" at Vitalbix. She provides daily nutritional advice to horse owners and is jointly responsible for product development and knowledge dissemination. Madelief says, "I have a degree in nutrition and initially worked in human nutrition. Horse nutrition has always been of interest to me, and partly thanks to my own horse, I got involved in this field."

What is a balancer?

Often, you hear that it's best to provide a horse with sufficient good forage, combined with a balancer. But what exactly is a balancer? Madelief explains, "A balancer is a concentrated pellet containing many vitamins and minerals, requiring only a small amount to be fed. The reason for feeding a balancer is that Dutch forage is deficient in certain elements. These include copper, zinc, magnesium, selenium, and vitamin E, which are generally lacking in forage. I observe this deficiency in almost every forage analysis I come across, and there are many! Only if your horse has year-round access to good pasture is additional supplementation of vitamin A and E unnecessary. However, your horse still does not receive sufficient copper, zinc, selenium, and magnesium. A balancer is suitable for many horses to supplement deficiencies in forage. Vitalbix Daily Complete is the name of our balancer."

Preferably not much grain-based concentrate

Concentrates also contain vitamins and minerals, so why switch to a balancer? Madelief explains, "With average concentrates, you often need to feed about 2.5 to 3 kilograms to meet the deficiencies. However, most horses in the Netherlands perform relatively light work, and many are overweight. For many horses, good quality forage supplemented with a balancer is sufficient. Most concentrates available for horses contain many grains such as corn, rye, barley, and wheat. These grains provide many fast sugars and starch. Traditionally, horses were used for work in the fields and often had to work long and hard. They didn't stand around eating all day, as they would in nature. Farmers sought a quick and inexpensive way to feed energy to their horses, leading to the development of concentrates. Concentrates provide a lot of energy, are quickly consumed, and are relatively inexpensive fillers. Many of today's concentrates have been developed based on this idea. Fortunately, there are now concentrates available on the market without grains, providing slow-release energy and high levels of vitamins and minerals. If your horse performs at a higher level and requires extra energy, you can provide additional energy without grains. This applies even to horses performing at the highest levels."

Fast energy versus slow energy

What's the deal with energy? Madelief clarifies, "Horses derive their energy from various sources. Energy is needed for all daily bodily functions, to remain healthy, and to perform. Energy from feed can be released quickly or slowly. The main energy source for a horse is fiber from forage such as hay, haylage, grass, and alfalfa. In the large intestine, these fibers are digested, producing volatile fatty acids. Your horse absorbs these and converts them into slowly released energy. Energy from fibers is released slowly, unlike energy from sugar and starch. Energy from the latter is released in a short peak. A few hours after such a peak, your horse may even experience a dip in energy level."

Fast sugars cause problems

Madelief continues: "If there are a lot of grains in a concentrate feed, then there is a high content of sugar and starch. This can cause various problems and is also not necessary if you give your horse a good foundation. Too much sugar in the feed leads to the growth of lactic acid bacteria, acidification of the stomach, and the formation of gastric ulcers. Too much starch is difficult to digest for horses because they do not produce the enzyme amylase in large quantities. This enzyme is necessary to digest starch. Poor digestion can lead to intestinal problems, although this varies greatly from horse to horse. When a horse receives a lot of grains, the energy is quickly released. This results in peaks in blood sugar levels. Your horse then quickly burns through its energy reserves. It leads to horses being hot initially and then 'crashing' after a short time. I hear this regularly from people."

Equestrian sport demands slow energy

But can horses perform without the sugars from concentrate feed? Madelief: "Yes, indeed, they can! For what we as equestrians need in dressage, jumping, and eventing, prolonged energy that is slowly released is much more convenient. Horses naturally live on very fiber-rich feed. These fibers provide this slow energy. Energy-rich fats are also found in oil. The advantage of fibers and fats as an energy source is that there are no spikes in blood sugar levels. The horse doesn't become hot first and then sluggish. The energy is released more slowly and gradually. In endurance sports, it has long been customary, for example, to supplement with oil as a slow energy source."

Muscles also work better on fat and fibers

Madelief: "The muscles of your horse can also become acidic due to increased production of lactic acid, which occurs when a horse eats a lot of sugars. Vitamins and minerals also play a major role in muscle health. If you, like many people, give about 1.5 to 2 kg of concentrate feed per day, then there is a risk that these elements will not be sufficiently supplemented. While they play an important role in the contracting and relaxing of your horse's muscles. A horse that receives too few minerals is therefore more likely to experience muscle soreness and will probably also be less forward."

A good foundation

If we need to feed less sugar and starch and more fiber and fats, what is a good foundation? Madelief: "The most important thing is roughage as a basis. So grass, hay, pre-dried feed, or for example, alfalfa or another roughage mix. On average, you should think about 1.5 to 2 kg of roughage per 100 kg of body weight, but it depends very much on what is in that roughage. That is why roughage analyses are important. What is the dry matter content, the energy content, and how much digestible protein is there? If you have different batches of roughage each time, this is not feasible, but if you receive a year's supply of hay from one plot, then a comprehensive, more expensive analysis is definitely worth it. Then you have more insight, also for example in the mineral content. You can then feed much more targeted. In addition to roughage, you basically give a balancer to ensure that your horse receives sufficient minerals and vitamins."

Feeding horses for performance

If your horse only works recreationally or lightly in dressage, then supplementation on this basis is not always necessary, explains Madelief: "Many people overestimate the efforts their horse has to make. Often you only need to start supplementing with energy when your horse reaches M/Z level or higher, or for example, is seriously involved in eventing, combined driving, or endurance. If you want to feed less concentrate feed, then it's best to do this gradually. And importantly, the energy that your horse previously obtained from the sugars in that concentrate feed must now be obtained in a different way. This often means that you have to give a little more roughage. Or for example, a grain-free, low-sugar muesli like our Active +. We often recommend transition schedules of several weeks. You have to align roughage, balancer, and any muesli well with each other. In our nutritional advice, we always look closely at the individual horse and are happy to think along with the owner."

Horse's energy level

"The energy level of horses is often a hot topic among owners," Madelief explains. "Either a horse has too much energy or too little. We get a lot of questions about that. But it's not just about the feed. The character of a horse is also super important in this, as well as its health and a bit of riding technique from the rider. Some horses will never become hot, others never lazy. The seasons also play a role. When horses go out to pasture in the spring, this often affects the energy level in the first weeks. Finally, it's also important to critically assess the weight of a horse," Madelief advises. "Many horses in the Netherlands are a bit overweight. This extra weight can be the reason for a lack of energy. Supplementing a too-fat horse that is sluggish is generally not the solution to make him more energetic. Such horses must first lose weight, and only when they are stable at a healthy weight can you discover if they really have an energy deficiency and if you really need to supplement energy. A deficiency of vitamins