Cutting the calories

Vicky Taunton wants to know whether a ‘lite’ balancer can help her rather round cob mare Maddie. Despite the grass shortage this summer, Maddie has continued to pile on the pounds, not least because Vicky hasn’t been able to ride after breaking her wrist. Vicky is absolutely right to want to take control of Maddie’s weight, especially before any autumn flush of grass, but I’m afraid a ‘lite’ balancer isn’t a magic diet pill. If only it were that easy! Quite simply, if Maddie is continuing to gain weight, she is receiving more calories than she is burning. Vicky should restrict Maddie’s grazing time and could consider introducing a grazing muzzle if the grass sward is long enough to poke through the muzzle holes. Nutrition support in the form of around 500g of a specialist balancer a day will help support Maddie’s restricted diet, giving her the vitamins and minerals she needs, but without extra calories. Ideally Vicky should choose one that’s high in amino acids to help maintain Maddie’s muscle tone and topline and also contains added ingredients to help support a healthy metabolism. SPILLERS® Lite + Lean Balancer is specially formulated with a broad spectrum of vitamins and minerals to balance a calorierestricted diet. It’s high in amino acids, including extra lysine, methionine and threonine that are often lacking in hay to help support lean muscle and topline. It also contains cinnamon, FOS and magnesium to support weight loss and a healthy metabolism, and is suitable for those prone to laminitis too.