Choosing the Right Horse Feed: Mix vs Cubes vs Balancer
By Gladwells Pet & Country Stores Online Shop | Published: 2026-10-14
Category: Buying Guides
Compare mixes, cubes and balancers, plus condition and laminitis-friendly options, so you can pick the right feed for your horse or pony.
Quick answer
Choose a mix when you want a traditional, textured feed that promotes condition and topline; choose cubes when you want a consistent, easy-to-weigh ration for hard work or fussy eaters; choose a balancer when your horse holds weight on forage alone and only needs vitamins and minerals. If your horse or pony is prone to laminitis, start with a high-fibre, molasses-free feed instead.
Mix, cubes or balancer: what actually differs
The three formats differ in how they deliver energy and nutrients, not just in how they look. A mix combines grains, fibres and a vitamin and mineral pellet, so the horse gets a varied texture and a broad nutrient spread in every scoop. Cubes are ground, mixed and extruded into uniform pieces, which makes them easier to weigh accurately and harder for a horse to sort through. A balancer is a concentrated source of vitamins and minerals, often with additional support supplements, designed to be fed in small amounts alongside forage rather than as a full ration.
How to read the bag before you buy
Start with the feeding rate, because it tells you whether the product is a full feed or a top-up. A mix or cube that is fed at several kilograms per day is doing the heavy lifting of the diet; a balancer fed in grams is not. Next, check whether the feed is molasses-free or has no added sugar, which matters for horses and ponies prone to laminitis. Finally, match the formulation to the horse in front of you: a condition-focused mix suits a poor-doer, while a youngstock feed suits a foal, mare or stallion with different nutrient demands.
Matching the feed to the horse
A horse that loses weight easily on forage alone often does best on a mix formulated to promote condition and topline, because the extra energy is built into the ration. A horse in hard work or a fussy eater may do better on cubes, which are consistent from scoop to scoop and harder to pick around. A good-doer that maintains weight on hay or grass usually needs only a balancer, which supplies the vitamins and minerals that forage lacks without adding significant calories. For a laminitis-prone pony, a high-fibre, molasses-free feed is the safer starting point.
Transitioning without digestive upset
Change any feed gradually over seven to ten days, replacing a small portion of the old ration with the new one and increasing it step by step. Introduce one new product at a time so you can tell what is working. If you are moving from a mix to a balancer, keep the forage the same and reduce the old feed as the balancer is introduced, rather than swapping everything at once.
Decision rules for choosing horse feed
- If your horse loses weight on forage alone: Choose a mix formulated to promote condition and topline, and feed it at the rate on the bag rather than guessing. Recheck condition every two to three weeks and adjust before adding anything else.
- If your horse is in hard work or is a fussy eater: Choose cubes, because uniform pieces are easier to weigh accurately and harder for the horse to sort through. Weigh cubes by the kilogram; a scoop is not a reliable measure.
- If your horse holds weight on forage alone: Choose a balancer to supply vitamins and minerals in a small, concentrated amount without adding significant calories. Keep forage as the base of the diet and use the balancer as the top-up.
- If your horse or pony is prone to laminitis: Choose a high-fibre, molasses-free feed with no added sugar instead of a cereal-heavy mix. Confirm the feeding rate and sugar status on the bag before you buy.
Products that match these decisions
- Spillers Shine + Condition Mix 20kg: Carefully formulated to promote condition and topline in horses that are prone to weight loss. A sensible starting point for poor-doers that need extra condition from their hard feed rather than just more forage.
- Spillers Happy Hoof Molasses Free 20kg: Spillers Happy Hoof Molasses Free is a high fibre, molasses free feed with no added sugar suitable for horses and ponies prone to laminitis. The safer format when sugar and starch intake is the main concern, such as a native pony on restricted grazing.
- Dodson & Horrell Suregrow 20kg: Dodson & Horrell Suregrow is a concentrated source of vitamins and minerals, with additional support supplements for stallions, mares, foals and youngstock. A balancer-style choice when the horse needs nutrient support rather than extra calories, particularly for breeding stock and youngstock.
Who this guide is for
Best for
- Owners choosing between a mix, cubes and a balancer for the first time
- Horses that need condition or topline support from hard feed
- Ponies prone to laminitis that need a molasses-free, high-fibre option
Not for
- Horses with a diagnosed clinical condition that needs veterinary or nutritional advice
- Owners looking for a single feed that suits every horse in the yard
