Ultra Low Iron Equine Balancers

It would be an understatement to say that here at Forageplus, we are deeply focused on the level of iron in the horse’s diet. Iron is essential for life, but it is also one of the most commonly over-supplied minerals in modern equine diets.

We are always concerned about reducing unnecessary iron exposure in our products, especially our balancers. This is why we use high-purity ingredients and avoid adding iron or manganese to our balancer formulations.

Forageplus balancers are formulated to contain the lowest iron content we can practically achieve. We use carefully sourced magnesium oxide and mono-sodium phosphate with extremely low trace iron levels.

We are confident that our balancers offer an exceptionally low-iron approach while still delivering high levels of the minerals commonly needed to balance UK and European forage.

Do Horses Need Additional Iron?

In most cases, horses do not need extra iron added to their diet. Iron is present in virtually everything a horse eats or drinks, including grass, hay, haylage, water, soil, commercial feeds, beet pulp, alfalfa and many vitamin and mineral supplements.

The issue is not only the iron declared on a feed label. Hidden iron can also be present as a contaminant in feed-grade minerals used to manufacture supplements.

Iron, Copper and Zinc Balance

One of the key concerns with excess iron is the way it can affect the balance of other trace minerals, especially copper and zinc. These minerals are important for hoof quality, skin, coat pigment, immune support and connective tissue health.

When forage contains high iron and low copper or zinc, simply adding a general multi-vitamin and mineral supplement may not solve the problem. A forage-focused approach looks at the mineral pattern in the forage and supplements the nutrients most likely to be limiting.

Research Into Iron Status and Metabolic Health

Research into horses, insulin resistance and iron status is still limited, but there has been scientific interest in the possible relationship between body iron stores and insulin regulation.

One study used horses as a model for browsing rhinoceroses, where iron overload disorder has been identified in captive animals. The study explored links between ferritin, a marker of body iron stores, and insulin response.

Dr Eleanor Kellon and Kathleen Gustafson also performed a retrospective analysis looking at possible dysmetabolic hyperferritinemia in hyperinsulinemic horses. They suggested that iron may be a modifiable risk factor worth further controlled investigation, while also emphasising that iron is unlikely to be the sole or primary cause of hyperinsulinemia.

Why Forage Testing Changes the Conversation

Here in the UK and Europe, the thousands of full mineral forage reports carried out through Forageplus have repeatedly shown that iron is commonly present at high levels in forage.

In the rare situation where iron intake is genuinely low, it is usually easy to supply through ordinary feeds such as alfalfa or beet pulp, both of which can contain naturally high iron levels. We have never needed to recommend mineral iron supplementation as part of a forage-balanced diet.

The same often applies to manganese. Forage frequently supplies manganese at generous or excessive levels, which is why we do not add manganese to our balancers.

Signs That Trace Mineral Balance May Need Reviewing

Many common horse health concerns can have more than one cause. However, when the diet contains high iron and low copper or zinc, trace mineral balance is worth reviewing.

If you recognise any of these issues, it may be worth looking beyond the label on a feed bag and considering the minerals already present in your forage, water and supplement ingredients.

Hidden Iron in Magnesium Oxide

One of the most overlooked sources of iron in horse supplements is the mineral ingredient itself. Magnesium oxide is widely used in equine feeds and balancers, but lower-grade magnesium oxide can contain high levels of trace iron contamination.

Standard animal feed-grade magnesium oxide may contain very high levels of elemental iron as an impurity. This hidden iron does not always appear clearly in the way a product is marketed.

After considerable sourcing work, we found a human pharmaceutical-grade granular magnesium oxide suitable for use in our balancers. This allows us to formulate products that are both high in magnesium and exceptionally low in unwanted trace iron.

Why We Do Not Add Iron or Manganese

Forageplus has never added iron or manganese to its balancers because the common mineral pattern of forage in the UK and Europe does not support adding more of these minerals as a routine strategy.

Instead, our balancers are designed to support the nutrients more commonly needed to correct forage mineral profiles, including magnesium, copper, zinc, selenium, iodine and other carefully selected nutrients depending on the product.

A Forage-Focused Approach to Better Balance

We do not believe that a broad, multi-spectrum approach is always the best way to achieve optimum mineral balance in horses. Adding every mineral, regardless of what forage already supplies, can make existing excesses worse.

A better approach is to start with forage. Once you know what the horse is eating every day, you can add what is needed and avoid what is already high.

This is why Forageplus balancers are not generic. They are built from forage analysis data and designed to match the common deficiencies and imbalances seen in the greatest part of the horse’s diet – forage.

Final Thought

Iron is everywhere in the horse’s diet. At Forageplus, our goal is not to remove iron completely; that would be impossible and unnecessary. Our goal is to avoid adding more iron where it is not needed and to reduce hidden iron wherever we can.

By using high-purity ingredients, avoiding added iron and manganese, and formulating around forage analysis, we believe our ultra-low iron balancers offer one of the most targeted and thoughtful ways to support modern horses.