# Blue seals Min A Vite Lite



## Cherie (Dec 16, 2010)

Can you put in a link to it? I have no idea what it is.


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## Cowgirls Boots (Apr 6, 2011)

http://blueseal.com/files/feeding-and-mgmt/equine/25_MinaViteLite.pdf


The nutrtionalist (who I wasn't very fond of to begin with) stated that my hay is less then exceptional. No clue how much knowledge she has on that whole subject, though. But my horses are on no hay and just grass during the summer and hay in winter. Would it hurt to give year round? Or should I not bother giving it at all?
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## poppy1356 (Jan 18, 2012)

It's nothing more than a ration balancer. Looking at the ingredients it wouldn't get near my horse, wheat middlings and corn something or another....


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## Cowgirls Boots (Apr 6, 2011)

Well the nutritionalist recommended I feed alittle to my mini ad gelding being my hay is less then 'exceptional'. She also has me paranoid sayin my grain is high in sugar. Yet, my guys do wonderfully on it. Therefore. It's not broke so I ain't gonna fix it. 

I'm not going to spend more money then needed but she had me paranoid that I should put my horses on it
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## poppy1356 (Jan 18, 2012)

Did she test your hay? Not sure how she could claim that otherwise unless it was moldy or something.

I wouldn't feed that to my horse, but then again I won't feed any "grain" only raw feeds. And that ration balancer has added sugars.


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## Cowgirls Boots (Apr 6, 2011)

She never tested my hay..she said because it has alot of buds it's less then exceptional. But everyone else who's seen my hay comments on the great quality it is.
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## verona1016 (Jul 3, 2011)

No matter how great hay is when it's cut (and almost all grass/hay is deficient in _something_, depending on the soil in that region and that particular field), it loses nutrients as it ages.

You say your mini is on hay only- what about your gelding? You mention grain, but don't say what kind it is or how much he's getting. A quality feed, fed at the minimum recommended levels or higher, shouldn't need any additional supplementation.

For horses on grass/hay only (or less grain than the minimum on the feeding instructions), a ration balancer is a great option for making sure your horses are getting consistent, adequate nutrition year round. I'm not familiar with Blue Seal products, but comparing it to Triple Crown 30% Supplement (which I am familiar with, since that's what I feed) it's a more concentrated ration balancer except for a few things (protein, magnesium & potassium) which your horse may or may not need additional of anyway. I'd feel better about it if it listed the amino acids, especially lysine, which is a common deficiency.

I wouldn't discount it just because of the wheat middlings and corn distillers dried grain. Wheat middlings are present in most pelleted feed, and corn distillers dried grain is corn whose sugar/starch content has been extracted in the distilling process (so it's not a high NSC ingredient like regular corn would be).


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## Cowgirls Boots (Apr 6, 2011)

My gelding is about 1000 pounds if not alittle more and gets 1 quart 2 times a day of blue seal sport. Both the mini and gelding look fine but she told me he isn't getting enough minerals? Which is why the supplement would be good. But during the summer they're on pasture 24/7 and get fed very little grain and no hay. During winter they get alot more grain and hay and are also pastured 24/7. Mini just gets hay and is muzzled in the summer.
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## Cherie (Dec 16, 2010)

Wheat middlings and distillers grains are both VERY SAFE to feed even to IR horses. 

Wheat middlings are a combination of shorts and bran. All of the gluten and starch have been separated into 'bleached white flour' and midds. The only problem with Midds is that they are high in Phosphorus and low in Calcium

The distillers grains is a by-product of the Ethanol and whiskey industry. The starch has been turned into sugar, fermented and the alcohol removed leaving behind the fiber and protein. It is not very palatable to horses, but it sure does not hurt them. 

Before people spout off about names of ingredients containing the words 'corn' and 'wheat' and jump to the conclusions that they are high in sugar and starch, they should do their homework.

Would I feed it -- no -- but not because it has midds and distillers grain in it. Besides, there is less than 5% distillers grain in it anyway -- a miniscule amount if you are feeding 1 pound of this balancer a day. I feed a wheat midd based pellet to my one and only IR horse. 

I prefer a loose mineral that is higher in Calcium and Magnesium and has a lot more Vitamin A in it. It compensates a lot better for the lack of all three in grass and grass hay. It costs $15.00 for a 50# sack and most horses eat about 1/4 pound of it free choice every day. I'll bet it is a lot better and a lot cheaper than this stuff.


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## FlyGap (Sep 25, 2011)

Cherie what brand are you feeding? Sounds good and I'm looking for a free choice option.
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## poppy1356 (Jan 18, 2012)

No, no, no I'm not saying its not safe at all. I have done a lot of research on reading labels for human consumption due to celiacs disease. I have an issue with any kind of fillers in food. That is why I wouldn't feed it, it's grain. I read labels on everything and I don't like to see fillers.
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## verona1016 (Jul 3, 2011)

Not sure about distillers dried grains, but wheat middlings aren't always just a filler. There's a lot of wiggle room in that name for the actual make-up of the ingredient, and while some brands may use lower quality/nutrition wheat midds, it's not always the case. 

The parts of the wheat kernel that are discarded during the flour milling process and which ultimately become wheat middlings (bran, germ, shorts, and red dog mill streams) are the parts that are richest in proteins, vitamins, lipids and minerals. The fact that those parts are left in for 'whole wheat' flour is the reason why whole wheat is healthier for people.

More on wheat midds: http://www.ksre.ksu.edu/library/lvstk2/mf2353.pdf


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