Thank you JB!
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Here’s a vote for Ultracruz Vit E. Picky horses will eat it!
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The vet recommended Elevate for us and Charlie wasn’t bothered by it being added to his mix.
Some won’t eat the powder, it’s really fine and it does need to either be wet down, or mixed with something relatively sticky. But the pellets are a great option when that’s not possible, and the cost is nearly the same, maybe $.14/1000IU, last I remember
Vets “know” the Elevate products because they’re vet-created. They also happen to be some of the more $$ options. It’s still just natural d-alpha tocopherol E. But absolutely, it’s a good product that works, just more $$ than other options.
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If I have to keep going with it, I’ll prob go that route!
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Yes…I should have specified pellets. Thank you.
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Have you heard back about this? I have had my horse on cal trace/cal trace plus for years and recently started liquid vitamin E (nano-E) a few months ago at the suggestion of a vet/chiro and thought he just seemed much more comfortable and to be building more muscle. I never tested before starting I just assumed it was a bioavailability issue but now I’m wondering if this was the issue…
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No news yet 
are you using something else in the meantime? Mine was on platinum prior which I stopped since it seemed to make him more reactive and spooky. As a now 8 year old in a hot climate instead of 4 being ridden mostly at night at that time, maybe a little hotter wouldn’t be a bad thing anymore though 
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Yep! He’s getting Elevate for now since he tested low. He will get tested again at the end of Sept and hopefully we will be in a better spot. If CT doesn’t address this by the time I’m out of the Elevate, I may look into an alternative to the CT Plus.
Update from CalTrace
Sounds like they have a shelf stability issue going on or something along those lines 
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Sooooo - what was actually sampled? The actual CT Plus product? The original dl-alpha from the supplier? How old was the product that was tested? This isn’t an answer
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I haven’t responded back to her, I’ll be sure to ask!
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Assuming that’s true, and if that’s the end of the story, it’s clear she isn’t interested in getting to the bottom of this.
The product needs to be tested towards the middle to end of a bigger bag, as this seems all but guaranteed to be a longevity thing, not an actual initial problem. That all seemed pretty clear from the beginning.
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I asked if they do any testing of older lots…haven’t heard back yet LOL. I told her he was tested towards the end of their 160 day supply bag (40 lbs) and was curious if they have any data backing up shelf life.
Ill keep you all posted.
On that note…do you know of any data that DOES indicate the shelf life stability with Vitamin E? KIS trace offers a similar product, but am questioning now the shelf like angle of some of these supplements. If it all starts to bottom out after a certain time, buying a shorter supply seems like maybe a better approach.
I don’t know of any data but now I add regardless. I had him tested two years ago and he was low despite having been on California Trace plus and 2000 iu of d-alpha vit e capsules. The nature made brand.
He’s been on Emcelle since. Last year it had come up but vet recommended leaving him on it and retesting this year.
ETA - I did switch him to Vermont blend pro regardless.
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Interestingly, the nutritionist that I am in contact with on this said that Vermont Blend doesn’t add Vit E due to all the issues discussed above. After this learning experience, I appreciate they aren’t trying to market it as having it if it isn’t available to the horse!
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I’ve been trying to find any useful info on the stability of d- and dl-alpha tocopherol acetate, and can’t. Lots of references to “not very stable” but no context, other than few where it was directly exposed to sunlight, so not useful!
Hopefully some chemist, or someone else with better search skills, knows or can find something!
I know generally, you want to use textured feeds within about 3 months, pelleted within about 6 months, in part due to the fat-soluble vitamins degrading. I would wager that most people are using feeds that are much fresher than that, so it’s not an issue.
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