• ordering
  • shipping

For security purposes we are required to take your credit/debit card information via phone. We can keep all your billing and shipping information on file, with the exception of your 3 digit CID number near the signature line, on the back of your card (which you will need to provide for each order).

After you place your first order with us over the phone, for future orders, you can simply email it to us at sales@vitaroyalproducts.com, with your CID#, and we'll ship it out to you immediately with confirmation.

Our standard shipping is with FedEx Ground. Your orders will be guaranteed to arrive within 5 transit (business) days, anywhere in the U.S., or your shipping is free.

We negotiate for discounted rates with FedEx, based on our shipping volume, in order to get our customers the best possible deal.

Price Breaks:
51-69 lb. single boxes
200 lb. shipment
500 lb. shipment

Vita Royal Products, Inc.OVER 30 YEARS OF PRODUCTS THAT WORK, AND FOR ALL THE RIGHT REASONS
CONTACT US

Vita Royal Products, Inc.
840 Husker Place
Rapid City, SD 57701

Customer Service
p: 605.787.5488
f: 605.787.4178

sales@vitaroyalproducts.com

Webmaster
webmaster@vitaroyalproducts.com

CONSULTATIONS

Consultations

If you'd like a consultation with our biochemist about your horse, all we ask is that you fill out, and return, our Equine Case History Questionnaire. You can provide any test results you may have regarding: water quality, veterinary diagnosis and/or laboratory tests, etc.

HAIR ANALYSIS

Hair Analysis & Systemic Element Levels Testing

Our biochemist has chosen Doctors Data, Inc. to provide our customers with hair elements analysis. With a solid reputation, they have been our laboratory of choice since 1979. Doctors Data has recently described this particular test as:

A measurement of toxic and essential elements

Inexpensive and noninvasive

Extensive research has established that scalp hair element levels are related to human systemic levels. The strength of this relationship varies for specific elements, and many researchers consider hair as the tissue of choice for toxic and several nutrient elements. Unlike blood, hair element levels are not regulated by homeostatic mechanisms. Thus, deviations in hair element levels often appear prior to overt symptoms, and hair analysis can thereby be a valuable preliminary tool for predicting the development of physiological abnormalities.

Instructions:
The volume of, at least, one packed tablespoon of hair is required to complete analysis. Hair samples taken from the chest of animals and back of the head on humans are preferable.

Send your sample and contact information via USPS to our headquaters, and we'll send it to our lab at a bundled rate to briing you the best possible price on the highest quality analysis.

OUR APPROACH

Only Pure Nutrients to Maintain and Improve Health on a Biochemical Level

Vita Royal Products Inc. was established in 1977 in response to the recycled contaminants in food act that was passed in the same year. This act allowed, and continues to allow, the recycling of heavy metals and hazardous chemical waste into fertilizers that supply nutrients for the crops that feed our animals and, in some cases, people as well. These toxins are absorbed into the crops and thus deposited into the animals who eat the processed version(s) of these crops.

Our goal has always been to provide a healthier option for these animals, be they performance horses, pets, cows or chickens for slaughter.

Why Our Products Are Superior to the Competition

We use only pharmaceutical grade ingredients (USP), which are the absolute highest quality ingredients available in the world.

We do not make any products which contain fillers, so a little goes a long way.

All of our products are formulated so that the bioavailability of each ingredient is maximized.

Most importantly, our products work to restore normal, healthy biochemistry; from performance horses to seemingly hopeless and dire cases.


Frequently Asked Questions


Vita Royal's High Protein
Feed Program & Protocol


Q.) How do I get my horse to eat the dry supplement with the dry grain mix?

A.) You should add enough water to be palatable just before you feed the blend. If moisture is not added at the time of feeding, then, since all body chemistry needs a water base to function, it will try to grab it from the mucous membranes, and make eating it tough.


Q.) I am having problems getting my horse to eat the supplements in his grain. Any suggestions? I am currently having to dose him.

A.) Continue to dose him if he will not eat it, however, most find success getting him to eat it if you dose with most of it right before you present him with his grain, and add a little in the grain. This way he will already have the taste in his mouth from the dosing and will assocIate the taste with the grain. Then, as time goes on, reduce the amount you dose and increase the amount in the grain, until all of it is in the grain. Mixing with applesauce or vanilla yogurt has been reported helpful too.


Q.) I have been using the Vita Royal Grain Recipes without supplements, and did not get as good results that you have described in your writings. I then started adding supplements from other companies, and that helped some, but still the results are not great.

A.) You must remember that the recipes I have formulated that are on my web site are designed NOT to be used as is...they were designed to be only used as a base for my specialty line of supplements, which are needed to complete the recipe for health. I have a large selection of specialty items for topdress, that address all of the individual factors that affect horses...age, work load, breed, color and genetic susceptibility, and a host of health problems from arthritis, contracted tendons, epiphysitis, allergy, ulcers and gastrointestinal problems, breeding problems, chronic fatigue, anxiety, nervousness and other behavior problems, obesity, weight loss and poor keeping, chronic infections, hives and other autoimmune problems, as well as environmental illnesses and even EPM. So there are lots of possible combinations of both supplement and feed recipes. I only put these recipes, that I have used for over 20 years, on the internet as a service to my customers and to the feed mills that are doing the custom mixes for them. Again, they are not complete in themselves and not healthy to use alone without the Vita Royal Supplements they are designed for.

I am not trying to sound like a sales pitch here, but I have to legally warn you so that if you get into trouble, you cannot blame me or Vita Royal for any health problems that may ensue.

The element ratios in the recipes are very different from the common ones on the market. The common supplements sold by other companies will not suffice, as they are not designed for either the recipes, or the abnormal biochemistries created in the body by the environmental toxin load all living things now have. This program is truly unique in its conception and application, and all the pieces need to be used together.

This is why I am able to achieve such dramatic successes with cases that conventional med calls "incurable"! If you give me an overview on your horses, case histories, depth of the well, area you live in etc, I will be happy to give you more specific recommendations for fine tuning your program.


Q.) Can we mix apple cider in the feeds with Vita Royal's supplements?

A.) I need to insert a bit of caution to people who are using ANY of the Vita Royal products and ACV, or Apple Cider Vinegar. Since we are addressing the over acidity caused by environmental chemicals, we no longer recommend ACV, even though it was used so successfully in the past. It is a different world now....No added acid of any kind is recommended to be added to the feed and supplements, and will destroy the buffers in the supplements meant to neutralize the acids in the body and protect the acid sensitive amino acid chelates.


Q.) I have a horse that has chronic coughing and choking problems, is fed alfalfa and brand mahes. Do you have nay recommendations? She is always sensitive at the girth.

A.) The key here is the sensitivity at the girth, which can indicate an ulcer or upper GI problem. I am not surprised, as this mare in getting too much phosphorus to calcium and magnesium in usable form. The alfalfa predisposes to thyroid problems and low absorption of calcium and magnesium. This is compounded by the high phosphorus in the bran mashes, which both predispose to high acidity and sensitivity at the girth.

I would recommend adding our Nutrient Buffer® to the regimen and using a balanced grain mix of higher protein overall, such as our recommended Vita Royal Feed recipe, eliminate the alfalfa, and also add a cough expectorant containing guaifenesin, a gum tree extract. This is currently being used quite successfully for fibromyalgia too, as it facilitates the release of excess phosphate and oxalate from the tissues.

Within a few days, this should be a new horse. This complaint is quite common and these feeding problems are usually involved.


Q.) Why are you so much against alfalfa?

A.) There are least five known compounds that interfere with the production of thyroid in the body. With environmental pollution already heavily targeting the thyroid, it doesn't need any more stress. It is one of those feedstuffs that we used to be able to use in past times better than we can now. It's a different world out there now.


Q.) I have learned that alfalfa is high calcium and actually heard recommendations to feed bran to horses on alfalfa diets to help add phosphorus to the diet. Is this all wrong?

A.) The calcium in alfalfa is indeed higher in amount, however, it has been found long ago to be bound to oxalate and therefore not very bioavailable. With the thyroid problems caused by the alfalfa compromising cation uptake and metabolism of calcium and magnesium, this makes the addition of high phosphorus in bran an even bigger insult. Not understanding the binding of the calcium in the alfalfa has led us to all kinds of other misunderstandings down this line of thinking!


Q.) Is it sage to use chlorine tablets in the water to keep it fresh?

A.) Flourine, chlorine and bromine are extremely toxic to the thyroid as they have the ability to bump out iodine molecules in your thyroid hormone, and replace themselves. This creates a phony molecule that our blood tests cannot decipher from a correct one, and which does not work properly in the body. I believe that this kind of environmental pollution also predisposes the body toward Hashimoto's thyroiditis, the leading autoimmune disease of this century. I recommend avoiding all sources of these halogens LIKE THE PLAGUE! FYI - pesticides and herbicides often contain them as well as some common antidepressants. They are very common and in lots of everyday items - hence the problem of comtamination and pollution.


Q.) I have heard that the feed companies add more vitamins to offset those that have been destroyed by pelleting and extruding, so that cooking these feeds is not a problem anymore. Can you explain why this is not enought to make these feeds compatible with your program?

A.) The pressure involved in pelleting of feeds allows total temperatures to be lowered below the boiling point, and still achieve the same effect as a high temp would. This is how pressure cookers work, as well as autoclaves. Adding steam pressure heightens the effects of the temperatures so that you can get by with lower temperatures. It only takes 10 to 20 seconds in the blanching process to effectively kill natural enzymes in freezer preparation of foods, to increase shelf life by months.

These natural enzymes are inherent in all living cells in lysosomes, and will help with self destruction of the cell. This is why we don't see dinosaurs lying around! These natural enzymes help relieve the body eating the food, of the tremendous enzyme burden in the digestion process as a whole. This is the principle of why health rehab centers of cancer and other alternative programs include mostly a raw food diet with raw juices. This principle is also what makes the oriental method of stir frying so healthy. The outside of the pieces are sterilized from the parasites, that are so heavy in those underdeveloped countries, but the interior of the pieces are essentially "raw" with their enzymes intact.

For the extruded feeds, additions of thus and so either before or after the extrusion cooking process still leave us with the problem of the trans fatty acids produced. We know from human studies that these unnatural substances are indigestable to the body and inflammatory in nature, associated with cancer and inflammatory diseases. why would we want these trans fatty acids in the diets of horses with EPM, tying up syndrome or others?


Q.) My horse gets good quality hay and grain that we rease without chemicals. Does he still need supplementation with vitamins and minerals? I am worried that we may overdose him with what is already in the feeds.

A.) Even the federal government has finally come out and stated that there is a severe deficiency in our foods of trace minerals and vitamins, to the tune that humans would have to eat 6 bushels of veggies a day to get the proper nutrition to even meet the RDA! Our food is just not as nutritious any more. So supplementation is a must these days for all living things! "Good hay" may LOOK good to us, but we can't see what is inside. Plants do not need the same nutritional factors to grow and be healthy that animals who eat them do.

The beauty of a blend of amino acid chelated minerals is that you don't have to worry about overdose. Since they are all bioavailable, and do not compete with one another, like many other, even "naturally occurring" ones may, the body uses what it needs and wants and then just excretes the rest. With this program you do not need to be worried about "what is already in the food you are feeding" as the program and supplements will self adjust to any circumstance. This is the main concern that I was addressing when I began formulating commercial supplements over 23 years ago.


Q.)Can you please explain the reasoning behind your worming recommendations?

A.) Addressing the worming recommendations- The individual chemicals selected are the best taken from their chemical classes or families, so as not to duplicate the same drug under a different trade name, as happens so frequently. For instance, Zimectrin® and Eqvaalan® are the same exact item, in the same exact dosage.

The time of rotation, has to do with the length of time in the life cycle of the worms, so as to catch them at their peak times BEFORE they reinfest the host. The "beginning of the month" is just an easy way of remembering, as you pay your bills on the first of the month. Yes, it would be better to do it under a full moon, but even I don't remember to do that! The common wormers that we have today are also used in human medicine. Strongid paste is used in human babies UNDER 2 years old! The molecules are so large and of the type that they don't absorb into the body much at all, and only serve as a "pass through kill" in the digestive tract alone. This makes them quite safe to use frequently.

All parasites are nothing more than reproductive machines. The average female roundworm, for example lives about 11 mos and can lay about 1,000 eggs per month! So, with that in mind, we can see how they have the ability to adapt quickly to any new conditions, as well as drugs that would kill them. The double dose of Strongid paste (pyrantel pamoate) was known to kill tape worms about 8 years ago, but as long as 5 years ago, I have heard of resistance to this dose, with numbers of them found on autopsy at veterinary hospitals in horses on which the double doses were used. Since then, the recommendation has been a triple dose.

I have found that it makes the difference between a successful and unsuccessful GI and ulcer treatment with our Nutrient Buffer® clients too. The double dose just doesn't get it, and can even invite MORE resistance. For this reason, I would never recommend using the Strongid in a single dose. This info does NOT apply to Strongid C, (pyrantel tartrate), a different chemical form. This is the only drug and the only dose that has been proven to kill tapeworms, to my current knowledge. We desperately need to develop something else. If we understand the lifecycle of the common worms affecting horses, then we can see the reasoning for the program I have developed.

Once the egg is consumed, it hatches in the gut and immediately burrows through the gut wall to begin migration through the tissues of the body. No tissue is immune, even the brain is at risk. Their migration can last many months, like strongyles (blood worms) which travel through the body for 10 to 12 months, growing in size, before returning to the intestine through the mesenteric artery, causing aneurisms there, contributing to colic. Once in the intestine, they then complete their development and begin laying eggs to start the infection process all over again.

During the migration process, these larval stages give off waste products in the tissues that are allergenic and inflammatory. They also suck nutrients from the areas they migrate through, as well as do traumatic damage to the tissues, allowing other, less invasive organisms easier entry to the interior of the body. They can feasibly facilitate the migration of protozoa through the body too. They carry organisms like bacteria and yeasts in their digestive tracts that they are able to inject, in a way, directly into the tissues they enter.

Sooo, understanding that we do not have ANY drug or natural substance that will kill the migrating ones, we only have that window of opportunity when they are in the gut, AFTER they complete their migration and return to the intestine to complete development and begin the egg laying process. ANY worming program is really only an after the fact sort of program, but that's the best we can currently do. So staggering the drugs, and using only the best and newest drug in each chemical class is what I have done, to prevent the buildup of resistance as best we can. I have used this technique for the last 25 years, with no side effects whatsoever, and have put new lifetime marks on old race horses! I change the program only by adding and subtracting new and old drugs as they come to market, but the principle remains the same. Even my EPM horses can safely use this program, even the ivermectins, as the intestinal permeablilty problems have been addressed.


Q.) There have been some concerns about Vita Royal's protocol regarding the worming program, can you comment?

A.) First let me address the worming question. There have been reported a few adverse reactions to wormers containing ivermectins, i.e. Quest®, Eqvaalan® and Zimectrin®. I have never had anyone report any severe adverse effects to me of this regarding horses on our Vita Royal Environmental llness program. I do know that these drugs have a higher ability to penetrate the gut and enter body tissues than other wormers and if the horse has severe leaky gut syndrome, the toxicity of these drugs would be markedly increased. I believe that this is the reason for the adverse reactions reported.

Our program addresses this as a prime factor in susceptibility to opportunistic infections in the first place, so it is also understandable why we don't hear of sever problems in this program. I also don't recommend invermectins as the first wormer on the rotation to use, as well, to allow time for the gut to heal and seal normally! These are powerful worming agents and kill some species that others don't. This is why we need to include them. I do begin with Pyrantel Pamoate which is so safe that it is given to human babies under two years old.


Q.) What about the season of the year for worming for Bots? Doesn't it make a difference?

A.) Actually, you worm for bots every third month with the ivermectin family of which Quest® is in, so the cycle is continually repeated. With the fluctuations of the weather, and the difficulty of knowing when the last frost will be, or even if there will be one, this program covers this variation. One thing that I failed to include is that when you use the ivermectins, you should smear the paste all around the oral cavity, under the tongue and in the cheeks as the ivermectins will kill the instar larvae encysted in the oral mucosa. They often encyst there first. Take the water bucket out for a while and hay too so that the horse can't wash it down right away.


Q.) Which drug in this program substitutes for the five day Panacur® treatment they say gets encysted strongyles?

A.) As far as getting encysted larvae the way Panacur® does, I can only say that there have been horses who have been on this program that have been lost to accidents during racing or put down for wobbler's syndrome, severe cuts from barbed wire fencing, EIA and other unrelated health, and had quite clean GI tracts as evidenced upon autopsy. I kept tract of this when I first formulated this program, as I was trying to develop one that would work best & most economically for consumers. So which of these drugs works like Panacur, I can't say. I really think that it is a factor of this program as a whole, and vigilance in maintaining this schedule. I have also had some racing standardbreds that showed continual worm problems, where the owners did use the five day Panacur several times without success. These horses also responded positively to this program, performance improved and several set new lifetime marks after that. Interestingly though, an observation that owners most commonly report with this program is respiratory improvement.

As far as ivermectin use causing flare ups of autoimmune disease, it has also been reported to cause excerbations of EPM as well. I believe that this is because of increased toxicity of this drug if it is absorbed through the gut wall. Our program was developed for environmental illness, autoimmune diseases, Herpes and EPM and addresses "leaky gut syndrome", which I have identified as a major factor in all these syndromes.

With this program, ivermectin and Quest can be used safely, without side effects. I have not had anyone using our program according to correct protocol, report any negative effects after using either of them. Often owners are very pleasantly surprised! With the capabilities these parasites have to adapt for survival, we need all the ammo we can muster. Sooner or later, they will develop resistance to all we have now.


Q.) Can you judge the effectiveness of a wormer by the dead worms in the manure, and a negative fecal for worm eggs following worming? I used Piperzine® and didn't see anything.

A.) Piperzine® is considered by most practicing authorities, to be pretty obsolete against many parasites. They are continually adapting resistance to our every attempt to kill them! I consider fenbendazole in this catagory too, as many have reported no effect from use, but a good effect after use of another wormer of newer status. Just because you see no eggs, does not mean you have no worms! Worms may just be made sick enough to not lay eggs, but not to die! AND, just because you see no dead worms, does not mean no worms either. If they are smaller species, the body may digest them for food.


Q.) There are phosphates and sulfates in the special salt you recommend for the feed. Are they a problem?

A.) Currently, the only way for standard commercial mills to obtain the higher iodine they need for the mix is through the salt mixture. I don't like this mixture either, it is not my ideal. I would prefer to have feed mills use an organic iodine source without the "extras" we don't want, and with salt, but such a product is not currently available generally. I'm working on this problem too. For now, we have to do the best we can with the ingredients that are commercially available. I'm still hoping that a major company, or several major companies will pick this up and do proper quality controls.

For now, we have eliminated what we can, i.e. the big commercial vitamin pack with the heaviest amounts of these phosphates and sulfates, and are dealing with the rest. I'm confident we will be able to work it all out soon, as more demand grows, for more organically grown feed and foodstuffs.


Q.) I'm worried about Selenium tocxicity in combining several different supplements with a fortified feed.

A.) A Mineral's biotoxicity and biochemical activity in the body is determined by its chemical form, or what it is bonded to as the carrier, rather than the actual amount of it. We see this in mercury too. There are chemical forms of all the mineral elements that are toxic and some that are not only NON toxic, but absolutely essential for metabolism and health!

The bioavailability of a mineral as a nutrient is also very important in the selection of minerals as supplements, as they are not all created equal.

The case of magnesium is a good one for example. In the form of a magnesium amino acid chelate, the magnesium is bonded to and carried by amino acids. Since the dry weight of any living body is 90% protein, the body likes this combo a lot and it is fully bioavailable.

If that same magnesium were to be bound to a sulfate molecule, the body hates that combo very intensely, in fact, so intensely that it kicks it out pronto! We use it as a purgative for this reason, and this is called epsom salt. Some feed supplement and feed producers actually use it as a magnesium source too. This is totally inadequate. You have to read labels. This is just an example of the differences of different chemical forms of the same element.

As for selenium, some of the naturally occurring forms that are in certain plants are many times MORE toxic than those we use in supplements. Many years ago, there was a study done with sheep, where half were fed an amount of selenium that was known to kill 50% of the animals (the LD50) in a form of the toxic plants, and the other half fed that same amount of selenium, but in one of the safer chemical forms.

The second group had NO fatalities. So they increased the dose, again in the safer chemical forms, and got the same results.
Of course, there will be a toxic limit with everything, however, the dosage used in supplements are the safer chemical forms and by law, are very low, and most researchers feel TOO low. BUT, combined with the plant forms that ARE toxic, could be trouble.

Bottom line- check your hay for those plants known to carry those toxic chemical forms. The agriculture department in your area should help you.


Q.) Is tobacco a good wormer?

A.) Re; tobacco as a wormer - I don't really know the exact chemical(s) in tobacco that make it toxic to worms, but I do know that tobacco contains at least one neurotoxin that is not good for the horse, or even people! It is also one of those products, like cotton, that are technically grown as a non food item, and therefore, more dangerous pesticides, not permissible for food crops, can be used on it. (As if the regular ones aren't bad enough!). They don't consider it actually ingested when smoked.


Q.) What about the daily wormer?

A.) Re: Daily wormers - I understand that they will kill the larvae ingested that have hatched in the soil and climbed up the moist blades of grass, and waited to be eaten. One should never let horses graze wet grass because of this. The larvae are sensitive and will dry out when the dew or rain does.This is why this kind of colic is most prevalent in the spring and fall when the grass is richer and moister from the higher rains. If you keep your pastures clean, and practice good management, you won't need daily wormers.

Also, this wormer does NOT kill the ones returning from migration, which is why they tell you to follow a regular worming practice too. I once read a study that showed no additional efficacy if the grazing field was not a heavy infestation. So, for the reasons above, it would be a waste of money in the winter, or if the horses did not graze. I don't like the idea of giving a drug on a daily basis anyway. Ivermectin kills only the 4th stage of the larval development, those that are close to the mesenteric artery on their way back to the intestine, at least for strongyles. It is not effective for tapes. To my knowledge, only Strongid paste is and one of the Rotectins, is the same chemical. Since both Strongids are chemically similar, I also would forego the daily wormer on the chance that these very adaptable creatures might be able to use the daily wormer to build resistance to the other. Then we will really be in a pickle!

The small cost of average $10.00 per month is the best insurance policy you can get, in my opinion! The savings of one colic bill, and feed bills and the overall health of the horse is worth it over and again, not to mention performance. One placing of one race per year will pay for it. A second focus of attention would be to be more vigilant in your prevention practices. That's where it really is best anyway. The drugs are just doing a "clean up act".

There is no recommendation by the manufacturer on the box or inside for any dosage of Strongid for tapes, not for double or triple. This info comes from studies done at universities, and from the case histories taken on horses having autopsies done on them there. Recommendations are to worm every six weeks. The average time from re entry into the intestine to the time strongyles begin to lay eggs is 18 to 21 days. If you worm at 30 days, you will interrupt the most of them as they begin their re infestation process. Remember, when you give a dose of wormer, it clears only the gut for the time it passes, with the exception of ivermectin and Onchocerca, then, the next day, you have a new batch completing their migrations and coming back into the gut again. An ounce of prevention.....

I never have problems with gut flora as all the supplements I design have five species of probiotics in them, and they are in every feeding, so the gut is always re innoculated several times per day.


Q.) Is diatomaceous earth a good wormer?

A.) Diatomaceous earth is a very irritating product, and it is so abrasive that it works on the hard exoskeletons of insects too.This abrasion is its mode of action. We have known for a long time, that abrasives like dirt in the gut, can contribute to ulcers by stimulating the lining of the stomach to produce acid, thinking that there is more food there than there is. Abrasives like dirt, can also contribute to the formation of scar tissue in the lower intestine, interfering with absorption of nutrients, contributing to the making of "hard keepers". Diatomaceous earth is much MORE abrasive than common dirt, to which insects are resistant. For this reason, I use it around my house, but not INSIDE a body.


Q.) My horse has had reactions to every wormer on the market. Can he now be wormed with your program safely?

A.) As far as reactions to all wormers go, I have had many of my EPMers and Enviromental Illness horses report the same thing and the owners not want to worm them any more. I believe this is a reaction of leaky gut syndrome, allowing the passage of the drugs that were designed NOT to penetrate the intact gut wall. But the gut wall is not intact, and this is the problem. When they had been on the VitaRoyal program for about 2 weeks, which addresses this problem, they began the monthly worming program without any effects whatsoever. Same for people. It is easy to see food particles in the blood when you put a drop of blood on a slide, lay a coverslip, wait a few minutes for it to coagulate and view under the microscope. Most easily seen with people are migrating worms too. People are horrified when we look at THEIR blood at the seminars. They are often worse than the horses!


Q.) What is a triple dose? Is that a single dose given over three days?

A.) A triple dose is three times the dose for their body weight, not necessarily 3 tubes, given all at once, preferably in the morning, and then it is good to walk the horse for 10 or 15 minutes.


Q.) What is a wet mount and flotation for fecals for worms?

A.) A wet slide mount is done by picking up a nice *juicy* sample of manure so fresh as it falls from the horse -LITERALLY! I usually prefer to fetch my own sample with a sleeve and not wait. Then, I squeeze out 1 drop of liquid onto the slide, lay over a coverslip and put it under the microscope. A flotation method would be to take a sample of the manure and mix it with a special solution that makes the eggs float, then examine a drop of the top fluid under the scope.


Q.) What about doing fecals on a monthly basis? Would that be better for assessment of worms?

A.) I have tried doing fecals from a fresh wet mount, and with floatation techniques. I got much better results, more positives, with the fresh wet mount. I think that sometimes the immune system of a healthy horse will in some way, inhibit egg laying of the parasites, and even affect the development of tbe eggs themselves to cause them to not float, as well as affect their life cycles so that they continue to just keep migrating through tissues until they finally die. This effect is known well in humans, and given the name of "visceral larval migrans". This affects health greatly, as the worst damage is from their migrations, and not so much as what food they steal. So, a negative fecal is not conclusive. Horses are vacuum cleaners in domestication! They don't have to fend for their lives, don't have to worry about food, and are confined to a limited area. These conditions make for parasite heavens!


Q.) I would like to know how effective free choice feeding of minerals is? My horse doesn't eat them consistently. Do they really go after only the things that they need?

A.) The free choice idea is a very old one that has not been shown to work effectively even in highly intelligent species like ourselves! If you present a child with a choice of a Twinkie or a salad, it is likely he will take the Twinkie!

Horses are no different, and have been shown to favor what tastes good rather than what they need! And different chemical forms of the same mineral have different tastes - and different bioavailabilities! This is the reason that I favor the use of amino acid chelates or proteinates exclusively for trace mineral supplementation.

The most common chemical forms of trace minerals in supplements are sulfates and phosphates, which are both acidic. With the highly bioavailable amino acid chelates, which also do not change pH of the digestive tract, a body can use what it wants and safely disregard and eliminate the rest. Then this supplement can be truly "self regulating"! The body needs these elements on a daily basis, not just when they happen to taste good!


Q.) I have heard of horses on pasture that eat poisonous plants with lots of other plants to choose from.

A.) Another proof to my pudding! Like children in deprived areas suffering severe calcium and magnesium deficiencies, and who crave paint containing lead, which substitutes in the body for calcium and magnesium. The body here, doesn't know the difference either!


Q.) I am using a supplement that advertises chelates but doesn't say amino acid or anything like that on the label. Are these the same as Vita Royal's? Is there more than one kind of chelate?

A.) A word about chelates..."chelate" means claw in Greek, and just describes a type of bonding process, NOT what the mineral is bonded TO. Like saying "I drive a car", but doesn't give details like if you drive a 2000 Ferrari or a 1966 Chevy! There is definitely a difference!

There are many kinds of chelates. Some, like gluconates, are notoriously unstable, and famous for causing gastric distress, and others like EDTA which are so strong that they never let go of the mineral at all - great for chelation therapy but not for nutrition. The best and most bioavailable and least toxic are the amino acid chelates. As 90% of the dry weight of a body is protein, amino acids and small peptides are the carrier proteins for minerals, so no digestion or assembly is needed. They are essentially "pre digested", great for health compromised individuals. These are the only chelates I ever use, most expensive, but sooo very worth it! You must read labels to see what chelates you are getting. Some are no better than using inorganics.


Q.) Are all the makers of your feed recipes listed on your web site and in your literature, or are there others? How do I find one in my area?

A.) No one from your area has told us that they wish to be advertised on the internet, but many people are taking the recipes to their local mills and having them made for them all over the US. This is the great part about them, no long distance freight! Therefore, the cost is much less, and much less than commercial recipes too! The savings here make our supplements, which is the other half of the recipe, and the whole program affordable, while providing a better quality of health for your herd.


© 2011 Vita Royal Products Inc.

Vita Royal Recycles:
our green packaging

We use as much recycled materials for packaging as we can.

From shredded packing material, to reused packing material, to reused/recycled shipping boxes; we are doing our part to eliminate waste and reduce costs.

Through co-operative corporate relationships, these recycled materials come from other companies that receive products primarily for a retail sales floor, and they don't do much outbound shipping. These companies would ordinarily pay to process their packing waste by weight. Instead, we take that cost burden off their hands (and reduce our own costs) by simply reusing these materials.

We are proud to take part in corporate co-operative initiatives that ease the cost of doing business for the whole Vita Royal community.

Learn About Our Biochemist
External Resources
OrderFeedback