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[RC] Electrolytes: Are "AccuLytes" OK? - sharon1359

Hi all,

My riding buddy and I have been using Endura-Max electrolytes, which I bought 
after reading Abby Bloxsom's article on Electrolytes 
(http://www.ectra.org/heatpart2.htm) - but we were running low and she offered 
to buy the next round.  

She did some looking around at the various endurance tack suppliers' websites, 
and ended up ordering Vita-Flex's "AccuLytes" - partially because she liked the 
fact that it contained a probiotic, partially because it says it has no sugar 
and therefore will not spoil, and partially because it says it is very 
palatable.

We're doing our first 50 this month, and her mare isn't a good drinker without 
e-lytes, so I want to make sure this brand is OK for distance horses.  

Even though it is sold on Endurance websites, I want more reassurance than 
that...  Ms. Bloxsom's article listed several brands as OK for distance riding, 
and this brand was not among them.  This concerns me - even more so because the 
product description itself did not make any statements about distance riding... 
only "performance horses."  And I know horses that do 3-day eventing or show 
jumping have different e-lyte needs from distance horses... anaerobic vs. 
aerobic, and all that.

I'm also concerned because this brand has NO sugar, yet I've read that a small 
amount of sugar helps with digestion and absorption.  

And I would like to be sure that there are the right proportions of all the 
ingredients.  (I remember seeing a chart somewhere that said what the 
percentages/ratios should be, but I can't find it anywhere.)  

The ingredients and analysis are as follows:

Ingredients:
Malto-dextrin, sodium chloride, potassium citrate, sodium citrate, glycine, 
calcium carbonate, magnesium carbonate, magnesium amino acid chelate 
(aspartate), calcium amino acid chelate, monosodium phosphate, natural 
flavorings, artificial flavoring, Lactobacillus acidophilus, and calcium 
silicate.

Guaranteed Analysis per pound:

Salt (NaCl)
min. 20.00% (90,720 mg)
max. 22.00% (99,792 mg)

Sodium (total)
min. 9.51% (43,146 mg)

Potassium
min. 2.99% (13,600 mg)

Chloride
min. 12.84% (58,271 mg)

Calcium
min. 1.20% (5,444 mg)
max. 1.60% (7,257 mg)

Phosphorus
min. 0.24% (1,104 mg)

Magnesium
min. 0.81% (3,710 mg)

Glycine
min. 4.11% (18,667 mg)

Lactobacillus acidophilus 
1.5 x 10(7) CFU/gm
-------

SO, what do you think?  Are "AccuLytes" a good electrolyte for distance 
riding?  Can anyone point me to the chart I mentioned earlier?  I think it had 
a bunch of information on it, including price comparisons.  

Sorry about the length of this post... I'm a detail-hound, as some of you 
know.  :)

Thanks,
-Sharon K. & Zephyr's Elegant Gift ("Look, Mom, I'm drinking again... now can I 
eat the bucket?")
-Traci T. & Lady Virginia ("Well, if you insist that I eat that icky stuff I 
certainly WILL wash out my mouth a bit, thank you very much!")

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