Salt in the equine diet

The Role of Salt in the Equine Diet

Sodium, natural element found in the earth bonded with chloride - salt.

Salt is an essential component of a horse's diet, playing a crucial role in maintaining overall health and well-being. Horses require a balanced intake of nutrients, and salt is a key element in this equation.

Salt is a required nutrient for horses each day, most horse feeds do NOT provide adequate salt

• Electrolyte balance, salt is vital for maintaining electrolyte balance in the body.

• Hydration, Sodium in salt helps regulate a horse’s thirst mechanism, meaning that adequate salt intake encourages a horse to drink more water. This is especially important in hot weather and/or during periods of intense physical activity.

Providing Salt in the Diet & feeding recommendation

There are a few different ways to provide salt in your horse’s diet, the most common is a free choice salt block. These are readily available, however, they were originally designed for cattle and some horses won’t like licking them, so it is important to monitor your horse to see if they consume it. The best way to provide your horse with adequate salt is to add loose salt to their feed or to simply offer a bucket of loose salt for self-selection. This will be easier for horses to consume and is often preferred.

• Horse at maintenance 2TBSP/Day (25-28g)

• Horse in hot climate and/or working hard 3-4TBSP/Day