Just like us, horses need a good balance of nutrients, including salt. But did you know that there are different types of salt for horses? Giving your equine salt every day ensures that their maintenance sodium needs are met, which is vital for hydration. Continue reading for some tips on which types of salt to give your horses. Also, if you are looking for a horse property for sale in Colorado, contact Colorado Horse Property today and speak with one of our horse-person realtors.
What Kind of Salt Should I Use?
Firstly, make sure you’re using sodium chloride and not Lite Salt. Lite Salt is a blend of salt that includes potassium chloride, which will not give your horse its maintenance salt. Sodium chloride comes in many forms, including plain white salt block, iodized salt, sea salt, kosher salt, Himalayan salt, and others. To keep your horse’s sodium level balanced, use plain white salt block. However, some horses are known to be picky eaters, in which case use a form of salt your horse prefers. As long as the packaging says sodium chloride, it can be used for horses.
But how much salt does the average horse need to maintain healthy levels? A 1,100-pound horse at maintenance on a cool day needs the amount of sodium provided by about 28 grams of sodium chloride. That is the equivalent of 1 ounce or 2 tablespoons of salt. This might seem like a lot, but remember your horse is a lot bigger than you and therefore needs more than you. If your horse doesn’t like salt-licks, you’ll have to add the sodium straight to their food. You can add the sodium chloride to their feed yourself, so you know they are getting the nutrients they need for hydration. However, you should still keep the block salt around so that your horse can consume more if they want.
