What do you do with your salt block? I had a small tub for one but filly has decided its her mission to dump it every day.
If I put it in the bin where I feed nummies, small bits get pushed behind. I could just move it from side to side each day.
Curious what others do.
I have a dedicated salt block holder that takes a 50 lb block. Bedding and hay gets in it, but the block tends to stay inside.
2 Likes
I stopped using salt blocks period. A horse’s tongue is not rough enough for them to lick enough to get what they need.
A secured-to-something tub or a hanging bucket of Loose Salt is a much better choice.
7 Likes
I hang a goat feeder which is the perfect size to hold a half a small salt block. I’m not a fan of wall mounted holders and I have one horse that eats salt blocks so I don’t like to give him too much at once. The goat feeder solves both issues. A well placed wack with a hammer breaks the salt block in two.
1 Like
I use the 50lb blocks and the holder that Scribbler posted above.
They are under the over hang outside the stalls.
My horses seems to do fine with that set-up.
One eats lots of salt, one eats almost no salt.
2 Likes
If there’s a way to have loose salt out, or add it to feed, that’s much better for most horses. Smooth tongues don’t do well with rough blocks. Most horses won’t eat any, or enough, and some will end up eating too much because they decide to bite chunks off rather than lick.
Otherwise, I would be using something like Scribbler posted
3 Likes
My gelding prefers the Himalayan salt blocks much to my wallets dismay. We get the ones with the ropes and I just tie it near his water buckets. He likes to dunk and lick.
I tried a big 50 lb regular old white salt lick and it went untouched for a very long time. Then he licked at it a little bit bt definitely wasn’t a fan.
2 Likes
I use 50 lb white blocks in a salt block holder in the fields and Himalayan salt on a rope in the stalls.
I tried free choice loose salt per the recommendations and did not have any luck with my herd utilizing it. I give them a small serving of loose salt in their feed daily and they utilize the blocks as needed to make up any difference. No salt related deaths yet. 
5 Likes
I add some loose salt to the feed and my horse also has a Himalayan block hanging on the wall. (In the summer, I add electrolytes instead). I think the hanging block is as much entertainment as anything else.
I’ve noticed that some ration balancers have salt added, and that may be true for complete feeds as well.
1 Like
I’ll add another anecdote. I bought the Fortiflex holder mentioned above, and a 50 pound salt block from Tractor Supply when I bought my barn. The salt block sits next to the water trough under the barn overhang for protection and ready access. It shows no evidence of actually having been licked for 10 years so far, and the horses have access to it 24/7/365.
About 5 years ago I hung Himalayan salt-on-a-rope in the stalls, and these do get used. I do not use bedding in the stalls, so I can see these hanging salt licks dripping water and leaving puddles of salty water on top of the rubber mats in the stalls, so I have no idea how much salt the horses actually get into their bodies from them versus how much just drips on the floor as salt water as the salt blocks absorb water from the air.
3 Likes
My mare gets an ounce a day of salt in her mash and still beavers away at her salt block. Her last 50 lb block lasted two years. That means she’s getting half a pound of salt a week off the block, and then almost half a pound (7 ounces) in her mash, so a pound a week. That tallies with how my Redmond 7 lb block used to last two months, with the same salt ration in her food.
I didn’t want to force feed her too much salt, so this works. And she’s definitely using the block.
Other horse I caretake also gets the ounce in her mash. She currently has a Himalayan crystal 5 lb block but makes much less progress with it. She’s very mouthy so I think if she needed salt she would be working away at the block more.
I will add that it appears salt likes are very personal things.
I have one horse who only likes the white salt. I have hung more than one brand of Himalayan and they have not been touched.
Another horse prefers Himalayan, but one brand, not a different brand.
1 Like
I’m feeding a heaping TBLS twice a day (with their soaked hay pellets/vit/minerals/etc) and they gobble it down. When you test hay and see high potassium level thus driving the need for sodium. And in bloodwork both my critters show low sodium.
I’m feeding SEA mineral salt and then have various salt blocks sitting around and they do lick them some as well.
I cannot imagine not feeling loose salt.
1 Like
Forage has decent chloride, but little to no sodium, which is why horses have to consume salt outside of that. And yes, forages tend to have way more K than horses need.
2 Likes
Pls do tell more. What is the relationship between chloride and sodium? What is the difference? I know I could look it up but thought others would benefit too.
(I just looked it up and cannot understand what they are saying.) 
I also quit using them for the most part. They all get salt in their feed daily plus extra elytes when they work hard or if it’s so hot they sweat just standing around. If I put them in the field, I have one pony that will gorge on it and then drink, gorge and drink, repeat until she gives herself horrible diarrhea and acts colicky and the rest think it’s a fun toy to destroy
Salt is sodium chloride 
But please do tell more why you said forage has decent chloride but little sodium. Why does that matter or what does that really mean? Is it meaningful?
It means forage doesn’t provide “salt”, it only provides a bit of chloride (which is still an essential nutrient). Technically you could feed just sodium, but not only do you generally not know how much chloride is in your hay (because most can’t reasonably test), certainly not in your grass, it’s just easier to feed salt, which is cheap
2 Likes
we attend several large shows were afterwards we will check the stalls, usually find fifteen to twenty five of the Himalayan salt blocks on ropes left hanging in the stalls
Our horses have access to salt blocks, loose salt and blocks of the Himalayan salt, they prefer the Himalayan salt
1 Like
