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Salt year round?

Horse Care
#21

One summer, when I was feeding an ounce of salt a day and had a 7 lb Redmond block, I calculated my horse was going through a pound of salt a week.

Right now she has a 50 lb block I gave her in October 2021, which is quite worn after 14 months, and gets an ounce daily in her mash but that’s been inconsistent over the past year. I ran out in the summer and took a while to source plain white again.

But if you think about it, going through a 50 lb block in a year would be a pound a week. I don’t know how long most horses blocks last.

#22

Yes everyday I add salt to their feed in addition to keeping white blocks in their field.

#23

This is not true. I am a feed company nutritionist. Salt is not added to commercial feeds at a high enough level to meet a horse’s sodium requirements. Most horses would not willingly consume the recommended amount of concentrate if we increased the salt content to that level. Therefore, salt should always be provided year-round in addition to whatever forage and concentrate the horse gets.

For some horses, a plain white salt block will satisfy this need. For others, free-choice loose salt works. Some must have salt “hidden” in a mash or other highly palatable carrier to get them to take in enough to meet their requirement, especially if they are working hard and sweating heavily.

13 Likes
#24

I add salt almost every day. If we have a stretch of pleasant, consistent weather in the spring or fall, I sometimes back off for a few days or even weeks. But I definitely feed it through summer and winter.

I don’t add anywhere near the recommended daily requirements; I only add about 1-2 teaspoons. The horses always have access to salt blocks and I want them to utilize them and self-regulate as much as they can, but I also don’t entirely trust them to do so because… horses. :woman_shrugging:

1 Like
#25

I don’t add salt to their feed but they have a big block year round .

#26

Totally agree. That is why many feed manufacturers still recommend salt blocks in addition to feed.

If you (g) are worried about too many minerals, simply feed plain salt.

If the horse is turning down feed because of the salt, there is likely way too much salt in the feed.

That said, don’t be like one barn owner I knew who took a salt shaker and sprinkled about 6 grains of salt over feed. That won’t do it. :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

3 Likes
#27

Not sure where to post this, but if you haven’t already taken a look at FeedXL.com, it has been very handy for me and I only have one or two horses at any given time.

Their database is huge, and you can do a lot of “what ifs” by comparing two different feeds, or by improving quality of hay, etc.

Mine are forage based, with a ration balancer, and FeedXL tells me that I never meet their sodium requirements, so mine get 1-2TBS plus a himalyan salt block. Although they both get the same in their mash, one horse goes through a 4lb block in a month, the other takes six months.

Go figure. Horses!

#28

ok here is my question - should i add just a plain salt supplement from smartpak or use electrolytes (obviously made up of more than just salt)? i’ve read that salt should be used every day as opposed to electrolytes, which should be used only on certain occasions

#29

I give salt year round and just use regular table salt.

However, friendly reminder to those giving table salt to get the kind WITHOUT iodine. If your horse is getting a commercial grain, blancer, or vit/min supplement they’ll be getting the iodine they need that way.

1 Like
#30

is this ok?

https://www.smartpakequine.com/ps/salt-5005

#31

Yes, my horses have access to a salt block 365 days a year.

#32

Its interesting - i have two horses. No salt added to feed. One goes through his salt block quite quickly. Get a drink, lick the block. Get a treat, lick the block. Hay, salt block. All year round. Ever since I got him. The other horse WILL NOT TOUCH his salt block, in spite of multiple attempts to convince him it is not poison. Edited to add: If I wet my hand and rub the block, he will lick my hand. But not enthusiastically, it seems he just wants to check whats there and not thrilled.

1 Like
#33

One of my horses will not lick a salt block and I have tried every kind; one will consume them very fast; one is average. I add one tablespoon of iodized salt to their breakfast. When temperatures drop, I add another tablespoon to a hay mash (soaked hay pellets, of the same kind of hay that they are getting in their regular diet).

#34

When I asked my vet this very question she said definitely yes, add salt to their feed every day. Then she said don’t leave it up to the horses to lick adequate daily amounts from a salt block, especially a big cattle block like I had because the texture was too coarse for many horse’s tongues and they avoid using them.

Now five years later that same cattle block still sits next to the water trough untouched. They do use the nice slick Himalayan hanging ones on occasion, but since they are only in the stalls long enough to eat and then run back out to graze the four year old hanging blocks are still pretty intact.

#35

exactly the same for me–I have one who loves the salt block and the other one who doesn’t use it at all. The one that doesn’t use it, however, I noticed WAS eating dirt in pasture. So, I started adding non-iodized table salt to her feed. She no longer eats the dirt.

1 Like
#36

i am a bit confused about iodized vs non

#37

What part?

A lot of table salt has iodine added to prevent deficiencies and goiter in humans.

You can also buy non-iodized salt at the grocery store. Salt for other purposes (livestock, pools, winter weather, water softeners, etc) generally does not have supplemental iodine.

Since a full serving of fortified horse feed has enough iodine to meet horses’ nutritional needs, feeding a lot of iodized salt regularly in addition to feed might put a horse into a dietary excess.

But it all just depends on how much the horse is getting in its diet; hay alone is often low in iodine so a horse on a forage only diet might benefit from iodized salt.

Sorry if this is over explaining or not what you are asking.

2 Likes
#38

this is perfect thanks - so i need to check her feed to see if the salt im giving should be iodized or not

#39

Growing up I only ever had salt blocks out, I never added salt to their feed. Then I briefly boarded at a farm where they added salt to the feed for everyone. When I moved my horses back home after a year, they wouldn’t touch salt blocks even though I stopped putting the salt in their feed. So then I put a feed bucket of loose salt in a communal spot and they would go there after a meal to eat the loose salt - still never touched a salt block. Now I am back to putting salt in their feed all year long and I never see them at the salt bucket, although I keep it fresh for them. I haven’t bought a salt block in about 10 years.

I have only ever fed electrolytes in situations where a horse is not drinking well. I had a boarder here who would occasionally stop drinking for no apparent reason. We’d give her electrolytes for a few days, and then she’d be fine for several months :woman_shrugging:

1 Like
#40

and do you give iodized or non iodized?

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