My mare prefers the Himalayan blocks, but really, salt is salt for her. When I moved her last May, she inherited, in her shed, a 1 foot square block of salt which had been licked down to about 9 inches. I check it occasionally, and it’s decreasing, so I know she must be licking it even though I never see her do it. But it may take another year or two for her to finish it!
Good information!
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I had read a very interesting piece on the importance of salt, and after my vet had told me to pitch the electrolytes and feed just salt, I got to digging, and I was pretty amazed at the types of symptoms that correspond to salt deficiency, and how many of those issues I had seen from time to time in my own horse, especially before he was on electrolytes, but still sometimes while on. It was an eye opener and then I just had to get the correct answer on amounts and types… The iodized vs non, etc. I’m not sure how picky my guy is going to be about the salt, he ate up the electrolytes just fine, which smelled amazingly of apple, but upon tasting (yes, I tasted them) they tasted like a very strong salt anyway. He’s eating a senior grain now, so it’s nice and sticky and I shouldn’t have much trouble getting the salt into him that way.
This brings me to my next point, that horses at risk of impaction colic should receive more salt to help promote healthy drinking and thus helping to keep things going smoothly. I’m considering a change of hay which will leave him at a higher risk, because it’s a finer hay, and so salt is becoming more and more important to me now!
If you haven’t heard much about salt, and just assume electrolytes will do the job (they dont! and often still don’t contain enough SALT) I strongly suggest google and research! It’s quite enlightening, and also, salt is cheap! Yippee![/QUOTE]
For as long as I can remember, I have added 1tblspn of the loose red mineral salt to their grain, however little they get.
Haven’t had a problem with anyone not eating it.
Loose salt from Costco in a bin, himalyan, mineral block, plain white. All have wear and tear but having options seems to encourage them to always use it.
45 years of horse ownership, Never had a horse cut, slice or get abrasions on their tongue, lips or other body parts from either a white or red block or brick. Never tried the Himalayan stuff, refuse to buy spendy salt, it’s salt.
My horse gets a salt block year round and daily electrolytes during the summer. I live in a very hot, humid area
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My horse gets a salt block year round and daily electrolytes during the summer. I live in a very hot, humid area[/QUOTE]
I do as well, but after speaking with my vet, and learning a little bit more about salt, and having a horse that won’t lick salt blocks, I’ve come to realize he needs loose salt offered to him. With the amount of other nutrients he receives from his diet, he is lacking in the balance between potassium and salt, and electrolytes wont fix that, since they include even more potassium.
One tablespoon (currently Redmond loose salt) in her evening mash, plus a Redmond block in a dish on the floor of the stall. She can go through a seven pound Redmond block in about seven to eight weeks, in the summer.
Spam reported.
Bumped up an old thread.
1 tablespoon of loose sea salt AM and PM, plus a scoop of electrolytes at PM, all year round. He also has a pink Himalayan salt lick on a rope in his stall if he wants more, and that does get some use.
I give 1 tablespoon of salt with meals year round. In the summer I generally feed salt at one meal and electrolytes at the other. I also have a white salt block available.
Kosher salt, 1 tbsp in AM grain, and 1 tbsp in PM grain.
I put 1/2 a tbsp of iodized salt in each meal.
:lol:
My 2¢ on a Zombie thread is equally antiquated, as it comes from nearly 20yo vet advice.
When blood work showed my TB deficient, vet recommended a salt substitute (potassium chloride) rather than table salt (sodium chloride).
IIRC, just a tablespoon added to grain daily.
I put one of the 50lb white salt blocks in each stall. They seem to be consuming more than if I use the smaller ones.
