4 mins
Salt powders, lick blocks, electrolyte drenches and rehydration pastes are all popular additions to a working horse’s summer diet. However, getting the right balance, choosing the right form of supplement and knowing how much to give can be difficult if an owner doesn’t understand the reasons why salts or electrolytes are needed. Read on to find out why adding a salt supplement is important and how to select the best type for your horse.
Why does a horse need added salts in their diet?
Next to readily available fresh water and roughage, salt is regarded as one of the most important components of a horse’s diet. On average, a 500kg resting horse requires 10 grams of sodium and 40 grams of chloride daily. As the work level increases, so does the horse’s requirement for sodium and chloride due to sweat loss.
During exercise, 80% of the energy metabolised in exercising horses is given off as heat. This is dissipated by evaporation of sweat secreted from the skin surface to cool the body during exercise. Sweat loss of 4 – 5 litres/hour can occur during moderate exercise under cool conditions, increasing by 33% under warm conditions and doubling to 10-11 litres/hour under hot conditions.
Which salts are important?
The electrolytes sodium and chloride (making up the common ‘table’ salt NaCl) as well as potassium (K), are important to provide in a balanced ratio depending on the sweat loss of your horse. These key salts are required by all horses as they are crucial for body function and performance.
- Sodium is important for muscles, nerve impulses and protein digestion, as well as the absorption of nutrients.
- Chlorine is essential for the maintenance of correct pH and transport of carbon dioxide from tissues to lungs.
- Potassium salts should not be overlooked as they are lost easily in exercise and are crucial for nerve and muscle function, particularly during exercise.
Signs of Salt deficiency or Dehydration
A salt deficiency or dehydration is caused by the excessive loss of essential salts without adequate replacement of fluid and salts by dietary intake. Dehydration can occur at any time but is more likely to occur after heavy sweating during exercise especially on a hot day, but also from reduced water intake, diarrhoea and feeding an excess of dry feed such as hay and chaff.
The most common signs of dehydration are:
- Increased lethargy
- ‘Sticky’ skin which stays ‘tented’ after being pinched together by two fingers
- A reduction in, or loss of, appetite
- A change in sweat output, this can mean sweating excessively or not at all
- Mucous membranes may appear to be red and dry inside mouth with dry gums
- Reduced performance or poor recovery
- Urine is darker than normal
Types of Salt Supplements
Pastures, hay and feed do contain some salt, however, supplementation is recommended to correct shortfalls, especially for sweat loss in working horses. There are a variety of salt and electrolyte supplements available in different forms including electrolyte pastes, salt blocks and feed additives.
Whilst convenient, care must be taken when administering electrolyte pastes as these concentrated pastes can cause gastric irritation. Giving an electrolyte paste after work may also decrease the horses desire to drink, which is essential to replenish fluids lost.
Free-choice salt blocks are often offered to horses; however, these are not a reliable source of salt supplementation for many reasons. Salt licks or blocks can deteriorate outside in the weather and be affected by mould. Some horses may bite or gnaw at the block instead of licking, whilst other horses will not lick the salt block at all, making lick blocks a ‘hit and miss’ method of supplementation.
Most experts agree that feed-based salt mixes and supplements are the preferred source of additional salts and electrolytes. This is because the addition of salt to the ration can be carefully controlled each day so that your horse gets the right dosage rate to replace salts lost during sweat on hot days and after exercise.
Kohnke’s Own Cell-Salts
Kohnke’s Own Cell-Salts contains essential salts including sodium, potassium, magnesium and chloride as a concentrated, feed-based electrolyte supplement. Cell-Salts contains glucose to assist sweat replenishment in normal or variable weather conditions. It does not supply excessive glucose (sugar) to sugar-sensitive, EMS or IR horses and ponies at risk of laminitis.
As salts are reactive and can negatively affect the potency of vitamins and other feed nutrients when mixed into a feed, it is important to choose a well formulated supplement. Cell-Salts has an oil coating to reduce the reactivity of ingredients, making it stable and able to be mixed with all types of feed, wet or dry. Cell-Salts is gentle on the stomach, does not cause digestive upset or increase the risk of gastric irritation and subsequent ulceration, as compared to a concentrated paste or liquid salt solutions.
Feeding Salts to Horses in Hot and Humid Climates
All horses can benefit from Cell-Salts throughout the year, it is particularly recommended if horses are in regular work. For heavy sweating horses, or those in hot, humid or tropical regions, Kohnke’s Own Troppo Salts is recommended. Troppo-Salts (available in most Horseland stores) has a higher ratio of potassium to sodium, because horses in hot and humid climates sweat more profusely and lose more potassium through sweat. Troppo-Salts also has other nutrients, such as vitamin E, vitamin C, organic chelated zinc and L-arginine, which is helpful for heavy sweating horses in humid weather. The added nutrients in Troppo-Salts may also help horses suffering from anhydrosis, which may be a problem for horses in tropical weather regions in QLD, NT and upper WA.
Summary of Key Points:
- Feed salt relative to exercise level and sweat loss, this is particularly important in warmer spring and summer months.
- Salt deficiencies can cause dehydration, so know the signs to be prepared
- We recommend Kohnke’s Own Cell-Salts keep your horse well hydrated, healthy and ready to perform during warm weather.
At Horseland we’re here to help care for your horse’s wellbeing. We offer all the essentials to keep your horse healthy and happy, from wormers and equine first aid supplies, to supplements and pest control. Head into your local Horseland store or browse our range of horse health products online.
Dr. John Kohnke BVSc RDA,
Managing Director, Kohnke’s Own Horse Supplements
Georgia Grech BSc (Zoology)
Nutritional Advisor, Kohnke’s Own
