Salt Revisted : Q & A

Q: Why shouldn't I add salt to my horse's daily feed?

A: Horses are able to figure out what their bodies need and in what quantities. By force feeding your horse salt you can in fact be giving your horse too much salt. Most commercial feeds are 1% salt by weight so there is plenty of salt there already. You should offer your horse a free choice loose trace mineral salt (see previous article on free choice minerals). Too much salt can throw off your horse's mineral and electrolyte balances.

Q: Why is my horse chewing his salt block?

A: Horses chew their salt licks because they have a tough time getting an adequate amount of salt off of blocks. Blocks were made for cattle who have rough tongues and can easily scrape salt off the block. Horses however have smooth tongues and it is difficult for them to lick the salt off of the block, so the end up trying to chew on it. Chewing on salt blocks can result in jaw/TMG issues. This is another reason why we prefer to offer free choice loose salt to our horses.

Q: Can I feed my horse table salt? What about blue stock salt??

A: Well, you can, but you shouldn't. Both table salt & other forms of stock salt have been processed, bleached, coloured, things added (like silica) and many of the trace mineral elements have been removed. Part of the reason that horses need salt is for the trace mineral content. A good salt to offer is a loose trace mineral salt – it should be pink or gray in colour. Animals need unrefined, unprocessed real salt.