Salt

[chickflick1066]

Do you add salt to your pony's diet? If so, why? And, how much?

Thanks

[mabel]

I don't add it but they have a salt lick in the field. Some days they're all drooling over it and other days they don't touch it.

[chickflick1066]

Does it just replace the 'minerals' lost during excessive sweating?

[mabel]

Got this from a website - Sodium (which is a component of salt), is necessary for body fluid regulation. Nervous transmission. Muscle metabolism. Blood formation.

I give mine the himalyan salt licks which do have lots of minerals in too including magnesium which is apparently good for laminitis.

[admin]

This is just my personal view - so plenty disagree with it!

When horses sweat they loose much more than sodium, which is what is in plain salt (as sodium chloride).

By just replacing sodium you can cause as much of a ion imbalance as if you gave no salt.

SO I always use a proper balance electrolyte. Tilly is a very sweaty horse, so I give some everytime she's got very sweaty - which is as often in the winter as the summer.

Olivia

[bevbob]

I use a himalayan salt lick now thanks to Kim! Bobs loves it and I have noticed hes licking it much more than usual now.
Kim I didnt know it had magnesium in it! thanks again for that lol.
There is always a pool of slobber on the floor underneath it and they last a lot longer than a normal salt lick too.

[mabel]

I bought another one the other day and noticed the magnesium on the leaflet that came with it. I was quite pleased because I was looking for a rockies one too and they didn't have any in. Glad Bobs like it, mine really dribble over it LOL.

[jacquidales]

I'm with Olivia on this one. A salt lick in the field is ideal for everyday use, but if a horse is sweaty due to work, or they sweat excessively due to heat, then a good electrolite is essential.

[loopylou]

Salt licks are the best and then they will use them as they feel they need it, just like we would with chocolate, LOL. If you ad the salt to the feed they might have more than they need some days, if that makes sense.

[chickflick1066]

Olivia and Jacqui - I'm a bit lost on elctrolytes. I'd appreciate some further tips pretty please

[admin]

electrolytes are basically a mix of salt (sodium chloride) plus other ions (like magnesium) that the body needs to function (see mabel's reply). When a horse sweats (or if you do) they sweat out water, plus various salts (which is why your sweat tastes salty). In an electrolyte the salts (or ions) are in balanced proportions so that they replace all the ions sweated out, rather than just the sodium that plain salt replaces.

Different makes also have various different things added, but the basica ingredients are just the same.

They do come in different flavours so I'd just go by the variety you think your horse would most like (I brought a cherry one once which was GROSS!!! - Tilly's favourite was a NAF apple flavour one).

You can put salts in water (though you must always offer plain water too) but some horses (like Tilly) won't touch water with electrolytes in. So you can add them to feeds too, which is what I always do.

If the weather is very hot Tilly gets a half dose whenever she works (and therefore gets a token feed), otherwise it's just when she gets sweaty from work or long travelling.

Does that help?

Olivia

[chickflick1066]

Thanks Olivia I saw just some normal Electrosalts on the NAF site, I will give them a try