Adding salt to feed

[ramsaybailey]

Hello,
Just looking for some salt advice, I'm going to start adding it to my pony's feed, is there a certain type of salt they should be eating? Will regular every day table salt do?
Thanks ?

 

[oldie48]

I just add ordinary cooking salt, about a tablespoon in each feed.

 

[MuddyMonster]

I add regular tablesalt to water, as mine won't eat it in feed.

 

[TPO]

A 500kg Horse needs 10g of sodium per day (25g of salt) for maintenance needs, this is without exercise or sweating on hot days.
1 - 2 tablespoons of salt per day, added to the horses feed is a reasonable amount to cover maintenance requirements. Working horses will require additional electrolytes.

Copy and Paste job.

Also suggests dissolving slat in water then spraying over hay for fussy eaters.

 

[Leo Walker]

Mine get 25gms when not working and 45gms when in work and when the grass is flushing.

 

[ramsaybailey]

Mine get 25gms when not working and 45gms when in work and when the grass is flushing.

Thanks! Just standard table salt?

 

[paddy555]

Thanks! Just standard table salt?

just standard table salt. I buy it from Tesco 3kg packs or similar from Asda.

 

[ramsaybailey]

just standard table salt. I buy it from Tesco 3kg packs or similar from Asda.

Thanks! ?
k

 

[Griffin]

I give mine a good pinch of Simple Systems Summer Salt every day but you can use just table salt (I just happened to end up with a tub of the Simple Systems one). In the summer or in harder work, I give more salt.

 

[JennBags]

I feed sea salt rather than table salt, I think they put other stuff into table salt, can't remember or quote any sources but when I researched before I decided I'd get sea salt.

 

[blodwyn1]

I feed global herbs black salt. It is supposed to help reduce itchiness and help the gut.

 

[Lois Lame]

Or you could provide a huge lump of Himalayan rock salt and let the horse decide.

 

[TPO]

Or you could provide a huge lump of Himalayan rock salt and let the horse decide.

Horses can't meet their requirements via a lick, even if they licked it all day.

 

[Shay]

If you are feeding table salt as well as a commercial feed you just need to watch out for too much iodine. Not all table salts are iodized - but the chepaer ones are becuase it is an anti caking agent.

What horse needs is the sodium - not sodium chloride specifically. So there may be added sodium in commercial feeds or in any added Vits / mins already being fed so you might find the base requirement is met without adding extra. The jury is actually out on whether horses consume enough salt from a lick - there is research both ways. But TPO is right that the balance of opinion at the moment appears to be a lick alone is not enough. But combined with electrolytes or other supplements in commercial feed it does offer a choice. Certainly if feeding straights alone without supplementation it will absolutely not be.

I like to give the hosres a degree of choice. So there is sufficient sodium in their feed and standard supplement to meet normal baseline requirements. They have access to a salt lick year round and in hot weather / more work I also offer one water bucket with electrolytes and one without. The only exception is eventing or heavy work like PC camp when I add electrolytes to feed, but remove it from the water.

 

[Shilasdair]

Rather than just feeding salt (sodium chloride), it would be better to include a broader range of electrolytes.