Can a horse overdose on salt?

Irishcobs

Irishcobs

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My new mare loves her Himalayan salt lick.
She will completely lick a 1kg block in about 2 1/2- 3 weeks. Which is a lot faster then any of my other horses but she is the only one that is stabled. So I bought her a 2.5kg block today but am now worried she could be overdosing on it.
Surely a horse would only lick it if it needs the salt?
 
I think you're right, horses seem to be pretty good at finding what they need when they need it. They had to in the wild after all!! I'd keep an eye on how much she's drinking, the colour and viscosity of her urine and her hydration. If you pinch her skin and it stays raised then she's dehydrated. Does she sweat a lot? Is she generally a hot horse? My friends 17hh gelding gets through a lot of salt but he also drinks a lot and is generally a hot horse. The himalayan salt isn't particularly concentrated, i'd say less so than the old fashioned white salt licks. It's like the difference between table salt and sea salt.
 
She doesn't really drink alot, I would say normal amount for a big horse. She does sweat alot though but is over weight and unfit so I'm working on her fitness at the moment.
I haven't seen her pee yet but will keep an eye out. Her bed isn't that wet, so I don't think she pees excessively.
 
Hi, i have a 5yr 16.hh IDxCob who also loves her salt lick, she can devour a lick on a rope within a matter of days when she is stabled. I wasn't particularly worried at first & put it down to possibility that she never had a salt lick before, having only owned her from Feb 09.

I started monitoring other horses in-take from the yard and my mare was definitely going through hers a lot quicker. I became concerned and contacted my local equine vet for advice as i was worried she was possibly lacking something in her diet. I was informed that unless my mare was showing ill effects from the salt lick i.e dehydration, and/or an increase in drinking/urinating habits to leave her be but to monitor her intake by letting her have her lick for an hour or so then removing it from her.

My mare does get very sweaty when worked & she is not a hot horse, my vet explained that this could also be a reason and she could just be replenishing all she has lost during exercise. He said that as her fitness level increases he anticipates that the need to for the “obsessive” salt licking will decrease over time as her body will learn to balance itself out.
 
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