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Do I need to give my horse extra salt?

When it comes to the debate whether a horse needs to be fed extra salt or if a salt stone is sufficient, there are often differences of opinion.

The horse is an animal that has historically been adapted to a life in the wild, where grass is the only food. Today, horses live in a way where they are trained and performed in a way that their body is not used to. Horses in the wild eat around the clock, which means that no matter how many times a day you feed, the horse will not be able to eat in the same way as when grazing on a meadow. The same goes for the way we ride and train with our horses - which means they will need more salt and water than just grass adds.

Sodium
Salt contains sodium, which is a substance rarely found in the horse's feed. Sodium is not found naturally in a sufficient amount in the pasture - the horse feels a craving for both sodium and chloride that also comes from salt. Other minerals the horse needs are naturally found in the grass, but salt is something that the horse must look for.

All herbivores need to look for salt - something that can cause major problems when roads are salted with regular salt. This means that moose, deer and other herbivores seek their way to the roads to get salt. As you may understand, this becomes extremely dangerous to traffic. If you have exhibited a salt stone in the horses' summer garden, you can therefore spot other animals that are there and lick it.

The horse is sweating = more salt is needed
The horse's sweat and blood contain more sodium, potassium and chlorine than man does. Unlike humans, your horse loses more salt than water when sweating. If the horse has a lack of sodium it can lead to a reduced appetite in the horse as well as a reduced volume of fluid in the body. This in turn can cause the horse to become dehydrated and if the horse is too dehydrated, it is something that cannot be restored with only water. Horses do not feel thirsty in the same way that we humans with sodium deficiency, but if the sodium content is too low, the water will flow right through the body. If it has gone this far, the horse should be given physiological saline solution containing the same salt concentration as the horse's blood plasma - nine grams per liter of water.

Salt deficiency - what happens?
Horses that are deficient in salt often behave in different ways, with some licking or chewing on the crib, fence, stones, earth or other objects. Some horses can go so far as to develop a so-called pervasive appetite and then lick urine or eat fertilizer to absorb the little salt that is present. Other symptoms may be a ragged hair strap, impaired growth and mares that are lactating may have diminished milk production. As long as the horse has free access to water, no excess salt is considered to be a problem. But if it didn't, it could go so far that the horse gets salt poisoning - something that can initially cause disruption in the digestive process. If it goes too far then the horse can get so big cramps that it dies.


In summary, we can observe that a horse who trains and competes hard can lose between 10-40 liters of fluid during a day. A horse has a daily need of about 20-25 grams (about 1 tbsp) salt per day, something that few competition horses get through only one salt stone. Adding extra salt to the horse's feed is therefore extremely important. Also always make sure the horse has free access to water.