Salt vs Electrolytes
Salt and electrolytes often get ignored in the winter and usually don’t make a reappearance until it gets hot. But horses actually need about 1-2 ounces of salt a day (about 2 tablespoons) and 4-6 ounces (about 4 tablespoons) during hot weather. Electrolytes can also be helpful in the winter to encourage horses to drink during times of stress (travel/horseshows) and bitter cold temps as well as roller coaster temperatures (warm one day and cold the next). But which to use and when? Let’s jump in and see what we can figure out.
Salt helps trigger the thirst response that tells horses to drink. A horse's brain monitors sodium levels and tells horses to stop drinking when levels are low. This is to avoid flushing more sodium from the body. When sodium levels are normal, horses are more inclined to keep drinking.
Providing a horse salt before strenuous exercise, during extreme hot or cold weather, or other times of need helps sodium levels stay balanced and stimulates a horse to keep drinking. Without salt supplementation, some horses won’t consume enough water on their own, and risk becoming dehydrated.
Electrolytes, including sodium, are the minerals that control blood volume and muscle and nerve function, plus maintain the blood's pH. They play a role in maintaining the proper osmotic balance of fluid around cells. The main electrolytes are sodium and chloride as well as, potassium, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, zinc, iron, copper, and manganese. Unlike human sweat which is mainly water, horses sweat is hypertonic which means it contains more mineral salts than water (hence the white, crusty, dried sweat you see after riding).
When exercised intensely in hot, humid weather, a horse may lose up to four gallons of sweat per hour. In that four gallons, a total of 30 teaspoons of body salts are lost. Electrolytes can help recovery and restore balance. Exercise isn’t the only area that can cause horses to sweat, hauling long distances in a horse trailer can cause anxiety and horses to sweat. Extreme weather changes also bring unique challenges for horses, one being a disinclination to drink. If your area experiences a rapid change in weather, or excessive heat or cold, an electrolyte can help encourage your horse to drink more.
Horses need salt every day to help maintain and encourage hydration. Horses need electrolytes when it is hot and humid, after a sweaty workout, before and during travel, at horse shows and to encourage drinking during weather changes.
Most commercial grains do contain about .5-1% salt, so horses getting fed grain are getting some good salt intake. Even though my horses are receiving salt in their grain, I also provide a Redmond Rock (mineral salt lick) or Salt Block in their feeder. I also give my horses electrolyte powder almost daily in the summer (we live in the south where it is very hot and humid all summer). I also use it all winter, primarily giving it a few days before a big cold front and then keeping them on it until it warms up a bit. I always pack a baggie or electrolyte powder and a few tubes of electrolyte paste to take and use at horse shows.
My favorite electrolytes are Progressive’s Aqua-Aide and Equine Elixirs Electrofresh.
