should i supplement my horses diet with salt?
Lizzy asked:
i have a 16 yo Hannoverian gelding that’s never used his mineral or salt licks (or atleast in the 7years i’ve had him) and i was thinking about adding salt to his dinner. he’s turned out on short grass for 8+ hours, he gets free choice hay in his stall, half scoop senior feed and 1/4 scoop 12% pellet at each of two feedings. at the second feeding he also get 10-15 alfalfa cubes soaked to create a mash, 1/4 cup corn oil and Grand Complete (supplement is for joints, hooves and coat. the hay cube mash is so he’ll eat the supplement). once a month for a week he gets Sand Clear becuase he’ll take mouthfuls of dirt while he’s grazing. i’ve done lots of recent reading that horses should have salt blocks/free choice lose salt or salt added to thier grain and since my horse doesn’t use his salt licks i was considering adding it to his grain. i know it won’t hurt him as long as he has water available but do you think it’s nessccarly? how much should i give him? i’ve read 1-2oz…..
i’m planning on talking with the owner of the feed store to see if i should add a vitamin supplement to his diet since he knows the hay and grains i feed well… i’ve promised my horse a home for life and i want to keep him healthy and sound as long as i can. thanks for any and all help!
putting a salt/mineral block in his feed tub isn’t an option since he gets a hay cube mash each night… the mash/extra water will dissolve the block so he won’t be licking it by choice… i’ve already thought about it..lol
i like to think my horse is smart but since he’s never licked his salt/mineral block maybe he doesn’t know what he’s missing…. know what i mean?!?
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i have a 16 yo Hannoverian gelding that’s never used his mineral or salt licks (or atleast in the 7years i’ve had him) and i was thinking about adding salt to his dinner. he’s turned out on short grass for 8+ hours, he gets free choice hay in his stall, half scoop senior feed and 1/4 scoop 12% pellet at each of two feedings. at the second feeding he also get 10-15 alfalfa cubes soaked to create a mash, 1/4 cup corn oil and Grand Complete (supplement is for joints, hooves and coat. the hay cube mash is so he’ll eat the supplement). once a month for a week he gets Sand Clear becuase he’ll take mouthfuls of dirt while he’s grazing. i’ve done lots of recent reading that horses should have salt blocks/free choice lose salt or salt added to thier grain and since my horse doesn’t use his salt licks i was considering adding it to his grain. i know it won’t hurt him as long as he has water available but do you think it’s nessccarly? how much should i give him? i’ve read 1-2oz…..
i’m planning on talking with the owner of the feed store to see if i should add a vitamin supplement to his diet since he knows the hay and grains i feed well… i’ve promised my horse a home for life and i want to keep him healthy and sound as long as i can. thanks for any and all help!
putting a salt/mineral block in his feed tub isn’t an option since he gets a hay cube mash each night… the mash/extra water will dissolve the block so he won’t be licking it by choice… i’ve already thought about it..lol
i like to think my horse is smart but since he’s never licked his salt/mineral block maybe he doesn’t know what he’s missing…. know what i mean?!?
August 21st, 2009 at 4:38 pm
If he has not touched his salt lick, I would not suplement. The feed that you are giving your horse probably has salt in it already.
August 24th, 2009 at 3:17 am
If he’s ignoring his salt lick, then he’s probably getting enough salt and minerals from what you are feeding him and his body doesn’t need any more. I wouldn’t force it upon him by adding it to his feed unless you are worried that he isn’t drinking enough. Otherwise I’d say his diet and chemistry are already balance through his feed.
August 26th, 2009 at 9:18 am
You have a couple of different options. First of all, I would buy a bag of loose horse salt, and put out a 1/4 cup or so of it in a tub and see if he licks it. My horses don’t touch my salt blocks, but they do lick at loose salt, especially if I put out loose mineral at the same time. Salt blocks are ideal for a cow’s rough tongue, but they don’t work well for horses.
I personally add salt to my horse’s grain at certain times. I do not add salt each day, but during the winter months I will add a teaspoon or two daily to encourage them to keep drinking. I actually do not use a compete feed of any sort, so I know my horses are not getting salt in any other method. Instead I feed hay two times a day, and then daily give them whole oats, whole flax, some loose mineral (I use Hoffman’s mineral, which does have some salt in it) and then I will add loose salt as well.
Look at the ingredients in your senior feed and decide if salt is really high. If so, I probably would not add extra salt, but I would put some out every week so it was available if needed. I’m especially careful to have salt out when its hots and they’re sweating, and in the coldest weather when they don’t always drink enough water.
I don’t think there is any harm for a horse to have a teaspoon of salt added to their diet daily. I can assure you that they sift through it and leave behind what they don’t really want anyhow. At the end of my feeding every kernal of oats is gone, some of the flax is left behind, and there is often some mineral and salt that isn’t eaten until later in the day. So I think they can leave the salt behind if they really want, but at least mixing it in the grain encourages them to have some!
I would talk to a good equine vet if you get alot of conflicting replies on Yahoo Answers!
August 29th, 2009 at 2:09 am
If you use water buckets, and not automatic watering systems, make sure you track how much he is drinking. I only add salt to my horse’s feed when he’s not drinking enough water in the summer sometimes. If you have a 5 gal bucket, you should have to fill it up 2x a day. He should be drinking 8-10 gallons of water. If he’s just in the stall overnight, expect about 4-5 gallons of water per evening.
If you want to start getting him used to the mineral blocks, you might want to put one of the small ones in his feed bucket, and pour the grain on top. This will not only slow down how quickly he can eat his grain, but he will have to lick them a little bit while pushing them around when he’s eating. Its a good way to incorporate a little bit without going overboard.
If you see no significant reason to add salt, I think just putting a small block (you can also break it into 2-3 pieces) into his feed bin will help out.
August 30th, 2009 at 2:33 pm
Does he really need the added salt? Even if he’s not licking your mineral/salt block doesn’t mean he isn’t getting any minerals. There are an abundance of natural minerals in the soil that horses nibble up while grazing. I would think if he needed the extra minerals he would use the salt blocks that are available to him. Adding a bit of salt or a mineral supplement to his grain probably wouldn’t hurt him any, but just make sure you’re not wasting your time and money giving him something he doesn’t really need.
August 31st, 2009 at 6:30 pm
Yes, if you have a salt lick or mineral block available. The horse will use it to it’s own leisure. If it isn’t used by the horse then that is OK.
September 2nd, 2009 at 4:51 pm
stress dex is an electrolite supplement, and source has a ton of micro nutrients. adding salt by hand to his diet will def. increase his water consumption, and make him urinate more. it does add stress to the kidneys, if he was getting enough salt from his feeds in the first place. my tb wont touch his salt lick either, and i feed a scoop of “source” in his feed every day. the only time i add salt (maybe 2 tablespoons) is in the winter when its really cold and he doesntdrink enough water. i only do it in the winter when i notice he isnt drinking much.
September 5th, 2009 at 4:57 am
Horses (like most animals) will actively seek out vitamins and minerals that their diet is lacking. Being that your boy isn’t showing any interest in his salt/mineral blocks, I’d say it is a pretty good indicator that his diet is “well balanced” (for lack of a better phrase). My mare is the same way; she doesn’t use her blocks. I do, however, keep a salt/mineral combo block in her stall holder during the hot summer months….JUUUUUUUST in case she decides that she’s lost something from sweating, etc. I wouldn’t directly add anything to his feed, just keep a block in his stall. If he needs it, he’ll partake of it. If not, don’t worry…they don’t go bad, and they’re cheap to replace from time to time.