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Summer is coming… and so are the salt myths!**
As the weather warms up, I’m already seeing the annual flood of posts telling horse owners to add large amounts of salt to their horses’ feeds.
So let’s do a little myth-busting.
**
Good old sodium chloride (plain salt)**
Yes—horses need salt. Pasture is often low in sodium and chloride, and requirements increase with exercise, heat, stress and illness.
But every year I see the same blanket recommendation:
**”Feed 10 g of salt per 100 kg of bodyweight.”**
The problem? That recommendation refers to the **horse’s TOTAL daily diet**, not simply extra salt tipped into the feed bucket.
Salt supplies sodium and chloride, essential electrolytes involved in:
Hydration and fluid balance
Nerve and muscle function
Stimulating thirst
According to the **NRC**, a 500 kg horse at maintenance requires around **50 g of salt per day from the total diet**, with higher requirements for horses in work or losing significant amounts of sweat.
### Common salt myths
**”Just add salt on top of everything else.”**
Salt already comes from pasture, hay, chaff, commercial feeds and many supplements. Before adding more, read the labels and work out how much your horse is already receiving.
**”You can’t overfeed salt.”**
You can. Excess salt can make feeds less palatable, causing horses to leave their feed and miss important nutrients. In horses with gastric ulcers, high concentrations of salt may further irritate the stomach. Excessive salt intake may also alter the balance of beneficial microbes within the hindgut.
**”Salt is only needed in summer.”**
Horses need sodium and chloride every day of the year. Electrolytes are lost not only through sweat but also in saliva, urine and other body fluids.
**”Horses will drink when they need to.”**
Not always. Sodium plays an important role in stimulating thirst. Whenever salt is fed, horses must have unrestricted access to clean, fresh water so excess sodium can be safely excreted.
**”A salt block is enough.”**
Unlike cattle, horses don’t have rough tongues designed for efficient licking. While some horses consume enough from a salt block, many don’t. Loose plain salt offered in the feed or free-choice is generally more effective.
**”Himalayan salt is healthier.”**
Despite the marketing, plain white salt provides exactly what horses need—**sodium and chloride**. The extra minerals in Himalayan salt, such as iron, are generally unnecessary because most forage already supplies more than adequate iron.
**Interesting fact:** Salt is the only nutrient horses have been shown to actively seek out when deficient. They don’t instinctively seek out other vitamins or minerals.
### Before adding extra salt, ask yourself:
- How much work is my horse actually doing?
- How much salt is already supplied by forage, feeds and supplements?
- What are the current weather conditions?
- Does my horse have unrestricted access to clean, fresh water?
**Salt is essential—but more isn’t always better.**
Like every aspect of nutrition, the goal is to meet your horse’s individual requirements, not follow a one-size-fits-all recommendation.
