The practice of natural horsemanship has never been so popular with many horse owners now taking a holistic approach to their horses' care and welfare. Nutrition plays a big part in condition, performance, and overall well-being. This is why there is a sudden surge of mineral and salt supplements on the market. Offering a salt block is a simple way to ensure your horse is getting a complete and balanced diet. In this guide, we'll answer all your questions about choosing the best salt blocks for horses.
Do Horses Need Salt Blocks?
The main function of a salt or mineral block is to provide sodium chloride to your horse. This has the same composition as common table salt. Your horse needs these vital minerals to function and survive.
Sodium is one of the most important electrolytes, vital for maintaining fluid balance and keeping your horse hydrated. It works together with chloride, which helps with muscle and nerve function. Salt is an essential part of your horse's diet and should be given as a supplement.
What Do Salt Blocks Contain
Some blocks contain minerals such as phosphorus, potassium, magnesium and sulfur, for example. They're also rich in trace minerals too. Specifically, zinc, copper, iron, cobalt, selenium and manganese. Each trace mineral has a specific function, and they all work together to maintain your horse's health and vitality.
Deficiencies in salt or a trace mineral will often lead to health problems and poor performance. These days most of your horse's mineral requirements can be provided by their hard food, which is often fortified. You can find the trace mineral content information on the label to find out how much your horse is already consuming.
How Much Salt Does Your Horse Need?
This all depends on your horse's weight, exercise level, diet, living climate and pasture setting. If your horse is sweating a lot through exercise or hot weather, it will definitely need additional salt in its diet. It's also a good idea to give salt and minerals to horses who are on a grass and roughage based diet, or ones that don't have access to pasture or quality hay.
On average a 1,100lb horse out of exercise needs 25g of salt per day, however, a horse in medium work would require 60g a day. A hard-working horse can need up to 200g of salt per day. Sodium chloride plays an important role in muscle function and is released in sweat. This is why the dosage for working horses needs to be higher.
Can My Horse Eat Too Much Salt Block?
As long as a horse has enough water to drink, chances are, they won't overdose on a salt or mineral block. Though it's not impossible. Horses have a natural instinct to seek out and consume salt and minerals. This is why they usually adapt very easily to using a salt block. This instinct also regulates their salt intake, telling them if they’ve had enough salt or if they need more. Excess salt is flushed out easily from the horse's body in urine. This is why you need to make sure that there's plenty of fresh water available alongside a salt block.
Signs that your horse may have eaten too much salt (toxicosis) include diarrhea , weakness, lethargy, colic and excessive water consumption and urination. Horses that aren't getting enough salt will be reluctant to drink, lethargic, uncoordinated and showing strange new licking behaviors . If you think a horse is “salt starved” don’t let them eat huge amounts of salt right away, reintroduce it slowly back into their diet.
How Much Do Mineral Blocks Weigh?
Salt licks for horses come in all different shapes and sizes and you should choose the size according to your needs. A small horse mineral block will range from around 2.2lb to 9lb and is perfect for small herds of two to three, or for an individual horse in a stall. Larger salt blocks can weigh up to 50lb and are great for supplying a large herd out at pasture.
How Do I Give a Salt Block To My Horse?
Salt blocks are designed to be constantly available to horses and this is known as free choice feeding. Some salt blocks come with a rope attached. These are very easy to tie up in the stall or pasture. These tough blocks can also double up as an anti-boredom toy too.
For “brick” type blocks without a rope, you can leave them in a bucket or buy a special holder that attaches it to the wall. It's a good idea to put the 50lb mineral blocks in some kind of bucket or open access container to increase their lifespan. Be sure to drain it off after any rain though. Most blocks are sold as weather-resistant but they will generally last better if you keep them out of the rain.
A small salt block should last a single horse for around 2 to 5 months. Sometimes a horse will chew on a salt block out of boredom. If this is the case and you're going through blocks at an alarming rate, try making your horse's environment more interesting. You can do this with equine boredom breakers or by spreading out their feed times.
Alternatively, you can remove the salt lick from their area and instead of free choice feeding, you can add loose salt to their diet.
Common Types of Salt Blocks
Whatever salt or mineral block you choose, it will be made of at least 90 per cent salt. What makes them all different is the mineral content and purity. Outlined below are the most common types of blocks that you can get on the market.
Mineralized
These are processed salt blocks that have trace minerals added to them. They're usually pink or red in color.
Rock
As the name suggests, this pure, unprocessed salt, comes in the form of a rock. It's mined from underground deposits and is completely natural, unprocessed and high in trace minerals.
Pink Himalayan salt is the most common one, but you'll also find high-quality rock salt mined in the USA. Perhaps it's because of its purity that horses find it so appealing, but it's safe to say that rock salt is the best salt block for horses.
Plain White Salt
This is a horse salt block made of processed, plain white salt which doesn't have any extra minerals added and is generally a cheaper option. If your horse has all of its mineral requirements met from their diet, then this is a good way to provide extra salt.
Speciality
You'll also find a range of specialist mineral blocks on the market that contain extra cobalt, sulfur, selenium or even iodized and sea salt. These types of blocks should only be offered for exceptional dietary requirements. If your horse doesn't have access to good grass or hay then they may need extra selenium in their diet for example.
5 of the Best Salt Blocks For Horses
Horseman's Pride Himalayan Salt Block on a Rope
This Himalayan salt on a rope is made of the purest Himalayan salt, making it a favorite amongst horse owners. It comes in rock form and contains 84 different trace minerals to keep your horses well supplemented. The rope makes it easy to hang up in a stable or outside, and it also doubles up as a boredom breaker. It's available in two convenient sizes, 2.2lb or 4.4lb.
American Stockman Big 6 Mineralized 50lb Salt Block
This mineralized block is produced with salt from North America and it contains all the essential trace minerals for your horse. If you're looking for a communal block for a large outdoor herd then this block is a good option. It's durable and weather resistant.
Redmond Rock Mineral Salt Lick For Horses
When you're looking for the best mineral block for horses, you can't go wrong with this one from Redmond. This 9lb salt lick is very appealing to horses and it contains over 60 essential trace minerals. Its mined from the ground in Utah, USA and is very dense and weather resistant. Its convenient size makes it great for leaving outside or for use in the stall.
Champions Choice 50lb Plain White Salt Block
This is an economical salt block made up of pure sodium chloride, which means it doesn't contain any trace minerals. It's a great option if you only want to give your horse extra salt. These large white salt blocks are dense and weather resistant making them a good choice for outside, and communal herd use.
Sturdy Steed Salt Block Carrot Flavor
This 4 pound equine salt block contains a good trace mineral content and it's flavored with carrot so your horse will feel like its getting an extra special treat. Its small size makes this a great salt block to use in the stall. It has extra selenium which is great for horses who only have low-quality roughage available.
Conclusion
There's a lot of mineral blocks out there for horse owners to choose from, so it's important to assess your horse needs before buying one. You can also let your horse do the choosing by offering it a few different ones to see which one it prefers. Now that you know how to identify the best salt blocks for horses on the market, you'll be sure to find the right one for your needs.
