08/09/2026
Mad Barn is a great resource. Dave Schaeffer is a very smart and dedicated practitioner. Salt is good!!
Some days the internet can be like the Wild West…always having to draw fast to defend your claim.
I’m fully aware that presenting an idea that catches traction will surely have a few people that disagree but I have never ruffled as many feathers on ANY other topic I discuss as when I post about salt 🧂.
I suspect that many of us were taught that horses eat grain twice a day, have a red mineral block in the stall or by the water and varying access to hay -at least I was back in the 90s so I sort of get it…but have since learned better that this isn’t the best way to ensure optimal nutrition.
Is it so hard to fathom that in 30 years we haven’t understood better how our horses best receive something as simple as salt?
I even added a link from a very reputable source backing up my post-but I’ll assume most people didn’t take the time to read it.
Hundreds of shares and comments later-people are still flocking to the comments to praise their red mineral blocks, accuse me of force feeding horses salt and swearing that their processed feed and mineral blocks are meeting all the needs.
So many things in a horses diet depend on being in balanced ratio with salt-yet it seems to be very misunderstood.
I’m happy to explain it to anyone willing to learn and I made this webinar with a pretty thorough explanation of how I believe we should feed horses: https://sbw-owners-massage.thinkific.com/courses/equine-anti-inflammatory-nutrition-basics-webinar
Back to salt…
So let me note the key insights from this article-for people that are more interested in arguing than reading this which is written by nutrition professionals called FEEDING SALT TO YOUR HORSES https://madbarn.com/how-to-feed-salt-to-your-horse/
+Salt is described as a low cost macromineral with major benefits, and many horses are thought to be deficient in dietary sodium.
+Sodium chloride is a key equine electrolyte for nerves, muscles and hydration, with deficiency linked to licking, lethargy and skin issues.
+Baseline sodium and chloride needs rise with exercise level and environmental heat as sweat losses increase during work.
+Hay, grass and most commercial grains contain little sodium, so typical rations alone rarely meet a horse's maintenance salt requirement.
+Salt blocks can be hard on a horse's softer tongue and may limit intake, while loose salt is usually consumed more easily when offered.
+Regular white iodized table or stock salt is described as sufficient for most horses, without needing specialty Himalayan or colored salts
“This cannot be emphasized enough, your horse will not consume too much salt. To my knowledge, no horse has ever been diagnosed with hypertension (high blood pressure) from excessive salt intake. The larger problem is the lack of salt intake.
The fact is, many horses are sodium/salt deficient.”
“A 500 kg (1,100 lb) horse at maintenance on a cool day doing no work requires about 10 grams of sodium and 40 grams of chloride (1). Feeding 30 grams of salt a daywill provide around 11 grams of sodium, which is enough to meet the maintenance needs of a 500 kg horse. This is around 2 tablespoons or 1 ounce. The rest of the chloride will be supplied by the hay.”
“Feeding hay and grain on their own will not supply your horse with the salt it needs to thrive. In fact, hay and grass contain very little sodium and most commercial grains do not contain enough salt to meet basal maintenance requirements, so the addition of it either as a top-dress in feed or offered free-choice is essential.”
“For one, salt blocks were originally designed for the rough tongues of cattle,who can easily lick a salt block and get the salt that they need. On the other hand, horses have softer tongues, which can sometimes get sore from licking the block and therefore cause insufficient intake.
If your horse starts biting on the block, it could be a sign that it is not getting enough salt from licking the block alone, so you may want to look at providing salt in other ways.”
PLEASE TRY TO BE MORE OPEN MINDED ABOUT THINGS YOU CAN LEARN MORE ABOUT.
