Walking On Volume 5, Issue 10, October 2018 | Page 11

Back to Basics
your horse is getting from any
commercial feeds or supple-
ments and add salt accord-
ingly. (For palatability, limit
the amount to no more than 1
tablespoon per meal.)
for prussic acid, an anti-caking
agent. This contains cyanide
and should be avoided.
• Mined sea salt offers minute
quantities of many trace miner-
als that are typically not avail-
able in the average diet.[iii]
• A salt rock should be available
should your horse want more.
Experiment with different
natural types to see what your
horse enjoys most. Many hors-
es, however, are not comfort-
able with constant licking.
• If salt consumption is too low
via free-choice feeding, cal-
culate the amount of sodium
• Do not offer electrolyte sup-
plements instead of plain
salt. Electrolytes are meant
to replace perspiration losses
and fed in addition to salt.
Never add electrolytes to your
horses only water supply.
• Watch the iodine content in
mineralized salt preparations.
Too much iodine, and not
enough selenium, can damage
the thyroid gland. Iodine and
selenium intakes need to be
similar.
Forage is the foundation of the
diet – it must flow through the
digestive tract 24/7
 Horses are grazing animals and
are designed to consume forage
virtually all day and night, only tak-
ing a few minutes here and there to
rest; this also includes ponies, min-
is, donkeys, and mules. There are
many reasons why your horse must
always have hay and/or pasture:
• The horse’s stomach produces
acid continuously, even when
empty. The acid in an empty
stomach can lead to the forma-
tion of ulcers anywhere along
the gastrointestinal tract.
• The cecum, where fiber is
fermented, has its entrance
and exit at the top; therefore, it
must be full in order to evac-
uate digested forage. If not,
substances sink to the bottom,
potentially leading to impac-
tions and sand colic.
• The digestive tract consists of
muscles which are “exercised”
by the steady flow of forage.
“Flabby” muscles can twist or
intussuscept (telescope)—in-
creasing the risk of colic.
• An empty stomach causes
incredible stress, creating a
hormonal response that raises
insulin, an inflammatory
hormone that can potentiate
laminitis. Elevated insulin also
tells the body to store fat.
• Stress from forage restriction
can lead to obesity, a dam-
aged metabolic rate, laminitis
relapses, and inflammation of
the hypothalamic region of the
brain, accelerating the devel-
opment of leptin resistance
and even Cushing’s disease.[iv]
• Elevated stress also impacts
immune function, making
your horse more susceptible to
infections and allergies, as well
as negative reactions to vacci-
nations.
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