Should I be feeding my horse salt? For most Australian horse owners, yes...
Most WA pastures are naturally low in sodium and potassium, and sodium is an essential nutrient that is needed for hydration, muscle function, nerve transmission and fluid balance.

What do we mean by salt?
In horse nutrition, salt generally refers to sodium chloride (NaCl). Sodium works in a team with Chloride and Potassium, other essential electrolytes, and if one is lacking, electrolytes become unbalanced and the body`s ability to maintain hydration and function becomes less efficient. Horses can`t manufacture sodium or chloride themselves, so they need to get them through their diet.

Which salt?
Table salt, white salt, sea salt and Himalayan salt are all predominantly sodium chloride. While they are from different sources, the most important thing is they are providing adequate sodium and chloride. Current research indicates no advantage in premium varieties over others.

So how much salt?
According to the NRC guidelines, an average 500kg horse doing no exercise on a cool day requires 10g of sodium, 25g of potassium, and 40g of chloride. Add work, travel, lactation, stress, temperature or sweating and these requirements go up dramatically!

How do I work out how much salt?
There`s a whole lot of maths and chemistry around salt, sodium and chloride. Luckily the NRC has done the hard work for us. When we refer to salt,

🧂5g of salt per 100kg bodyweight per day for maintenance.

Remember though, that as temperature and/or workload increases, so does their electrolyte requirement.

Is a salt lick enough?
Not always. Free-choice salt can be a good to offer, but many horses don`t consume enough to meet their requirements. Adding measured, loose salt to their daily feed is the most reliable method.

Are there horses who shouldn`t get extra salt?
For the majority of healthy horses and ponies, supplemental salt is safe and beneficial as long as they always have access to clean, fresh water. There are some medical conditions where salt should be managed with veterinary guidance.

#tiptuesday #salt #hydration #horsehealth #horsenutrition #horsefeed

HEAT ALERT - we`re seeing unseasonably hot weather at the moment, and this poses a huge dehydration risk for our horses and other animals, as they are not acclimated to the heat.

✔️Make sure they have access to cool, clean and fresh water.

✔️ Provide salt in their feed to help replace losses and encourage the thirst response. (Find the calculations in the comments.)

✔️ Remember, a free choice salt block won`t always provide enough

✔️ Add a mash feed to help add extra water. They are a great way to add salt to your feeds in a palatable way, and you can offer an additional mash on very hot days.

✔️ Ride smart - if it`s very hot, adjust your training for the day or ride in cooler parts of the day like early morning or late evening.

❌ If your horse is already dehydrated and not drinking, do not force electrolytes on them. It can worsen the dehydration, so consult your vet who can action a management plan with you.

Equi-Restore is ideal for adding to their diets during hot weather. It`s a highly palatable, hydrating mash that you can feed quite wet and sloppy to encourage them
to drink. It contains elevated levels of electrolytes to complement the salt in their feed and replenish stores.

High in fibre, low in calories and fully-fortified to create a complete, gut-friendly and safe feed (NSC 4.2%) for all horses and ponies.

Lupin Fibre Boost is made using our super fibre lupin hulls, with added pre & probiotics, essential amino acids and a fully-fortified vitamin & mineral premix to make an ultra-low sugar and starch feed.

No soy, no molasses, no grains, no cereal grain by-products and no straw!

Suitable for horses and ponies prone to:
✔️Laminitis ✔️ Metabolic conditions like EMS, PPID and IR ✔️ Weight gain ✔️Grain sensitivity ✔️Ulcers ✔️Tying Up ✔️ and more.

- Feed on its own as a complete feed
- Use as a base for other concentrates
- Use to fill nutritional gaps

If you`d like more information, chat to our team about feeding Lupin Fibre Boost.

If you`ve got a freshly off the track horse, it might be tempting to swap them straight off their racing diet and onto pasture, hay and low starch feeds. That`s a great goal, but it`s not quite that simple (or fast)...

Racehorses are elite athletes, so while they are racing, their diet is carefully calculated and formulated to support them. This usually involves high levels of fast-release energy sources like high-starch grains to make sure they have the energy they need.

Their gut and microbiome adapt to this diet, because the bacteria that are ‘fed’ more are the ones to grow in population and dominate. So with a diet high in starch and low in fibre, the fibre-loving bacteria don’t have the fuel they need to thrive.

If the population of fibre-loving bacteria isn`t there and then we take all their starch-based energy sources away and pop them only on pasture, hay or low sugar and starch feeds, their digestive system won`t be able to process the fibre effectively yet and they can lose condition quickly.

💡Instead, we need to go through a gradual `Let Down` period, where we keep enough starch-based energy in the diet to slowly convert and adapt our horse`s digestive system and microbiome to digest a diet higher in fibre and forage. Like gardening, we need to feed and nourish the microbiome and give it time to grow.

➡️Let down feeding:
A good let down diet reduces the energy and starch levels in their feed slowly while introducing more fibre. This gives the gut microbiome time to adjust, and grow the population of good bacteria needed to ferment and digest the fibre in their diet.

Here are a couple of tips for let down feeding:

✅ DO: Continue feeding some of their grain or racing feed, decreasing amounts over time while introducing a new feed

✅ DO: Start introducing a high super fibre bridging feed like Lupin Fibre Cubes or Lupin Fibre Boost straight away

✅ DO: Look at introducing a feed like Claytons Pellets, which is whole-grain free but still contains a controlled amount of starch, or Senior Horse Cubes which is a balanced, conditioning cube.

✅ DO: make small alterations over time as their condition and workload change

FIND US: We’re at the WA State Dressage Championships this weekend from today through til Sunday. Come and visit the trailer, grab a free sample and chat to our team.

Happy riding everyone!

#dressage #events #horseriders @dressagewesternaustralia

How about that shine? `Harley`s Third Jet` is a picture of health and fitness and kicking goals with sponsored riders Tui Magner and Aja Tito. It`s been a big few months for the family with events, travel and competing and organising for the big Roebourne Rodeo.

Based in the Pilbara, Tui is a devoted mother of four, and balances her family life with her rodeo career. Their team of horses is fuelled by T&R, with Equi-Restore a vital part of their performance diet to keep up muscle stamina, energy and hydration in a hot climate.

#sponsoredrider #rodeo #fuelledbytandr @tui_rei

No soy, no molasses, no grains, no cereal grain by-products and no straw! Only high quality, cool sources of fibre, protein and energy make up our ultra-low sugar and starch, safe complete feed.

Calm Care Plus is a concentrated feed with low feeding rates designed for a range of horses and ponies, from leisure to performance. It contains elevated levels of vitamins and minerals, essential amino acids, Omega-3 and added pre and probiotics.

Suitable for horses and ponies prone to:
✔️Laminitis ✔️ Metabolic conditions like EMS, PPID and IR ✔️Grain sensitivity ✔️Ulcers ✔️Tying Up ✔️

If you`d like more information, chat to our team about feeding Calm Care Plus.