15/10/2025
💦 𝗘𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗘𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗹𝘆𝘁𝗲𝘀
☀️ The weather is warming up and so are the electrolyte tales, myths, misconceptions. I just read a comment online that made my eye twitch and now here I am, resharing one of my favourite articles.
🐴 I often observe a trend where people reach for electrolyte supplements for their horses (a lot of the time without even feeding salt) with the age old question of “which one is the best?” being a common one that comes across my desk.
🧂 I’d like to preface this article by saying that I am absolutely not anti-electrolyte supplements, but I do feel it’s important for us to look at the bigger picture sometimes and consider what the WHOLE diet is providing.
💧 Let’s set the scene. You have a 500kg horse who has travelled several hours and competed intensely enough that they are sweating heavily and are showing signs of exhaustion.
⚛️ The 5 major electrolytes you are probably considering supplementing include Calcium, Magnesium, Sodium, Chloride, and Potassium. As you have read Stable-Ised Equine’s previous articles, you are well aware that plain salt (sodium chloride) needs to be supplemented daily, so your horse is already receiving their base serving of 50g salt/day.
❓Let’s look at what Ca, Mg, Na, Cl, and K your 500kg horse would receive from the recommended daily serving of 5 popular electrolyte supplements. I’m not going to name names because that isn’t the purpose of this article.
Calcium: 0g, 0.7g, 1.6g, 2.19g, 0g
Magnesium: 2g, 0.5g, 1.4g, 0.192g, 1.53g
Sodium: 10.3g, 12g, 14g, 13.1g, 21g
Chloride: 23.4g, 28g, 29g, 28.4g, 43.2g
Potassium: 8.35g, 7g, 8g, 10.4g, 12g
🧂 Now, let’s look at how much Na and Cl 50g of plain salt would provide:
Sodium: 19.5g
Chloride: 30.5g
🌿 “Where are you going with this, Karly?” I hear you ask. Let’s look at what Ca, Mg, Na, Cl, and K a kilogram of good quality lucerne hay might provide your horse if offered:
Calcium: 12.4g
Magnesium: 3.2g
Sodium: 1g
Chloride: 4g
Potassium: 14.2g
🧂+🌿= If we add the 50g of salt and 1kg of good quality lucerne hay together, this combination exceeds the amount of Ca, Mg, Na, Cl, and K provided by the recommended daily serve of each electrolyte supplement listed above.
🐎 So ask yourself; would your hot, sweaty, and tired horse benefit more from an electrolyte powder added to their feed or water, or from a kilogram of lucerne hay that no only provides electrolytes, but also provides other benefits such as gastric acid buffering, saliva stimulation, fibre to keep the gastrointestinal tract moving and gut microbes happy, and protein to support muscle recovery and development?
🐴 There is no right or wrong answer. What benefits one horse may not necessarily benefit another in the same way, however it does pay to be aware of what your horse’s diet as a whole is providing and not just assume that every horse needs every supplement.
❗️Remember, always add electrolyte supplements IN ADDITION TO salt and never INSTEAD OF.
🌐 I love putting together these free resources, so if you found this article interesting, I’d love if you could let me know in the comments and give it a share. 🐎
