15/10/2025
๐ฆ ๐๐๐๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ฎ๐น ๐๐น๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐น๐๐๐ฒ๐
โ๏ธ 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.
๐ด 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 โwhich one is the best?โ being a common one that comes across my desk.
๐ง Iโd like to preface this article by saying that I am absolutely not anti-electrolyte supplements, but I do feel itโs important for us to look at the bigger picture sometimes and consider what the WHOLE diet is providing.
๐ง Letโs 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.
โ๏ธ The 5 major electrolytes you are probably considering supplementing include Calcium, Magnesium, Sodium, Chloride, and Potassium. As you have read Stable-Ised Equineโs 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.
โLetโs look at what Ca, Mg, Na, Cl, and K your 500kg horse would receive from the recommended daily serving of 5 popular electrolyte supplements. Iโm not going to name names because that isnโt 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
๐ง Now, letโs look at how much Na and Cl 50g of plain salt would provide:
Sodium: 19.5g
Chloride: 30.5g
๐ฟ โWhere are you going with this, Karly?โ I hear you ask. Letโs 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
๐ง+๐ฟ= 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.
๐ 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?
๐ด 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 horseโs diet as a whole is providing and not just assume that every horse needs every supplement.
โ๏ธRemember, always add electrolyte supplements IN ADDITION TO salt and never INSTEAD OF.
๐ I love putting together these free resources, so if you found this article interesting, Iโd love if you could let me know in the comments and give it a share. ๐
