We have come to August, and it is summer. This means that your horses need more salt because of the heat, particularly when exercised heavily. A reduction in the fluid volume of the body quickly impairs the performance of horses.

The water in the body, which constitutes 60-70% of body weight, has about 10 grams of dissolved salts (minerals) per liter. The salts contribute in an essential way to the functional properties of the body fluids. When salts are dissolved in blood plasma and cell fluid we refer to them as ions or electrolytes. Water intake and fluid balance is regulated both by the water and the electrolytes. The main electrolytes in the body are sodium (Na), potassium (K) and chlorine (Cl). The horse gets its minerals through the feed. In addition to the minerals that occur naturally in plant material, we must in many situations supplement the diet to obtain mineral balance. Concentrates, mineral mixtures and additional salt supplements are used. Common cooking salt has the chemical formula NaCl, and thus consists of sodium and chlorine. When we give a horse the required amount of salt in the ration, we have covered two of the three major electrolytes.