It’s hot outside! As the U.S. faces extreme heat advisories across the country, ensuring your horses stay hydrated is critical to support their natural evaporative cooling systems (that’s sweating). In addition to water consumption, electrolytes are an important part of the cooling equation. But knowing if your horse is getting enough, or selecting the right kind to feed, is often confusing.
In this episode, Dr. Clair Thunes of Clarity Equine Nutrition explains how electrolytes work and why and when horses need them (and it’s not just during hot weather and summer exercise!). Michelle shares how Clair’s advice changed the way she incorporates salt into her horses’ diets.
Clair and Michelle also discuss:
- How feeding horses an appropriate amount of salt can prevent serious health issues like impaction colic.
- When to use electrolyte paste instead of powder.
- Which is better: electrolytes topped dressed over feed or mixed in water.
- Why horses need electrolytes during transport.
- How much water horses should drink each day.
- Ways to encourage horses to drink in addition to feeding electrolytes.
Plus! Michelle Asks Clair for Free Advice
Feed prices keep going up, and Michelle’s looking to save some money. Can whole flaxseeds replace stabilized ground flax in her horses’ diets? Clair weighs in.