Water is an essential nutrient that our horses require to survive and is at the root of basic bodily functions such as digestion, temperature regulation, and joint lubrication. With many of us experiencing record highs this summer here are 5 tips to ensure your horse has the best chance of staying happy, healthy, and hydrated.
Free access to clean water: Whether your horse is stabled or turned out in the pasture it is important to ensure that there is a clean accessible water source. By creating a regular cleaning routine you can ensure your horse’s water stays free of backwashed particles, algae, and other buildups.
Salt: Ensuring your horse has access to salt is necessary to invoke the proper thirst response required to ensure good body fluid equilibrium. Without proper salt intake your horses would be unable to produce and secrete bodily fluids such as sweat, saliva, intestinal tract fluids, urine and mucus. This is best achieved through providing a salt block in the stall/field near the food or water source.
Electrolytes: By adding electrolytes to your horse’s routine you can ensure that they continue to receive essential minerals including sodium, chloride, potassium, magnesium and calcium that are lost through sweating, urinating and defecating. Electrolytes can be purchased in a variety of forms including powders and syringe style pastes.
Soak your feeds: When foraging in pastures, horses are consuming grass and other forage which are teeming with moisture, providing a level of natural hydration as they chew. However, when we provide processed feed such as dehydrated hay and hard grains they have the opposite effect by reducing hydration. One way to help with this is to consider soaking your horse’s hay and creating a mash with your horse’s hard grain. Not only will these steps help your horses digest, but may also help limit the effects of dust from hay on their airwaves.