Why is my Horse Doing That?

Communication

Animals are great regulators of what their bodies need. If your horse is after the salt block constantly, and you are seeing teeth marks in it, then he really needs more of it to balance his body.

A Horse in Need

The Treasure valley is known for a low level of some essential vitamins and minerals. Selenium and copper to name a few. Deficient levels of these minerals affect the quality of alfalfa hay and their surrounding pasture land. There are a number of ways your horse will tell you they are missing some essential vitamins and minerals. Horses need this to help with their cell function and keep electrolytes in balance.

Micro-nutrients

Although horses can't speak they can still tell you they are in need. There are a number of behaviors that are good indicators something may be out of balance. Eating dirt, and chewing on wooden fences are good indicators that they may be deficient in phosphorus. Sometimes you may not witness strange behavior, sometimes you may notice a change in appearance. Fo instance if your black horse seems to be turning red, it may be caused by a lack of copper.

Salt

Cattle have rough tongues and have no problem licking salt from a salt block. Horses, on the other hand, don’t haver rough tongues and will often have difficulty getting everything they need from a salt block. So, what can we do to help? A loose trace mineral salt is the best solution to provide your horse with the proper amounts of vitamins and electrolytes. We are now carrying Dr. Jim Z’s premium all-natural Vitamin-mineral salt mix for horses. It will keep your horse in great condition and you will be surprised how free access to a good quality trace mineral salt will help your horse function better in all of their activities.