The horse’s body is made up of a large number of cells, and these cells are more susceptible to damage and wear and tear than those of humans. As such, a horse’s electrolytes are constantly being flushed out of their body through sweat, urine, and exhaled air. We can help restore these electrolytes in the horse’s body through their feed or water supply, but it’s up to us to ensure the horse is consuming enough water to flush those electrolytes out.
This article will help you learn more about horse electrolyte supplements and help you select the best one for your horse’s needs.
Our Editor’s Best Horse Electrolyte Supplements Reviews
- REPLACES VITAL MINERALS: Replaces electrolytes lost through sweat during exercise, extreme hot & cold weather, stressful situations, and illness
- OPTIMAL HYDRATION: Helps encourage healthy water consumption year-round
- MAINTAINS FLUID BALANCE: Helps support proper digestion, muscle function and recovery
- COMPLETE ELECTROLYTE FORMULA: Contains a balanced electrolyte profile with sodium chloride, potassium, magnesium, and calcium
- FOR ALL HORSES: Not just for performance horses! Any horse that sweats for a prolonged period, regardless of reason, can benefit from electrolyte supplementation.
- REPLACES VITAL MINERALS: Replaces electrolytes lost through sweat during exercise, extreme hot & cold weather, stressful situations, and illness
- OPTIMAL HYDRATION: Helps encourage healthy water consumption year-round
- MAINTAINS FLUID BALANCE: Helps support proper digestion, muscle function and recovery
- COMPLETE HORSE ELECTROLYTE FORUMULA: Contains a balanced electrolyte profile with sodium chloride, potassium, magnesium, and calcium
- FOR ALL HORSES: Not just for performance horses! Any horse that sweats for a prolonged period, regardless of reason, can benefit from electrolyte supplementation.
- IMMEDIATE SERVING OF ELECTROLYTES: Provides a rapid replenishment of electrolytes, making it ideal for travel or long trail rides
- REPLACES VITAL MINERALS: Replaces electrolytes lost through sweat during exercise, extreme hot and cold weather, stressful situations, and illness
- OPTIMAL HYDRATION: Helps encourage water consumption year-round
- MAINTAINS FLUID BALANCE: Helps support proper digestion, muscle function and recovery
- COMPLETE ELECTROLYTE FORMULA: Contains a balanced electrolyte profile with sodium chloride, potassium, magnesium, and calcium
- ►Originally developed for the horses competing at the 1996 Olympics
- ►Adjustable serving rates allow you to easily meet your horse's individual electrolyte needs
- ►Unique ingredients support optimal performance and speedy recovery during exercise or stressful situations
- ►Concentrated formula ensures your horse receives both critical electrolytes and trace minerals, not sugar and other fillers
- ►Formulated using the results of extensive research studies investigating the composition of sweat, Summer Games contains both key electrolytes and trace minerals in the actual amounts that are present in horses' sweat
- Elevate Maintenance Powder supplies your horse with a highly absorbable and readily available source of natural vitamin E that quickly provides necessary nutrients.
- Offers you an easy and affordable way to meet your horse’s essential vitamin E needs.
- Does not contain other vitamins or minerals. Horse owners can safely adjust the amount fed to support horses with high vitamin E requirements without worrying about causing imbalances.
- Replaces electrolytes lost by dehydration during exercise, training or competition
- Helps replace fluid lost through sweat
- Helps encourage healthy water intake year-round during extreme weather conditions and in times of stress
- Supports normal electrolyte and mineral balance
- Palatable apple-flavored, sodium-based equine electrolyte
- Replaces electrolytes lost by dehydration during exercise, training or competition
- Helps replace fluid lost through sweat
- Helps encourage healthy water intake year-round during extreme weather conditions and in times of stress
- Supports normal electrolyte and mineral balance
- Palatable apple-flavored, sodium-based equine electrolyte
- HOW DOES IT WORK?: Equine health issues often begin with mineral deficiencies and dehydration. Redmond Rock is a perfect hydration trigger and provides the minerals and elements your horse needs to stay healthy. Redmond Rock Crushed makes it easy to vary the amount of salt and minerals your horse receives based on diet and activity levels.
- NATURE’S ESSENTIAL MINERALS: Redmond Rock Crushed brand natural equine minerals provide a perfect blend of essential trace minerals and electrolytes your horse needs to live a more healthy, balanced life. It contains no fillers, no grains, no sweeteners and no artificial colors or flavors.
- CREATED BY NATURE - Redmond Rock Crushed is natural mineral sea salt harvested from deep within the earth in Southern Utah. Redmond Rock contains more than 60 trace minerals
- INSTRUCTIONS FOR USE: Add to your feed or provide free choice. Provide fresh water at all times.
- Excellent Hydration Trigger. Support comprehensive hydration. Daily Red loose sea salt, minerals, and equine electrolytes encourage horses to drink more.
- Essential Salt for Horses. Assisting hydration isn’t salt’s only superpower. It also facilitates healthy nerve and muscle contraction for higher performance.
- Natural Horse Minerals. A full spectrum of nature-made trace minerals for horses promotes wellness, optimal performance, and a healthy appearance from head to tail
- Mined in Utah, USA. Crushed is harvested from deep within the earth at Redmond’s deposit in Utah and contains more mineral-to-salt content than both white salt and Himalayan.
- Delicious Mineral Supplement. Daily Red’s foundation of great-tasting, bioavailable sea minerals means horses happily eat it up and minerals go to work, not to waste.
- Concentrated electrolyte formula designed specifically for endurance horses
- Provides the extra calcium and magnesium often lost during long, slow exercise
- Replenishes the electrolytes and trace minerals lost during sweating
- Supports normal hydration by stimulating the thirst response
- Used by top endurance riders worldwide
Best Horse Electrolyte Supplements Buying Guide
Before choosing the best horse electrolyte supplement you should consider following options:
1. Water intake: Hydration is the most basic function of electrolyte supplementation. Horses often don’t drink enough plain water to meet their needs, so electrolytes are added to encourage consumption.
The electrolyte of most importance in horses is sodium, but other electrolytes also need to be replaced, including potassium, magnesium, and chloride.
The amount of electrolytes to supplement depends on the horse’s needs. A horse that sweats a lot, or has a high-energy job (such as a racehorse), needs more electrolytes than a horse that has a very sedentary job. A veterinarian can test the horse’s electrolyte levels and determine the exact amount to add.
2. Amount: The concentration of electrolytes in the water makes a big difference in uptake. Water with low concentrations may be almost imperceptible to horses, while water with high concentrations may cause them to reject it.
Water with a low concentration of electrolytes may be almost imperceptible to horses. Water with a high concentration may cause them to reject it.
‘We recommend 0.5 to 1.0 grams per liter for plain water, depending on the horse’s needs,’ says Dr. Forster. ‘For plain water, we recommend 0.5 to 1.0 g/L. For a drink with electrolytes, we recommend 1.5 to 3.0 g/L, depending on the electrolyte content and the horse’s needs.’
3. Time of day: Electrolytes are best absorbed when they’re added to water over a period of time, rather than all at once.
Horses tend to drink more during their regular times of water intake, so adding electrolytes to the water in the morning encourages them to drink more during a period when they’re likely to be well-hydrated.
4. Taste: If a horse won’t drink plain water with electrolytes added, then the concentration needs to be reduced. If a horse won’t drink plain water with no electrolytes added, then the electrolytes need to be added in a different form.
For example, instead of adding electrolytes to plain water, you can add them to a flavored drink such as Gatorade, which has its own flavor. You can also add them to molasses or grain water, or in some cases you can add them to a salt block.
5. Cost: Electrolyte supplementation can be very expensive if you use a premade electrolyte solution. ‘The most cost-effective way to add electrolytes is to use a plain water source and add the electrolytes yourself,’ says Dr. Forster.
6. Ease of administration: Some horses won’t drink plain water without electrolytes added, but they’ll drink it if it’s added to a flavored drink such as Gatorade.
‘Adding electrolytes to a flavored drink is the best way to encourage them to drink,’ says Dr. Forster. ‘In a study, a flavored drink was more attractive to horses than plain water with electrolytes added.’
What else you should know about horse electrolyte supplements
What are horse electrolyte supplements?
Electrolyte supplements for horses are designed to replenish the electrolytes that are lost during exercise. They usually come in the form of powders or gels that are mixed with water.
What are the benefits of using horse electrolyte supplements?
Some benefits of using horse electrolyte supplements are that they can help replenish electrolytes that are lost during exercise, they can help prevent dehydration, and they can help improve performance.
How do you choose the best horse electrolyte supplement for your horse?
There are many factors to consider when choosing the best horse electrolyte supplement for your horse. Some of the things you may want to consider include the type of horse you have, the type of work they do, and any health conditions they may have. You will also want to consider the type of electrolyte supplement you prefer and the price.
What are the possible side effects of using horse electrolyte supplements?
There are a few possible side effects of using horse electrolyte supplements. These include electrolyte imbalance, dehydration, and gastrointestinal distress.
How do you administer horse electrolyte supplements to your horse?
There are a variety of ways to administer horse electrolyte supplements to your horse. The most common method is to add the supplement to your horse’s feed. Other methods include adding the supplement to your horse’s water or administering it orally with a syringe.
Conclusion
On the market, there are numerous best horse electrolyte supplements. Hopefully, the list of the top ten best horse electrolyte supplements will save you time researching and deciding on the best one for you.