|
Post by mrsfields on May 15, 2014 12:47:46 GMT 1
Hi there, another update here. Belle also has now completely stopped headshaking. Interestingly I did stop the salt while she was on a course of antibiotics for peritonitis last month and within a day she had started the tell tale flicks of the nose so I put her straight back on the salt and now , even though she is on good grass, she is fine with no flicking. As a double check we rode past many fields of full flower rape and no flicking so it certainly isn't the pollen. ah that is fantastic news clava! i'm so glad it's worked for you as well! brilliant!
|
|
|
Post by amandap on May 15, 2014 13:01:59 GMT 1
It's so great you are both keeping this thread updated and I am thrilled for you both it's working so well!
|
|
|
Post by portiabuzz on May 15, 2014 15:06:36 GMT 1
i will pass it on to other horsey friends
|
|
|
Post by shan on May 19, 2014 23:16:05 GMT 1
So, I've spent the last 2 nights reading about salt & HS till I'm cross-eyed! It seems the best salt for general health is rock salt as it contains no additives; the amount of toxins which can be in sea salt from mercury & other charming waste has put me off a bit, as well as the anti-caking agent sodium ferrocyanide - which obviously is toxic at higher doses than is sold for foodstuffs, but all the same our horses are far more sensitive than we are... Sodium / chloride ratio seems to be more or less 40/60 and apparently it's the sodium part which needs to be calculated (so for 10g of salt fed, there will only be 4g of sodium). I'm sure 'they' have taken this into account for recommended salt supplementation though! Interestingly there has also been Ca & Mg mentioned - I'm sure lots of us know about Mg/headshaking/potassium in grass relationship, but I was under the assumption that Ca levels were adequate in our grazing in the UK - google till your eyes bleed about Mg/Ca moving through the cell walls, the effects of stress and the endocrine system's entanglement with it all!! Gah! Also coming into the mix is LGL, which it seems Beauty suffers with and is also connected with systemic imbalance in a way which ties in with what is probably causing her HS. What a worry! :/ Anyway, I'm still working on it all and as no grass is not an option, I've been giving 40g sea salt for a few weeks, and 8g MagOx for a few months and will report any improvements
|
|
|
Post by portiabuzz on May 20, 2014 7:33:08 GMT 1
go shan Sent from my GT-I8160
|
|
|
Post by mrsfields on May 20, 2014 13:13:47 GMT 1
So, I've spent the last 2 nights reading about salt & HS till I'm cross-eyed! It seems the best salt for general health is rock salt as it contains no additives; the amount of toxins which can be in sea salt from mercury & other charming waste has put me off a bit, as well as the anti-caking agent sodium ferrocyanide - which obviously is toxic at higher doses than is sold for foodstuffs, but all the same our horses are far more sensitive than we are... Sodium / chloride ratio seems to be more or less 40/60 and apparently it's the sodium part which needs to be calculated (so for 10g of salt fed, there will only be 4g of sodium). I'm sure 'they' have taken this into account for recommended salt supplementation though! Interestingly there has also been Ca & Mg mentioned - I'm sure lots of us know about Mg/headshaking/potassium in grass relationship, but I was under the assumption that Ca levels were adequate in our grazing in the UK - google till your eyes bleed about Mg/Ca moving through the cell walls, the effects of stress and the endocrine system's entanglement with it all!! Gah! Also coming into the mix is LGL, which it seems Beauty suffers with and is also connected with systemic imbalance in a way which ties in with what is probably causing her HS. What a worry! :/ Anyway, I'm still working on it all and as no grass is not an option, I've been giving 40g sea salt for a few weeks, and 8g MagOx for a few months and will report any improvements really hope it goes well for you shan! i can definitely recommend the book "Feed Your Horse Like a Horse" - it's a bit pricey, but helped me no end with all the ratios and calculations! it felt like i was doing a maths degree at the time!
|
|
|
Post by portiabuzz on May 20, 2014 14:04:17 GMT 1
so which salt is best to feed?
|
|
|
Post by shan on May 20, 2014 21:32:57 GMT 1
IMO rock salt because it doesn't get to collect impurities from the water, or have anti-caking agents added - though for those who want just the sodium without any other minerals I guess table salt would be the only option. (I'm actually still using sea salt, have yet to see if they'll eat rock salt, lol!) At the end of the day we all have to weigh up the priorities though - cumulative effects of a little extra mineral, or a little chemical, vs a horse suffering from something their whole life. Whichever way we choose to treat it's all much of a muchness...
|
|
|
Post by portiabuzz on May 21, 2014 11:53:37 GMT 1
thanks Shan
|
|
|
Post by mags on May 21, 2014 16:41:18 GMT 1
Rock salt also contains impurities - hence the pink colour of e.g. the Himalayan salt licks. In fact, some of those impurities are definitely things you don't want (such as traces of arsenic for example). These traces are admittedly very small. But IMO, you don't really gain anything from using rock salt. The purest salt is still probably table salt (at least here you know what the additive is, and it is deemed safe for human consumption). With naturally mined salts, you don't know what impurities they contain. Are they better/worse than what might be in sea salt, or the added anti-caking agent? Who knows. To me, there's also the ethical and ecological component of importing mined salt from e.g. the Himalayas, wasting fuel and destroying the mountians when there's much cheaper, purer table salt available right here. In the end, I doubt it matters much what type of salt you use. I go with the convenient and cheap stuff from the supermarket. Just my opinion.
|
|
|
Post by shan on May 21, 2014 19:34:26 GMT 1
Good shout Mags! I never knew about arsenic inclusions, nor thought too much about the mining/importing process in my blinkered wish to feed something as 'pure' as possible - thank you
|
|
|
Post by amandap on May 21, 2014 22:59:30 GMT 1
Yes my view is if it's good eough for me to eat it's good enough for my horses. I have read about the potential impurities in rock salts before as well.
|
|
|
Post by portiabuzz on May 22, 2014 12:23:54 GMT 1
Rock salt also contains impurities - hence the pink colour of e.g. the Himalayan salt licks. In fact, some of those impurities are definitely things you don't want (such as traces of arsenic for example). These traces are admittedly very small. But IMO, you don't really gain anything from using rock salt. The purest salt is still probably table salt (at least here you know what the additive is, and it is deemed safe for human consumption). With naturally mined salts, you don't know what impurities they contain. Are they better/worse than what might be in sea salt, or the added anti-caking agent? Who knows. To me, there's also the ethical and ecological component of importing mined salt from e.g. the Himalayas, wasting fuel and destroying the mountians when there's much cheaper, purer table salt available right here. In the end, I doubt it matters much what type of salt you use. I go with the convenient and cheap stuff from the supermarket. Just my opinion. thanks for the input mags
|
|
clava
Novice Poster
Posts: 30
|
Post by clava on May 26, 2014 16:20:16 GMT 1
I feed table salt, it works for us. Salt levels being adequate in UK grazing isn't really the point, it isn't about deficiency it is about reducing the potassium spikes created by rich grass / clover, by getting the horse to drink and wee more so the K is excreted.
|
|
|
Post by kafee on May 26, 2014 17:18:08 GMT 1
I'm feeding table salt too. Raffles head shaking is still absent, and he doesn't seem to be suffering from sweet itch so much this year either. Come to think of it he started on pergolide this year too, that might be making a difference.
|
|