Tuesday, June 17, 2014

Choose Himalayan Salt For Horses

By Ina Hunt


You may have noticed the pink salt sold in shakers or even seen rough, pinkish-brown blocks at your local feed store. The shakers on grocery and health food store shelves are intended for people. The blocks at the feed store are Himalayan salt for horses and other grazing animals. Many health benefits have been attributed to this form of the essential mineral sodium.

It is commonly believed that both humans and horses need a constant supply of sodium to maintain health. It is true that sodium is an essential mineral that must be supplied in the diet, but both people and animals can get an overdose, especially if they consume the commercial white compound (sodium chloride) sold for the dinner table. Many health advocates, notably Paul Bragg, have said that enough sodium is found in food to make supplementation unnecessary. What is needed, they say, is minerals.

Bragg was famous for never eating table-salt, even while hiking in Death Valley, the hottest place on the continent. His analysis of natural 'salt-licks' revealed that deposits that animals flocked to contained no sodium but were rich in other minerals. The salty taste of the minerals deceived people. Bragg advocated a diet rich in minerals found in unprocessed foods like apple cider vinegar.

Most people keep their horse in confinement, either in stalls, paddocks, or fields that don't have trace mineral-rich soils. Feed and forage generally will not make up for this deficiency. Neither does providing a conventional white or even 'mineral' salt-block manufactured in a chemical lab and processed into a hard, squared-off shape. It's up to the owner to make sure all essential minerals are supplied.

Sodium chloride is not a natural product, and commercial blocks and shakers also may contain additives which make it impossible for either the human or the equine system to assimilate sodium properly. Eliminating excess sodium is also inhibited. Horses crave the salty taste associated in the wild with a complete mix of minerals and can get too much sodium. If elimination of the excess is compromised, health will suffer. Himalayan salt is unprocessed, has no additives, and contains 84 essential minerals.

There's a well-researched theory that the pink deposits in high mountain mines hold a negative electrical charge. This 'ionization' allows the minerals to be readily absorbed at the cellular level, giving cells all the macro and micro minerals they need for growth, reproduction, and repair. Many people who use this instead of commercial products claim to feel more energetic.

Although this might be a minor consideration for horse owners, the Himalayan pink crystals taste better than common commercial salts, too. Most owners pamper their animals and like to give them treats they enjoy. When these treats also enhance health, it's even better.

Look at your feed store for reddish-brown, semi-transparent blocks with the rough shape that mining gives. These are not products of mass-production in a chemical laboratory but natural pieces of ancient deposits rich in life-giving and energy-enhancing minerals.




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