Why do horses lick giant salt cubes?

Answer 1

every mammal needs salt in their diet and for grazing animals, that means finding it in their enviroment. We give horses salt lick to meet this need. In the wild, they find salty patches of ground to lick. It's a reason you will see deer and other grazers licking road surfaces in the winter in snowy states; salt used to melt ice on the road.

Answer 2

Salt Cubes

Answer 3

Horses deficient in salt will lick or chew on mangers, fences, dirt, rocks and other objects. They also develop depraved appetites, rough hair coat and reduced growth. Mares experience reduced milk production. Horses with severe salt deficiency, brought about by a low salt intake and considerable sweating, become fatigued and exhausted. Horses that sweat profusely can lose as much as 82.5 grams of sodium per day (201). Consequently, level of activity and degree of heat stress has a greater affect on salt requirement in horses than any other farm animal species.
The need for salt varies considerably, depending on a horses level of work, riding or heat stress. Because sweat contains about 0.7% salt, the more a horse exercises the more salt is lost via sweat and the more it is needed in the diet.
So thats why they lick salt cubes to put back the salt they have lost.

Answer 4

Those giant salt cubes are more than just salt -- they have a lot of necessary minerals that the horses (and other grazing animals like cows) might not be getting in their regular diet.

Think of them as a giant One-A-Day viatmin/mineral pill for cows and horses.

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Answer 5

It's Gives Them A Neccesary Nutrient That Grass Wheat Does Not Have

Answer 6

1

Answer 7

Because they need to replenish the salts and minerals their body has used up.

Answer 8

May be because they need it sometimes when their legs are aching? Try it yourself, whenever you feel pain in your legs after a long day, eat a salty yogurt and the pain will go away..

Answer 9

the extra salt is what helps them to sweat. without it they would not be able to cool down

Answer 10

Because it improves the flavor of the grass.
Same reason that babies eat dirt. The minerals.