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The Value Of Himalayan Salt For Horses

By Ina Hunt


You may be aware of the pink salt sold in shakers in grocery and health food stores. Maybe you've even noticed rough-cut, pinkish blocks at the local feed store. However, you might not know why this Himalayan salt for horses and people is rapidly gaining in popularity. Many health benefits have been identified by researchers studying this mineral-rich, natural source of 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 did a lot of research and tested his theories on himself, hiking in Death Valley without salty foods and analyzing 'salt-licks' found in the wild and frequented by deer and other animals. He found that none contained the sodium chloride that makes up most of common table-salt; rather, the deposits were composed of minerals that tasted salty and that animals craved.

The modern horse is mostly confined to a field or paddock and no longer has access to this kind of mineral deposit. It must depend on its owner to supply what it needs. Just as white table-salt is not all that healthy for people, the white blocks sold in feed stores give few of the valuable trace minerals found in unprocessed salts around the world. Even the colored 'mineral blocks' are mostly sodium chloride with several added minerals.

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.

The natural crystals also hold a negative charge. This means that the minerals are 'ionized', which health experts believe make them more readily absorbed and used by the body. Most of us have an overload of positive ions, so the minerals have a balancing effect on our systems. The cells of the body need the full complement of minerals for proper growth, repair, and reproduction, as well as energy production.

Human users attest that this spice tastes great. Although this might not impress some horse owners, many people love to pamper their animals with treats as well as supplements. Providing a natural, unprocessed Himalayan salt-block can enhance both health and happiness.

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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