Cell-Salts can be given as an oral paste made with oil for those horses which struggle to eat and drink due to dehydration or other conditions.  We recommend a half dose of Cell-Salts be provided morning and night in these cases.  Many strong electrolyte pastes can cause irritation to the throat and stomach, but as Cell-Salts is specially coated to reduce salt reactivity, it is unlikely to cause these kinds of problems. 

The small amount of refined vegetable oil, which is used to coat the potassium to prolong its uptake and mask the normally bitter taste, means Cell-Salts does not readily dissolve in water to be offered as a drink. It can be used in a ‘saline’ drench when given in large volumes of water (4 litres). You must consult your vet for advice on administering salines, especially in horses with a history of gastric ulceration.

Although the original formulation of Cell-Salts required dilution with plain table salt for the full activity, our newly redesigned formula released in 2020 does not need extra addition of plain salt.  However, the levels of all the nutrients have been adjusted, we did not simply dilute the original formulation with plain salt!  The ‘new’ Cell-Salts is still a concentrated in-feed salt mix with multiple benefits and a slightly different dosage rate per weather condition, exercise intensity and sweat level for the horse. 

No! Cell-Salts does not contain banned substances and will not swab. 

Cell-Salts is compatible with all other types of supplements, including vitamin and mineral formulations such as Cell-Vital and Cell-Perform, as well as specialised supplement for calming (Mag-E), joint health (Redi-Flex), gastric health (Gastro-Coat) and digestive health (FABBY).  Therefore, you can easily mix Cell-Salts into a wet or dry feed with other supplements.

This is because the oil coating of Cell-Salts reduces the reactivity of the electrolytes to vitamins and other supplements.  Compared to competitor salt formulations, Cell-Salts helps to protect sensitive nutrients in feeds or supplements from destructive chemical interactions, preserving their stability and full activity.

Cell-Salts is a popular supplement for all horses in summer to facilitate water consummation, help rehydration and replace electrolytes lost in swat.  Moderately to heavily worked horses in winter, especially in milder climates, may still sweat and would benefit from Cell-Salts as a supplement all year around. 

For horses that are not regularly working in winter, especially ponies and resting horses, it may be more appropriate to simply feed plain, fine table salt during the winter season.  Addition of plain salt to the ration in winter, particularly if you are not feeding a prepared hard feed which contains added salt, can help improve water intake during cold weather. 

Salt addition is particularly important when supplying dry hay, as regular water intake reduces the risk of impaction colic when horses are less likely to drink cold or frozen-over water.  Impaction colic can be a problem in winter when horses in a herd, especially ponies, eat dry hay rapidly and don’t drink enough water.  Supplying plain salt in the feed helps horses to drink more frequently when they are consuming more hay during cold winter days. 

The terms of salt mix and electrolytes are used interchangeably in that both supplements contain a mixture of selected salts.  However, a salt mix refers to a more concentrated mixture of essential salts.  An electrolyte supplement often contains a lower content of important salts and is formulated for addition to water in small amounts to create isotonic concentrations.  Electrolyte supplements are also a common name for intravenous electrolytes or ‘salines’ used for rapid rehydration.

Cell-Salts is a comprehensive salt and electrolyte mix for all types of horses in moderate Australian climates, generally comprising NSW, VIC, SA and WA.  Kohnke’s Own Troppo-Salts is recommended hotter and more humid climates, which can be considered tropical or subtropical regions, such as northern NSW, QLD, NT and upper WA. 

Troppo-Salts has a higher ratio of potassium to sodium, because horses in hot and humid climates sweat more profusely and thus lose more potassium through sweat.  Troppo-Salts also has other nutrients, such as vitamin E, C, organic chelated zinc and L-arginine, which is helpful for heavy sweating horses in humid weather.  The added nutrients in Troppo-Salts may also help horses which do not sweat appropriately in response to humid weather, including those that suffer anhydrosis (anhidrosis).  This ‘dry coat syndrome’ is quite common and often affects horses that have relocated from temperate areas north to tropical regions. 

Cell-Salts has an advanced formulation with multiple electrolytes in a concentrated formulation that meets the needs of horses with different levels of sweat loss due to its easy calculated and flexible dose rate.

Cell-Salts contains is specially coated to prolong the delivery and absorption of the potassium salt, which increases the benefit to the horse over time.  This coating, plus the palatable vanilla flavouring and low dust level, makes Cell-Salts tasty and very well accepted by horses.

Salt supplements often react with vitamins in the feed, reducing vitamin potency and the full effect of a ration balancing or other supplement.  The oil coating has another advantage of reducing the reactivity of Cell-Salts, making it stable and able to be mixed in with all types of feed, wet or dry.

Finally, Cell-Salts is gentle on the stomach, doesn’t cause digestive upset or increase the risk of gastric irritation and subsequent ulceration, as compared to concentrated paste or liquid salt solutions.

It is best to feed Cell-Salts after exercise to replace the nutrients lost in sweat, for example, in the night feed if horses are exercised in the afternoon.  We do not recommend that you feed higher doses of Cell-Salts directly before heavy exercise, because horses should always have access to clean, fresh drinking water when given concentrated salt supplements. 

If your horse sweats profusely in response to heavy exercise, a higher supplementation rate is recommended on the Cell-Salts label.  In these cases, it is best to split the dose of Cell-Salts between the morning and evening feeds for optimum provision. 

Cell-Salts is most appropriate to supply in spring, summer and hotter times of the year for all horses and ponies.  Horses may be supplemented with Cell-Salts year round when in moderate to intense work as they sweat regularly. 

For resting or lightly worked horses and ponies in winter, you may find that the addition of plain, fine table salt is all that is needed to meet their requirements.

In summer, when horses sweat in response to exercise even in light work, we recommend to supplement the ration with Cell-Salts, at the dose rate indicated for their exercise level, weather conditions and sweat loss. All horses can benefit from Cell-Salts throughout the year if they are fed a plain feed diet, as compared to prepared feeds (commercial feeds contain a lot of salt as a preservative). Cell-Salts is particularly recommended if horses are in regular work and sweat in response to exercise, as it is designed to replace salts lost in sweat.

Horses in moderate to intense work require a higher supplementation rate of Cell-Salts, which can be given in the morning and evening feeds to assist salt replenishment and water reserves throughout the day. 

For heavy sweating horses, or those in hot, humid or tropical regions, Kohnke’s Own Troppo-Salts is recommended.

Vitamins are incompatible when combined within concentrated salt mixes as salt is a reactive ionic substance which reduces the potency of fragile vitamins and therefore, the benefit of the supplement. 

Cell-Salts is complementary to ration-balancing vitamin and mineral supplements, for example, Kohnke’s Own Cell-Vital, Cell-Provide or Cell-Perform, to meet the full daily nutrient needs of your horse.  Cell-Salts can also be fed with specialised supplements such as Mag-E, Gastro-Coat, Muscle XL and Redi-Flex. 

For more information about the addition of Cell-Salts and other supplements in your horse’s diet, contact Kohnke’s Own Freecall 1800 112 227 or email info@kohnkesown.com for product information, feeding advice and free ration analysis.  Our experienced Nutritional Advisors are available to help with all types of equine nutritional enquiries. 

Feed-based salt mix supplements are preferred to salt lick blocks because salt addition for horses should be accurately provided to properly replenish their needs after different levels of sweat from exercise and seasonal conditions.  Some horses love to lick blocks and other horses don’t, so salt addition by providing a block can be ‘hit or miss’. 

During exercise, 80% of the energy metabolised during muscle activity is given off as heat. This is dissipated largely by evaporation of sweat secreted from the skin surface to cool the body during exercise. Sweat loss of 4-5L/hour can be expected during moderate exercise under cool conditions, increasing by 30-35% under warm conditions and doubling to 10-11L/per hour under hot conditions.

Horses experiencing sweat loss should be supplemented with sources of potassium, magnesium and calcium when worked on a regular basis. Cell-Salts provides a concentrated supplement of potassium and magnesium, with sodium, which helps correct the low sodium and chloride levels in common feeds.

Cell-Salts provides high levels of potassium in particular to offset the slow uptake of this important electrolyte mineral from feeds and replenish the normal low potassium level in blood which is quickly depleted when horses sweat continuously during exercise and as they cool down.

Cell-Salts contains glucose to assist sweat replenishment in normal or variable weather conditions. It does not supply excessive glucose (sugar), even at high doses, to cause a problem with sugar-sensitive EMS or IR horses and ponies at risk of laminitis. 

In fact, Cell-Salts is an excellent supplement for ponies to encourage them to drink more water in summer to maintain healthy water reserves in their hindgut.  Cell-Salts is commonly combined with Kohnke’s Own weight management supplement TRIM for horses and ponies during episodes of laminitis to encourage adequate water intake and kidney function to help eliminate toxic metabolites formed through laminitis.