The Use of Cobalt Chloride in Equines

Cobalt chloride, also nicknamed blue salt by the horse and cattle community, is often associated with the dietary needs of cows. Cobalt chloride isn't only for cattle, however. Horses can also benefit from supplements of this essential electrolyte, as nontraditional as their consumption of it may be. Horse owners should use caution in dispensing cobalt chloride to avoid overdoses and unnecessary iodine intake, but there are usually few risks involved.

  1. Types of Salt Products

    • White salt is also called iodized salt or table salt.

      Different salt and electrolyte supplements are usually identified by their distinctive colors. White is sodium chloride, which forms the basis for most other supplements. Red is sodium chloride with iodine added. Blue salt is red salt with the addition of cobalt, a naturally blue element. There is also brown salt which is a mixture of several other trace minerals like zinc, copper, manganese and cobalt, but this may or may not contain plain white salt. All of these salts have a role in livestock care and management, but blue salt is most important for bovines and equines.

    Salt Licks

    • A salt lick is the most common way of getting horses to consume their sodium-based electrolyte supplements. Not all salt licks for cattle are safe for horses, however. Salt supplements for cattle are high in iodine, and high amounts of iodine can harm unborn foals. Be sure to purchase or prepare a salt lick that is specially mixed for horses. Minerals like cobalt are also available in a feed mixing form if you prefer to feed your animals their supplements directly.

    Nutritional Needs

    • Animals like cows need cobalt chloride to help them break down vitamin B12.

      Cobalt chloride was designed for animals that graze more like cows and sheep, as cobalt helps their bodies break down and use vitamin B12. The level of cobalt in cobalt chloride is typically higher than what a horse needs, as horses already possess the needed bacteria to synthesize vitamin B12. Cobalt chloride can still help horses by supplementing their bodies' nutrients, it just isn't required in most cases.

    Misconceptions

    • The prevailing myth regarding cobalt chloride seems to be that red is strictly for horses while blue is for cattle. This seems to be the purchasing trend, but there is no real reason why horses cannot have blue salt, as well. There has never been a reported case of cobalt toxicity in a horse, though blue salt has been connected to -- but not directly linked with -- nutritional imbalances that have resulted in birth defects. In most cases, cobalt chloride is only given to horses with known deficiencies, or in small amounts as when shared with other animals.