In sports, success on the field depends on successful preparation off the field. At the USET exams after Rolex where 7 of our top horses were evaluated by vets, the riders attended talks by nutritionists and personal trainers provided by the US Olympic Committee. Eventers are just starting to understand that working hard between their rides to become better competitors will make a big difference at the competitions. Today we address the issue of staying hydrated.
Staying hydrated is one of the easiest steps riders can take to improve their performance, particularly on Cross-Country, and I think that probably 70% of riders are at least mildly dehydrated throughout most events. The stress, vast amounts of walking, and riding at competitions makes it very easy for riders to expend the water and electrolytes in their bodies, and the commotion of events often prevents competitors from having the opportunity to hydrate.
In the military, they say “
dehydration is a soldier’s worst enemy,” and we have all heard the adage “
if you are thirsty, you are already dehydrated.”
Dehydration reduces athletic strength, endurance, reaction time, and decision making, all of which are pretty important when riding a horse. Link:
more info on the effects of dehydrationSo, a few years ago I set out to find a good hydration strategy to help me at competitions. I talked to triathletes, cyclists, soldiers, and nutritionists. The day that I first implemented my new strategy, at the Virginia CIC** in 2006, I felt literally twice as strong on the XC, and felt vastly better when I hopped off at the finish. Incidentally, we were one of two pairs to make the XC time, and won the event. Hydration makes a huge difference!
The first step: drink more. Truly, by the time your body realizes that you are thirsty, you are already behind in the game. A good way to know you are ahead of the game is to make sure you are going to the bathroom regularly. The best way to drink more is to make a habit of keeping a bottle of liquids in your hands at all times. Invest in a Nalgene bottle and use it.
Next, you need to make sure you are drinking the right stuff. Water is insufficient and does not replace electrolytes, and pure Gatorade contains too much sugar to drink straight all the time (they put so much sugar in to make it taste better). The solution: mix about one-part Gatorade with one-part water on a hot day and one-part Gatorade with two-parts water on a cool day. This ratio is used by the military and works great.
Step three: learn to listen to your body. Pay attention to the heat, how much you are exerting yourself and how you feel. Learn to stay ahead of the hydration game. Of course, talk to a professional about a custom strategy that is right for you.
Also, Don’t ignore hydration on a cool day. Even if you are not sweating, you lose moisture with every breath, so keep drinking those fluids! One convenient way to stay hydrated is to make sure you always have a bottle in your hand. If mixing the Gatorade and water becomes an issue, drink some Gatorade from its bottle and keep filling the bottle back up with water. Consider investing in a nice Nalogene or Camelbak bottle and mix your water with Gatorade in that.
If I am going to be really exerting myself on Cross-Country, such as on an extremely hot day or over an upper-level course, I follow this special strategy:
When I wake up, I start drinking water like crazy. I drink until I am having to go to the bathroom every 15 minutes; its hard to overdo the drinking (possible, but hard). Right before I ride, I drink a full bottle of Gatorade, and I am good to go. I made a friend of mine do this at Rolex a couple of years ago, and while she got really tired of me bugging her to drink, she had a great ride and felt great. This is a dramatic technique and is not for everyone, but it works for me.
Note: everyone is different, so be sure to talk to your doctor and listen to your body to find what is right for you. Don’t go from drinking nothing but coffee at events to drinking more water than your horse at the next one; figure it out gradually.
Update: for another look at the topic, consider
this post from The Science of Sport blog, kindly submitted to by JER.
