Nutrition for Horse & Rider:
Barrel Racing Edition

When developing a plan of action to build toward your goals with your equine partner, it's a good idea to start from square one: nutrition. From training at home to traveling on the road for competition, proper nutrition plays a vital role in the overall success and health of your horse. For the best results, you'll want to make sure that both you and your horse are receiving the nutrients you need to put your best foot (or hoof) forward! In this article, RW-sponsored rider and WPRA champion Krista Williams discusses the importance of nutrition in her diet and her horses' diet. Krista will also address her own tips and tricks that she uses as a professional competitive barrel racer to help both human and equine performance.

In order for our horses to feel their best when it matters most, we want to be intentional about what foods they eat. The same goes for riders as well! If we're feeling our best, we can be there to support our equine partners. What we're fueling our body and our horse's body with is going to determine how we show up on game day. If we're feeding ourselves junk, we're probably not going to perform to our highest ability. However, if we start preparing both ourselves and our horses with good beneficial nutrients in advance, we will both be feeling healthy and ready to conquer the task at hand.

Meal Prepping:

While on the road, the number-one thing that keeps me on track is meal prepping. The day before a race, I'll get a bunch of chicken and hard-boiled eggs. I do all my meal prep the day before and put them in baggies, so when I'm on the road and really busy, they're easy to grab and go. Then you don't find yourself in the gas station or eating fast food. I do the same thing for my horse while on the road; they always have a hay bag in front of them and always have variety in their stall.

Consistency is Key:

I try to be very consistent in the way I eat, and I also feel it's important for my horse to be the same way. I don't like to make a lot of changes on the road. I want them prepped properly during the week, and it makes the transition of being on the road easier if they're still eating the same diet. I keep hay in front of my horse 24/7. Horses are natural grazers, so when they're a competition horse, you want to make sure you're keeping food in their digestive tract to help prevent ulcers or other digestive issues. I feed alfalfa and forage so they have something to pick from, but it's always important for me to do whatever I'm doing at home on the road as well.

Feeding Program:

I like to focus on a high-calorie diet for both me and my horse. I try to stay away from hot calories, such as starches and sugars, and focus on cool calories, such as oils and fats. You can feed a cool calorie with a rice bran. It provides a lot of energy and B12 vitamins, which also help the digestive system. If you get into feeds with corn, they're harder to process. They're also higher energy, which can cause your horse to have trouble with focusing on game day.

My favorite grain to give is one high in omega fats (omega-3s and omega-6s) that includes rice bran. It's a great feed with vitamin B12, high energy, and low carbs. For my young horses, I like to add a bit of a rice bran pellet for a little more of those carbs without making them hot but allowing them to gain the weight they need. Again, it's very important that you are consistent with the way you feed. I feed a scoop of each morning and night, and I do the same thing on race day. It is clockwork when it comes to feeding your horse, and they really need you to be consistent.

Looking at my supplements, I like to keep things very simple. I don't want things complicated, and I want to make sure my horses have all their needs met with a good multi-purpose supplement to cover all the bases. A supplement to provide good digestive support to help prevent ulcers or other problems is great, along with something for capillary lung support for horses that are potentially bleeders. If I'm traveling out of state for a big race, I also like to include an immunity boosting supplement starting a week before. In particular, I really like Finish Line's range of supplements to address all of my horses' needs.

Electrolytes and Hydration:

I like to start a loading dose of electrolytes for both myself and my horse two days prior to leaving for race day. The only thing I change on the road is my horse gets a full tub of electrolytes, half in the morning and half at night. It's very important to keep the potassium levels up to help with any muscle cramping as well as recovery. Plus, the salt is helping make sure they're staying hydrated on the road.

Of course, on the road it's really important to stay hydrated. We all get busy and forget to drink water, so keep a bottle of water with you at all times! I try to keep mine on ice, because I tend to want to drink colder water over warm water. The same thing goes with your horse. When you're done riding, dump the old water and give a bucket of clean water; it's going to encourage your horse to drink. Also, giving your horse that proper loading dose of electrolytes is going to help keep them hydrated. The more you do this, the more their muscles are going to recover, and the more you're going to recover.

Visit our Electrolyte Supplement Guide for more information!

We hope that Krista's tried-and-true nutrition tips help you and your horse in your barrel racing endeavors or other equestrian activities! Should you ever have any concerns regarding your horse's health or unique nutritional needs, we recommend contacting your regular veterinarian or equine nutritionist. If you have any questions for us, please call our friendly customer service team at 1-800-620-9145 or email info@ridingwarehouse.com for assistance. In the meantime, let's close out with a final piece of advice from Krista:

"All in all, if you want to win on game day, it comes down to these simple things. Stay consistent! Your horse needs you to show up for him. Don't change things around on race day. Do what you've been doing the week before. For yourself, it takes a little time. Do the meal prep, do your homework, and you're going to see bigger results in the end."

- Krista Williams, RW-Sponsored Rider