Ep.35 | What Every Equestrian Should Know About Nutrition — With Kristen Stavridis

Are You Under-Fuelling Your Riding? Nutritionist Kristen Stavridis on Gut Health, Show Day Fuel & the Mistakes Most Riders Make

The Athlete Nobody Talks About

Ask most horse riders whether they consider themselves athletes and you'll get a hesitant pause, a self-deprecating laugh, and something along the lines of "well, the horse does most of the work." Ask nutritionist Kristen Stavridis the same question and you'll get a very different answer.

"You are an athlete," she told host Aaron Englander in Episode 35 of the Just Horse Riders Podcast. "If you're a rider, no matter what you're doing, you are an athlete. And especially if it's a long day — you're riding multiple horses or you're out doing competitions for a couple of hours — that's quite taxing on your body. You need to fuel yourself properly."

Kristen Stavridis is a qualified nutritionist with eight years of professional experience, a social media educator followed by hundreds of thousands of people across Instagram and TikTok, and the author of The Fiber Fix — a practical, science-backed guide to gut health for everyday people. She is also, crucially, a rider herself: she grew up with her own pony, stepped away from horses during her teens and twenties, and returned to the equestrian world around two years ago. At the time of recording she was hunting regularly on hirelings and saving for a horse of her own. In other words, she knows exactly what it feels like to be standing in a muddy field at 5am wondering whether a cereal bar counts as breakfast.

What follows is a deep dive into everything she and Aaron covered — from gut health and the microbiome to show day nutrition, supplement myths, and the specific challenges facing female riders at every stage of life.

The Biggest Nutrition Mistake Horse Riders Make

Aaron opened with a simple question: what is the single biggest nutrition mistake horse riders make without realising it? The answer was immediate.

According to Kristen Stavridis, the biggest nutrition mistake horse riders make is under-fuelling — simply not eating enough. Not eating badly, necessarily. Just not eating enough. Full stop.

It is a pattern she sees repeatedly in the equestrian world, and it comes from several directions at once. There is the practical reality of a busy yard morning where feeding the horses, mucking out, and tacking up take absolute priority over sitting down to eat breakfast. There is the cultural pressure — particularly on female riders — to stay as light as possible in the saddle. And there is the persistent myth that if you are not actively exercising in a gym, you don't really need to fuel like an athlete.

None of it holds up to scrutiny, as Kristen explains — and the consequences are more serious than most riders realise.

What Happens to Your Body When You Ride on Empty?

Riding on an empty stomach — or after fuelling yourself on nothing but a can of Monster — doesn't just make you feel a bit flat. According to Kristen, the first thing riders experience is brain fog: reduced sharpness, impaired focus, and difficulty remembering a course or processing multiple tasks at once. On a competition morning, when you are already managing nerves, a strange environment, and a horse who has decided today is the day to be spooky, that cognitive fog can be genuinely dangerous.

The second consequence is muscular. Showjumping and cross-country require explosive movement — from the rider as much as the horse. Without proper muscle glycogen from healthy carbohydrates eaten the day before and on the morning of competition, those explosive movements simply aren't supported. "If there's no proper fuel there," Kristen said, "you're not going to ride as well." And if you fall — which does happen — underfuelled muscles absorb impact less effectively, increasing injury risk.

"You wouldn't do that to your horse," she pointed out. "You would not give them any fuel or any breakfast before they're going out doing a full day's hunting or showjumping or competing. You're looking after them — so you've got to look after you."

What Should Riders Eat Before a Competition?

Riders should aim for a meal or snack containing slow-release carbohydrates eaten at least an hour before competing — oats, brown toast, a banana, or an oat bar are all practical options for early starts. The evening before competition matters equally: eating a carbohydrate-rich meal the night before ensures your muscles have adequate glycogen reserves to draw on. If a sit-down breakfast isn't realistic, even grabbing a banana or a homemade overnight oat pot to eat in the car is significantly better than riding on empty.

Gut Health, Fibre, and the Microbiome — What Riders Actually Need to Know

The word "gut health" has been thrown around so liberally in the last few years that it has started to feel like wellness noise — something vaguely important that is also somehow linked to selling you a £40 supplement. Kristen cuts through the noise quickly.

Your gut is home to trillions of bacteria, collectively known as the gut microbiome. These bacteria are not incidental passengers — they are active participants in your health. They help break down the food you eat, produce anti-inflammatory molecules, manufacture certain vitamins, and communicate directly with your brain via the vagus nerve. They also play a significant role in regulating your immune system.

According to Kristen Stavridis, up to 90% of the body's immune system cells are located in the gut — meaning that when your gut health deteriorates, your immunity deteriorates with it. That is not a minor side effect. For riders spending long hours outdoors in all weathers, getting run down is not just unpleasant — it costs you time in the saddle.

How Does Gut Health Affect Riding Performance?

A healthy gut microbiome supports brain function, energy metabolism, immune response, and muscle recovery — all of which directly influence how well you ride. Poor gut health is linked to increased inflammation, lower energy, impaired concentration, and a weakened immune system. For riders, this translates practically into slower recovery between training days, reduced focus during dressage tests or course-walking, and greater susceptibility to illness during busy competition seasons.

Fibre: The Unsexy Nutrient That Does Everything

Kristen's book is called The Fiber Fix for good reason. Fibre is the primary food source for your gut bacteria — without it, those bacteria have nothing to eat. And when they run out of fibre, they don't just quietly go dormant. They start breaking down the lining of your intestines instead, causing inflammation and a cascade of gut issues.

"They're like little tiny microscopic aliens who are amazing," Kristen said. "But they get hungry. So we need to be eating the fuel for them."

The recommended daily intake is 30g of fibre per day. Most people in the UK are eating around half that. Riders — who are often living on convenience food, energy drinks, and whatever they can grab between feeds — are frequently at the lower end of that spectrum.

What Foods Are High in Fibre and Easy to Eat at the Yard?

Practical, fibre-rich options that require no preparation include bananas, kiwis (even the skin, if you can face it), raspberries, oat bars, and overnight oats. Beans and lentils — including baked beans — are among the most fibre-dense foods available and cost almost nothing. Frozen berries are equally as nutritious as fresh and significantly cheaper. Seeds, nuts, and whole grain options like brown bread or wholegrain pasta are easy swaps that significantly boost daily fibre intake without requiring a lifestyle overhaul.

One important caution: if you are currently eating well below 30g per day, do not jump straight to the target amount overnight. Kristen sees this regularly — people go from 15g to 30g in one go and end up bloated, uncomfortable, and put off entirely. Increase your fibre intake gradually over several weeks, and make sure you are drinking enough water as you do so.

How Sugar and Ultra-Processed Food Damage Your Gut Bacteria

Aaron raised something he had heard in passing — the idea that a high-sugar diet changes the composition of your gut microbiome, causing the bacteria that thrive on sugar to proliferate and then send signals to your brain to crave more of it. He was, perhaps understandably, half-expecting Kristen to tell him this was internet nonsense.

She didn't. "That's actually right," she confirmed.

A diet high in processed sugar, ultra-processed foods, and additives causes what is known as gut dysbiosis — an imbalance between beneficial and harmful bacteria in the gut. The harmful bacteria multiply, the beneficial bacteria decline, and the microbiome begins producing signals that reinforce the very dietary choices that created the imbalance in the first place. Your gut bacteria are, in a very real sense, influencing what you crave.

The good news is that this is reversible. Eating more fibre and introducing more probiotic-rich fermented foods — Greek yogurt, kefir, sourdough, kimchi — actively boosts the population of beneficial bacteria and can begin to rebalance the microbiome within weeks.

Hydration for Riders — and Why the Hip Flask Doesn't Count

Kristen is, by her own admission, the person on the hunting field with two small water bottles in her pocket while everyone else is passing around the hip flask. She is also, by her own admission, not entirely immune to the occasional port — but her point stands.

Hydration is consistently underestimated by riders, particularly on long yard days and in the summer months. Kristen recommends a baseline of 1.5 to 2 litres of fluid per day, increasing meaningfully if you are riding multiple horses, competing, or working in warm weather. Coffee and energy drinks do not count toward this — caffeine is a diuretic that actively counteracts hydration.

Her practical tip: before you do anything else in the morning — before coffee, before checking your phone, before feeding — drink a full glass of water. "Hydrate before you caffeinate," she said. Your body has been without water for seven or eight hours while you slept. Starting the day with water before anything else is one of the simplest performance habits available, and it costs nothing.

A useful hack for riders who struggle to drink enough plain water: dilute half orange juice or cranberry juice with half water. You get hydration, a natural source of sugar to fuel your muscles, and something that actually tastes like you want to drink it.

The Supplement Myth — What Most Riders Are Wasting Money On

Should Horse Riders Take Electrolyte Supplements?

For most riders on most days, electrolyte supplements are unnecessary. Electrolytes — sodium, magnesium, and potassium — are only genuinely needed when you are sweating heavily and for extended periods. The average person in the UK is already consuming far more sodium than needed through their everyday diet, and adding electrolyte sachets on top can cause water retention, bloating, and an increased risk of cardiovascular issues over time. Save the electrolytes for genuinely high-sweat situations — a full cross-country day in August, for example — and skip them on a standard yard morning.

According to Kristen Stavridis, most supplement brands are spreading misinformation about electrolytes to drive sales, and the regulation around supplements in the UK is, frankly, weak. There is currently no independent body checking what is actually in supplements before they go on sale. If you are going to spend money on supplements, buy from a brand with third-party testing — and question whether you need them at all.

What About Creatine?

Creatine is one supplement that Kristen does have time for — and not just for the reasons most people expect. The common association is with bodybuilding and muscle bulk, which puts many riders off entirely. Kristen is clear: creatine does not cause muscle growth and will not make you bulky. What it does is provide your muscles with more readily available ATP — essentially more explosive energy. It also has well-documented benefits for cognitive function and focus, including a study she referenced in which sleep-deprived individuals given a high dose of creatine performed nearly as well on cognitive tests as those who were not sleep-deprived. For riders managing early starts and long days, that is not an irrelevant finding.

Nutrition for Female Riders — Periods, Perimenopause, and Bone Density

The equestrian industry is predominantly female, and yet the vast majority of nutritional research — including most fasting studies — has been conducted on men. Kristen addresses this gap directly.

Is Fasting Beneficial for Female Horse Riders?

The evidence on fasting for women is considerably more mixed than for men, and particularly so around perimenopause and the menopausal years. For women in this phase of life, maintaining stable blood sugar throughout the day is significantly more important than following a restrictive eating window. The hormonal fluctuations already occurring during this period make blood sugar instability more pronounced — adding fasting on top can worsen mood, energy, and metabolic health rather than improve it. A short overnight fast of 12 hours, however, can support gut microbiome regeneration without the downsides of extended restriction.

For perimenopausal and menopausal riders specifically, Kristen highlights two nutritional priorities that are easy to overlook: adequate protein at every meal to counteract the natural loss of muscle mass that accelerates with declining oestrogen, and sufficient intake of iron and calcium-supporting foods to protect bone density. Riders who are under-fuelling at this stage of life are not just affecting their current performance — they are potentially affecting how long they can continue to ride.

Iron Deficiency and the Menstrual Cycle

Many female riders are running low on iron without realising it — particularly those who are vegetarian, vegan, or pescatarian. Kristen mentioned that she has been in and out of anaemia throughout her life, and that keeping on top of her iron levels — particularly in the week before her menstrual phase — makes a measurable difference to her dizziness, energy, and general manageability of symptoms. A simple blood test through your GP is free and will tell you definitively whether supplementation is warranted.

Competition Nerves, Upset Stomachs, and the Caffeine Problem

The gut-brain connection is real and it is well-established. The vagus nerve connects the brain and the gut directly — which is why nerves produce physical gut symptoms, and why gut health can influence mood and anxiety. For riders, this connection has a very practical implication on competition morning.

Why Do Riders Get Upset Stomachs Before Competing?

Competition nerves trigger the sympathetic nervous system, which communicates directly with the gut via the vagus nerve. This can cause faster bowel movements, cramping, nausea, and urgency — all of which are made significantly worse by caffeine. Caffeine is a stimulant that heightens anxiety, increases heart rate, and speeds up gut motility. Drinking strong coffee or energy drinks on a nervous competition morning is likely to amplify every symptom rather than help you focus.

Kristen's single most practical tip for riders dealing with competition-day stomach issues is to remove caffeine on show mornings — or at minimum switch to something with a gentler caffeine release. Matcha, she notes, is a good alternative: it still contains caffeine, but releases it more slowly and steadily than coffee or energy drinks, without the sharp spike and subsequent crash.

The One Daily Habit That Would Transform Most Riders' Gut Health

Aaron closed the quickfire round with a question that produced arguably the most actionable answer of the episode: what single daily habit would improve both gut health and riding performance, starting tomorrow?

Kristen's answer: eat more fermented foods.

According to Kristen Stavridis, fermented foods — which contain live bacterial cultures — directly populate the beneficial bacteria in your gut, with measurable effects on brain health, exercise performance, immune function, and even weight management. The best news is that they do not need to be expensive or exotic. Greek yogurt is one of the most effective and accessible fermented foods available. Kefir — a fermented fizzy drink now stocked in most UK supermarkets in flavours like raspberry and ginger — is another easy option that also contributes to daily hydration. Sourdough bread, blue cheese, and miso are all fermented foods that most people already eat in some form.

If sauerkraut and kimchi feel like a stretch at this point in your gut health journey, that is absolutely fine. Start with a daily Greek yogurt and work from there.

A Practical Nutrition Guide for Busy Riders

What Is the Best Breakfast for Equestrians on Early Yard Mornings?

The best breakfast for riders on early yard starts is anything that provides slow-release carbohydrates and can be eaten quickly or on the move. Overnight oats prepared the night before are ideal — they take two minutes to make, cost very little, and can be eaten cold in the car. A banana with a handful of nuts, a whole grain oat bar, or brown toast with eggs are all excellent options. The goal is not perfection — it is simply to avoid arriving at the yard with your blood sugar already crashing and your muscles running on nothing.

Quick Swaps for Yard Days

• Replace an energy drink at 6am with a coffee plus milk, or a banana and a glass of water — you'll get actual fuel rather than just caffeine.
• Replace white toast with brown or wholegrain — same effort, significantly more fibre.
• Replace fresh berries (expensive, go soft quickly) with frozen — equal nutrition, lower cost, less waste.
• Replace a mid-morning nothing with a small pot of Greek yogurt — 5 minutes, probiotics, protein, and it keeps you going until lunch.
• Replace energy drinks on the hunting field with diluted orange juice — natural sugar for muscle glycogen, proper hydration, no crash.

Listen to the Full Episode

This article captures the highlights, but the full conversation between Aaron and Kristen runs to over two hours and covers considerably more ground — including a fascinating discussion about how your gut bacteria can literally influence your food cravings, the real reason most people feel terrible after extreme diets, and Kristen's own experience of navigating iron deficiency as an active rider.

You can listen to Episode 35 on Spotify or watch the full video on YouTube above. If you found this useful, please share it with a rider you know who is still skipping breakfast on show mornings.

And while you're here — if your yard kit is in need of a refresh, take a look at our riding jodhpurs and breeches or browse the full boots collection — because if you're going to ride like an athlete, you may as well look the part.