What female equestrians aren’t being taught about their health

New research into semi-pro and professional female equestrian athletes highlights a big gap in our sport: menstrual health education.

Here are the findings that stood out to me:

57% of athletes are on hormonal contraceptives, mostly to avoid bleeding.

57% reported that menstrual symptoms prevent them from training.

Only 14% scored well on menstrual knowledge tests.

Non-HC users experienced significantly more negative symptoms.

Unlike athletes in other sports, riders often don’t have access to integrated support teams. That leaves governing bodies with a huge opportunity — to step up and provide resources that could change how female riders train, recover, and perform.

If menstrual symptoms are sidelining over half of our female athletes, this isn’t a “women’s issue” — it’s a performance issue.

What do you think? Should our industry be doing more to support menstrual health in riders?

Nika