Hydra-MAX · Electrolytes + Creatine A horse drinking from a water bucket in the barn aisle, with Hydra-MAX alongside
Common Questions
One 8 ounce scoop is one serving, stirred into 3 to 5 gallons of clean water. One scoop a day. On hard work, hauling, and heat days, give two. Make sure the powder dissolves fully before it goes in the trough.
A bucket is 32 servings: about a month at one scoop a day, or roughly two weeks at the two-scoop rate. On subscription that works out to about $2.94 a day.
Because form follows the actives. Electrolytes and creatine dissolve, suspend, and absorb best in solution, and a high-mesh powder stirred into water is already in solution by the time your horse drinks it. Shipping it pre-mixed would just mean shipping you gallons of water.
Yes, and most barns do. Gut X handles absorption and gut health, Hydra-MAX handles hydration and recovery. Feed them together →
Anytime. Manage everything in your account or by SMS: pause, change delivery dates, or cancel with no fees and no phone tree.
Thirst is driven by the salt concentration of the blood, so putting the salt back is what restores it. Most horses go to the water inside the first half hour. The recovery, topline, and poor-drinker benefits of the five electrolytes plus creatine build over the following weeks of consistent daily feeding.
How much should I order? Answer 4 questions & we’ll size it for you.
Hydra-MAX · Electrolytes + Creatine

Sweat takes more than water.
Put all of it back.

HydrationRecoveryPoor Drinkers

Equine sweat is hypertonic: it carries more salt than blood does. A horse who sweats hard loses proportionally more electrolyte than fluid, so plain water dilutes what is left instead of replacing it, and the thirst signal never rises.

One 8 ounce scoop replaces five electrolytes in the proportions sweat takes them, carries the water in with glucose and glycerol, and adds 40,000 mg of creatine monohydrate, the muscle-energy substrate no other equine electrolyte includes. Stir it into 3 to 5 gallons of clean water.

Free shipping 90-day money-back Pause or cancel anytime
Your 2 Bucket Subscription includes
  • ✓2 buckets of Hydra-MAX + scoop (64 servings)
  • ✓90-Day Money-Back Guarantee
  • ✓Free Equine Nutritionist Consultation
Hydra-MAX · 2 Bucket
CREATINEThe only one with it
USEF / FEIShow compliant
FREE SHIPPINGSame day, ship by 3pm CST
32Servings per bucket
The hydration gap

Sweat takes more salt than water.
Water alone cannot put it back.

Equine sweat is hypertonic: it carries a higher concentration of electrolytes than blood does.3, 4 A sweating horse therefore loses proportionally more salt than fluid, and plain water dilutes what is left rather than replacing it. Hydra-MAX is built to expand plasma volume, the compartment that feeds evaporative cooling and the one most closely tied to performance.1, 2

True hydration

Water + Electrolytes + Cellular absorption

Which happens only when all three fluid compartments are balanced: intracellular inside the cells, extracellular around them, and intravascular in the bloodstream. Water alone fills one of the three.

This is also why a dehydrated horse can stop drinking. Thirst is driven by the salt concentration of the blood. Lose salt and water together and that signal never rises, so the horse who needs water most is the one who will not touch the bucket. Put the salt back and the thirst comes back with it.

Replace

Five electrolytes, not two. Sodium, chloride, potassium, calcium and magnesium, in the proportions sweat actually takes them, not just salt and sugar.

Dissolve

A high-mesh powder, on purpose. Electrolytes and creatine dissolve, suspend, and absorb best in solution. Stirred into the trough, it is already in solution before your horse drinks it.

Recover

40,000 mg of creatine monohydrate. Osmotically active, shown to raise total body water, and stored mostly inside the muscle cell, the compartment plain water reaches last.28–32

Hydra-MAX vs. the rest

Most electrolytes are salt and sugar.

Every product in this category replaces sodium. The question is what else it does, and whether it gives the muscle anything back.

Hydra-MAX
Typical electrolyte
Plain salt
Creatine
40,000 mg
None
None
Electrolytes replaced
Five
Two or three
Sodium only
Holds water in circulation
Glucose + glycerol
Sugar only
No
Works for poor drinkers
By design
Varies
No
Show safe
USEF / FEI
It depends
Yes
Ingredients

The whole label, in the order it matters.

One scoop is one serving: 8 ounces, 242 grams, stirred into 3 to 5 gallons of clean water. It is a high-mesh powder by design, because electrolytes and creatine dissolve, suspend, and absorb best in solution. Every amount below is per serving, taken from the Guaranteed Analysis panel. Sodium and calcium are guaranteed as a range; the figure shown is the minimum. The salt forms are chosen, not defaulted: citrate and bicarbonate carry part of the load so the electrolyte targets are met without the gut paying for it.

The difference

Creatine MonohydrateThe differentiator

An osmotically active substance shown to increase total body water. Most creatine is stored inside muscle cells, so that gain is largely intracellular expansion, the compartment plain water reaches last. Standard in human sports nutrition for decades and effectively absent from equine electrolytes.28–32

40,000
mg / serving

ChlorideFrom sodium chloride and magnesium chloride

The largest electrolyte loss in equine sweat and the one most often under-replaced. Chloride is central to fluid balance, but high chloride loads feed hydrochloric acid production, so part of the target here is met through magnesium chloride rather than piling on more salt.11, 12

22,000
mg / serving

SodiumFrom sodium chloride and sodium citrate

Guaranteed at 14,000 mg minimum, 15,690 mg maximum. The most abundant electrolyte in equine blood and the most abundant one lost to sweat. Rising serum sodium is what triggers thirst, which is why replacing it is what actually gets a dehydrated horse to drink. Part of the dose is sodium citrate: less salty, no added chloride, easier on the gut, and a buffer in its own right.5–10, 13

14,000
mg / serving

GlucoseDextrose

At 41.3% the largest single component. Glucose and sodium share a co-transport pathway across the gut wall, the mechanism behind every clinical oral rehydration solution since Crane described it in 1960. Glucose is how the water actually gets in.20–22

100,000
mg / serving

GlycerolGlycerin

An osmolyte that reduces water excretion by the kidney and increases voluntary drinking, both demonstrated in horses. It distributes evenly across the fluid compartments, so the water a horse takes on stays available through the work instead of ending up in the stall.23–27

40,000
mg / serving

PotassiumAs potassium bicarbonate

Lost steadily in sweat, though less than sodium and chloride, and central to muscle contractility and blood-pressure regulation. The bicarbonate form raises osmolality, lowers the risk of gut upset compared with the chloride, and is associated with reduced bone turnover.14, 15

5,000
mg / serving

CalciumAs calcium citrate

Guaranteed at 1,000 mg minimum, 1,500 mg maximum. Small in sweat loss terms but not optional: calcium binds the troponin-tropomyosin complex to start the actin-myosin cross-bridge, which is muscle contraction itself. Citrate for bioavailability and a low GI risk.3, 4

1,000
mg / serving

MagnesiumAs magnesium chloride

A cofactor in hundreds of enzymatic reactions and a factor in the contraction and relaxation cycle of working muscle. The chloride form was chosen for high bioavailability and because it supplies the balance of the chloride target.16–19

480
mg / serving

Full ingredient statement

Magnesium chloride, sodium chloride, sodium citrate, calcium citrate, glucose, creatine monohydrate, potassium bicarbonate, glycerol.

References
  1. 1Brinkman, J. E., Dorius, B., & Sharma, S. (2025). Physiology, body fluids. StatPearls. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
  2. 2Hagberg, J. M., Goldberg, A. P., Lakatta, L., et al. (1998). Expanded blood volumes contribute to the increased cardiovascular performance of endurance-trained older men. Journal of Applied Physiology, 85(2), 484–489.
  3. 3McCutcheon, L. J., Geor, R. J., Hare, M. J., Ecker, G. L., & Lindinger, M. I. (1995). Sweating rate and sweat composition during exercise and recovery in ambient heat and humidity. Equine Veterinary Journal Supplement, (20). pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
  4. 4Lindinger, M. I. (2022). Oral electrolyte and water supplementation in horses. Veterinary Sciences, 9(11), 626.
  5. 5Ju, J. C., Cheng, S. P., Fan, Y. K., et al. (1993). Investigation of equine hematological constituents in central Taiwan. Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences, 6(1), 147–153.
  6. 6McCutcheon, L. J., Geor, R. J., Ecker, G. L., & Lindinger, M. I. (1999). Equine sweating responses to submaximal exercise during 21 days of heat acclimation. Journal of Applied Physiology, 87(5), 1843–1851.
  7. 7Tonog, P., & Lakhkar, A. D. (2025). Normal saline. StatPearls. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
  8. 8Alshut, F., Venner, M., Martinsson, G., & Vervuert, I. (2023). The effects of feeding sodium chloride pellets on the gastric mucosa, acid-base, and mineral status in exercising horses. Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine, 37(6), 2552–2561.
  9. 9Holbrook, T. C., Simmons, R. D., Payton, M. E., & MacAllister, C. G. (2005). Effect of repeated oral administration of hypertonic electrolyte solution on equine gastric mucosa. Equine Veterinary Journal, 37(6), 501–504.
  10. 10Randall, R. P., Schurg, W. A., & Church, D. C. (1978). Response of horses to sweet, salty, sour and bitter solutions. Journal of Animal Science, 47(1), 51–55.
  11. 11Berend, K., van Hulsteijn, L. H., & Gans, R. O. B. (2012). Chloride: the queen of electrolytes? European Journal of Internal Medicine, 23(3), 203–211.
  12. 12Tubbs, A. L., Liu, B., Rogers, T. D., Sartor, R. B., & Miao, E. A. (2017). Dietary salt exacerbates experimental colitis. Journal of Immunology, 199(3), 1051–1059.
  13. 13Urwin, C. S., Snow, R. J., Condo, D., et al. (2021). Factors influencing blood alkalosis and other physiological responses, gastrointestinal symptoms, and exercise performance following sodium citrate supplementation: a review. International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, 31(2), 168–186.
  14. 14Terker, A. S., Zhang, C., McCormick, J. A., et al. (2015). Potassium modulates electrolyte balance and blood pressure through effects on distal cell voltage and chloride. Cell Metabolism, 21(1), 39–50.
  15. 15National Research Council (US) Subcommittee on the Tenth Edition of the RDAs. (1989). Water and electrolytes. In Recommended Dietary Allowances, 10th ed. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
  16. 16Martin, K. J., González, E. A., & Slatopolsky, E. (2009). Clinical consequences and management of hypomagnesemia. Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, 20(11), 2291–2295.
  17. 17Al Alawi, A. M., Majoni, S. W., & Falhammar, H. (2018). Magnesium and human health: perspectives and research directions. International Journal of Endocrinology, 2018, 9041694.
  18. 18Souza, A. C. R., Vasconcelos, A. R., Dias, D. D., Komoni, G., & Name, J. J. (2023). The integral role of magnesium in muscle integrity and aging: a comprehensive review. Nutrients, 15(24), 5127.
  19. 19Schuchardt, J. P., & Hahn, A. (2017). Intestinal absorption and factors influencing bioavailability of magnesium: an update. Current Nutrition & Food Science, 13(4), 260–278.
  20. 20Hamilton, K. L. (2013). Robert K. Crane: Na+-glucose cotransporter to cure? Frontiers in Physiology, 4, 53.
  21. 21Wright, E. M., Loo, D. D. F., & Hirayama, B. A. (2011). Biology of human sodium glucose transporters. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
  22. 22Bullimore, S. R., Pagan, J. D., Harris, P. A., et al. (2000). Carbohydrate supplementation of horses during endurance exercise: comparison of fructose and glucose. Journal of Nutrition, 130(7), 1760–1765.
  23. 23Schott, H. C., Patterson, K. S., & Eberhart, S. W. (2001). Glycerol hyperhydration in resting horses. The Veterinary Journal, 161(2), 194–204.
  24. 24Düsterdieck, K. F., Schott, H. C., Eberhart, S. W., Woody, K. A., & Coenen, M. (1999). Electrolyte and glycerol supplementation improve water intake by horses performing a simulated 60 km endurance ride. Equine Veterinary Journal Supplement, (30), 418–424.
  25. 25van Rosendal, S. P., Strobel, N. A., Osborne, M. A., Fassett, R. G., & Coombes, J. S. (2015). Hydration and endocrine responses to intravenous fluid and oral glycerol. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports, 25(S1), 112–125.
  26. 26van Rosendal, S. P., Osborne, M. A., Fassett, R. G., & Coombes, J. S. (2010). Guidelines for glycerol use in hyperhydration and rehydration associated with exercise. Sports Medicine, 40(2), 113–129.
  27. 27Lyons, T. P., Riedesel, M. L., Meuli, L. E., & Chick, T. W. (1990). Effects of glycerol-induced hyperhydration prior to exercise in the heat on sweating and core temperature. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 22(4), 477–483.
  28. 28Tarnopolsky, M. A., Bourgeois, J. M., Snow, R., et al. (2003). Histological assessment of intermediate- and long-term creatine monohydrate supplementation in mice and rats. American Journal of Physiology, 285(4), R762–769.
  29. 29Hall, M., Manetta, E., & Tupper, K. (2021). Creatine supplementation: an update. Current Sports Medicine Reports, 20(7), 338–344.
  30. 30Powers, M. E., Arnold, B. L., Weltman, A. L., et al. (2003). Creatine supplementation increases total body water without altering fluid distribution. Journal of Athletic Training, 38(1), 44–50.
  31. 31Zdolsek, J. H., Lisander, B., & Hahn, R. G. (2005). Measuring the size of the extracellular fluid space using bromide, iohexol, and sodium dilution. Anesthesia & Analgesia, 101(6), 1770–1777.
  32. 32Cataldi, D., Bennett, J. P., Quon, B. K., et al. (2022). Agreement and precision of deuterium dilution for total body water and multicompartment body composition assessment in collegiate athletes. Journal of Nutrition, 152(9), 2048–2059.
The Protocol

One scoop, every day it counts

One 8 ounce scoop stirred into 3 to 5 gallons of clean water, daily. Go to two scoops on the days that take it out of them: hard work, hauling, and heat. Reluctant drinkers benefit year round, not just in summer.

Work · travel · heatEvery day
Heavy sweat days 2 scoops / day
Daily maintenance 1 scoop / day
≈ 16 days per bucket
≈ 32 days per bucket
How it works

Three steps, once a day.

1

Scoop it

One 8 ounce scoop is one serving. Thirty-two of them to a bucket, so there is no measuring and no math at the trough.

2

Add to water

Stir into 3 to 5 gallons of clean water until the powder is fully dissolved. No paste, no syringe, no wrestling.

3

Watch them drink

Putting the salt back is what brings the thirst back. Most horses go to the water inside half an hour.

From the barn

Real horses. Here are a few of them.

Real members, real horses, real results. Tag #100XEquine to be featured.

Rev · off-track Thoroughbred
Emily’s mare
Arena, tacked up
Daniela’s gelding
Austyn’s rescue mare
Madi’s bay
Hay bales, doing well
Day 30, filled out
Coat bloom
Morning feed
Rev · off-track Thoroughbred
Emily’s mare
Arena, tacked up
Daniela’s gelding
Austyn’s rescue mare
Madi’s bay
Hay bales, doing well
Day 30, filled out
Coat bloom
Morning feed
Daniela · 60 days
Madi’s mare, summer
Top-dressing the feed
Rev · Day 0
Pasture moment
Trail ready
Austyn · before
Show-prep shine
Starting point
Owner + horse
Daniela · 60 days
Madi’s mare, summer
Top-dressing the feed
Rev · Day 0
Pasture moment
Trail ready
Austyn · before
Show-prep shine
Starting point
Owner + horse
Dr. Russ Peterson, DVM, Chief Veterinary Officer, 100X Equine
Chief Veterinary Officer

47 years of Equine Medicine, in one jug.

The Veterinary Standard Behind 100X Equine

Dr. Russ Peterson, DVM, MS, DACVSMR, Cert. ISELP brings nearly five decades of equine medicine, sport horse performance, rehabilitation, nutrition, and clinical decision-making to 100X Equine.

As Chief Veterinary Officer, Dr. Peterson helps guide the clinical thinking behind every 100X Equine formula, from ingredient selection to dosing strategy to how those actives are delivered inside the horse.

Hydra-MAX reflects that standard: five electrolytes replaced in the proportions equine sweat takes them, glucose and glycerol to carry the water and hold it in circulation, and 40,000 mg of creatine monohydrate a serving, the substrate working muscle actually runs on.

Board-certifiedSports Medicine & RehabilitationEquine NutritionFormulation Science
The creatine difference

Every electrolyte replaces salt.
One gives the muscle something back.

Rehydration is the price of entry. What separates Hydra-MAX is the 40,000 mg of creatine monohydrate in every serving, the substrate working muscle actually runs on.

01

Replace

Sodium, chloride, potassium, calcium and magnesium, in the proportions equine sweat actually takes them. Chloride is the largest loss and the one most often under-replaced.

02

Rehydrate

Glucose drives sodium-coupled water transport across the gut wall. Glycerol holds that water in circulation instead of letting it pass straight through.

03

Recover

Creatine monohydrate at 4% of the formula. Standard in human sports nutrition for decades, and effectively absent from the equine electrolyte aisle.

8XActive ingredients vs other leading brands1
3.5XImproved hydration over water alone1
2XMore water consumption with Hydra-MAX1

Also per serving40,000 mg creatine monohydrate, 100,000 mg glucose and 40,000 mg glycerol: the substrate, plus the two components that carry the water in and hold it there. Amounts are per one 8 ounce scoop, as listed on the current Guaranteed Analysis panel. See the full panel.

1Peterson, R., DVM & Dietrich, DVM (2026). Post exercise hydration responses to an electrolyte, glycerol, and creatine supplement in horses: a preliminary study. BMC Veterinary Research 22:324. doi:10.1186/s12917-026-05493-w. Peer-reviewed.

Show-Safe Formula

No prohibited substances. Hydra-MAX is USEF and FEI compliant, so it stays legal for horses competing under both rule sets.

90-Day Money-Back Guarantee

Feed it daily for 90 days. If you don’t see the difference, we refund you, with free shipping on every order.

Subscribe & Save

Put any protocol on auto-delivery and lock in a better price on every order. Pause, skip, swap, or change your delivery dates anytime, fully in your control.

Still deciding

Questions, answered.

Two things. It replaces five electrolytes rather than the usual salt and sugar, and it carries 40,000 mg of creatine monohydrate per serving. Creatine has been standard in human sports nutrition for decades and is effectively absent from the equine electrolyte aisle. Replacing salt gets a horse drinking. Creatine gives the muscle back the substrate it runs on.
It can be, which is why the forms here were chosen rather than defaulted. Repeated dosing with a hypertonic electrolyte paste has been shown to increase gastric ulcer number and severity in horses, while 30 g of sodium fed as pellets in a blinded, placebo-controlled crossover did not.8, 9 Hydra-MAX sits well under that, and spreads the load across sodium citrate, potassium bicarbonate and calcium citrate instead of piling on chlorides. Less salty, lower chloride, easier on the gut, same electrolyte targets.
Because form follows the actives. Electrolytes and creatine dissolve, suspend, and absorb best in solution, and the way to get them there is a high-mesh powder stirred into water. By the time your horse drinks, Hydra-MAX is already in solution: the same end state our liquids are built to reach, arrived at by the route these particular actives take best. Shipping it pre-mixed would just mean shipping you gallons of water that are already in the trough.
That is the case it is built for. Thirst is driven by the salt concentration of the blood, and equine sweat is hypertonic, carrying more salt than blood does. A horse who sweats hard loses salt and water together, so the thirst signal never rises and he stops drinking exactly when he needs it most. Putting the salt back restores the signal.
Yes. USEF and FEI compliant. No prohibited substances. Creatine is a nutritional substrate, not a medication.
One 8 ounce scoop stirred into 3 to 5 gallons of clean water, daily. Two scoops on hard work, hauling, and heat days. Make sure the powder dissolves fully. There are 32 servings in a bucket.
No. Heat is the obvious case, but hauling, hard work, and a horse who is simply a poor drinker are year-round problems. Winter is when many horses drink least, because cold water is unappealing and nobody is sweating visibly.
The full system

Pair Hydra-MAX with another protocol.

Stack more and save up to 40% off. Adjust anytime.

Put your horse on the protocol.

Start with Hydra-MAX. Five electrolytes, glucose and glycerol to carry the water, and 40,000 mg of creatine a serving. Built on Dr. Peterson’s 47+ years of equine medicine.

Start with Hydra-MAX

Feed it daily for 90 days. If you don’t see the difference,
we refund you.