Equine gastric ulcer syndrome (EGUS) is a major equine health problem worldwide. Multiple studies have reported a 90% incidence rate of ulcers in performance horses.
Ulcers negatively and sometimes severely affect a horse’s ability to perform. They cause pain and discomfort. They may reduce your horse’s appetite which in turn limits their capacity to maintain bodyweight and ulcers can lead to the development of vices like windsucking and crib biting.
After 2+ years building, many brain breaking moments (and more chocolate eaten than I care to admit 🙊) the MyHappy.Horse virtual equine nutritionist has taken it’s first tiny little steps out into the world!
Podcast #20. Join Dr Nerida and friend and horse industry colleague Orla for another engaging Q&A session. In this episode, we dive deep into free faecal water syndrome in horses—exploring fecal transplants, microbiome programming from dam to foal, and the crucial role of fibre diversity in gut health.
Check out our latest tips to keep your horse happy and healthy. Because there’s always more to learn about keeping horses at their best!
After 2+ years building, many brain breaking moments (and more chocolate eaten than I care to admit 🙊) the MyHappy.Horse virtual equine nutritionist has taken it’s first tiny little steps out into the world!
Podcast #20. Join Dr Nerida and friend and horse industry colleague Orla for another engaging Q&A session. In this episode, we dive deep into free faecal water syndrome in horses—exploring fecal transplants, microbiome programming from dam to foal, and the crucial role of fibre diversity in gut health.
Podcast #19. Join PhD equine nutritionist Dr. Nerida as she tackles one of horse owners' most pressing questions: does my horse actually need grain? This comprehensive equine nutrition episode breaks down the science behind horse grain feeding, revealing why most horses don't need grain at all - and the specific cases where they do.
Podcast #18. Discover the answer to one of the most common questions asked by horse owners worldwide: how much hay does my horse actually need? Dr. Nerida reveals why this seemingly simple question has life-or-death consequences for your horse's health and performance.
As horse owners we often give ourselves a really hard time for not doing ‘the right thing’ for our horses. This blog post was originally inspired by a conversation with a gorgeous friend whose pony had gotten laminitis.
Horses with chronic or acute kidney disease can benefit from careful nutritional management. Feeding these horses appropriate rations can take the load off their kidneys to allow them time to heal or to prolong the time the kidneys are able to function effectively for the horse.
Podcast #17. Is your horse experiencing back pain? In this eye-opening episode, equine sports medicine specialist Dr. Nicolle Wiechula and your host Dr Nerida McGilchrist dive deep into everything you need to know about horse back health.
Podcast #16. Dr. Nerida and Orla are back! And in this Q&A, they dive into some of the trickiest horse nutrition topics—because let’s face it, feeding horses isn’t always straightforward.
Podcast #15. If you own a laminitis-prone horse or pony you know well the anxiety this condition creates for us as horse owners! In this essential episode, Dr. Nerida explains why a change in season creates the 'perfect storm' for laminitis - from the science behind how cold nights and sunny days cause dangerous carbohydrate accumulation in pasture plants, to the insulin dysregulation that affects 90% of laminitis cases.
Yep, they do!
In looking at 13 pasture samples from one farm it is very clear that the higher the NSC content, the higher the digestible energy (calorie) content. The pastures shown here were all sampled between 11 am and 2 pm on the same day. They were all dried at the same time and all were analyzed by Equi-Analytical.
Podcast #14. In this evidence-first episode, Prof. Brian Nielsen (Michigan State University) and graduate researcher Renee Harbowy join me to unpack what we really know—and don’t—about glucosamine, chondroitin and MSM. We trace the research history (hello, cell culture studies), talk frankly about why high-quality equine trials are rare, and look at a clever, blinded field study run at an all-girls riding camp with ~80 horses on site.
Podcast #13. In this evidence-first episode, Prof. Brian Nielsen (Michigan State University) and graduate researcher Renee Harbowy join me to unpack what we really know—and don’t—about glucosamine, chondroitin and MSM. We trace the research history (hello, cell culture studies), talk frankly about why high-quality equine trials are rare, and look at a clever, blinded field study run at an all-girls riding camp with ~80 horses on site.
Podcast #12. Join Dr. Nerida McGilchrist and long-time friend and fellow horse industry veteran Orla for a lively and insightful Q&A. With decades of combined experience—ranging from pasture sampling to product development—these two dive deep into real-world horse nutrition challenges.
Podcast #11. How can you tell if your horse’s hindgut is healthy—or heading for trouble? In this episode, Dr Nerida explains three practical and science-backed ways to assess hindgut health: manure scoring, faecal pH, and microbiome testing. Learn how each method works, what to look for, and how these insights can help you determine if your horse’s hindgut and the microbes who live there are healthy, or not!
Podcast #10. Your horse’s hindgut microbes are the key to their health, happiness, and performance. In this episode, you’ll learn the 4 essential feeding rules that support a healthy hindgut—and why those rules matter more than any gut supplement.
Podcast #9. Want to unlock better health and performance for your horse? Start with the gut!
Podcast #8. In this Q&A episode, Dr Nerida tackles real-world feeding challenges: what hay to choose for a horse with ulcers, how to support an anxious mare, and what to feed a Shetland that’s dropping weight (and yes! Who knew this was even possible!!)
Podcast #7. Drought conditions increase the risk of ulcers, sand colic, and digestive upset — but smart feeding can reduce the danger. In this episode, Dr Nerida shares practical tips to keep your horse’s gut safe, happy, and functioning well when forage is scarce.
Is copra meal a good feed for horses?! This has to be one of the most common questions I have been asked in my career. What do I think of copra meal? Let’s dig into that…
Cooking cereal grains before you feed them to your horse is absolutely essential (with the exception of oats). Cooking improves how easy the starch inside the grain is to digest. The starch (the white stuff you can see in the middle of the grain) is the major source of energy contained in grains and it is the single reason we feed cereal grains to horses.
