The Day My Horse Tried to Tell Me

I hope you find this blog post helpful! If you want a custom diet specific to your horse, click here.

Author: Dr Nerida McGilchrist | PhD Equine Nutritionist and Founder of My Happy Horse

1990s. Beef cattle farm in regional Australia. Me at 17 or 18 years old.

I was CoaCoa’s everything - her caretaker, her protector, her teammate. My brothers pranked me constantly, but they NEVER messed with anything related to my horse. They knew better. I was fiercely protective of her, and honestly? She was my best friend.

We competed in camp drafting and barrel racing, and god, we were GOOD. When CoaCoa was on, we won. She was fast, she was brave, and she tried her heart out for me every single time.

But something wasn’t right.

She’d pull her lips up in this weird grimace - not aggressive, just… pained. Her performance was all over the place. Some days she was brilliant. Other days, not so much. I had no idea why.

Then came the day she bucked me off.

Competition in my tiny hometown. CoaCoa - who had NEVER bucked me off in her life - launched me. Then she ran a lap of the showgrounds and went straight back onto the truck, like she was saying “I need to go HOME.”

I was embarrassed. Confused. But back then, the horse culture was clear: get back on, show her who’s boss, work her harder.

So that’s what I did.

And you know what? We won that day.

Because CoaCoa was a mare who would try her hardest for me, always. Even when she was hurting. Even when she’d just told me - in the only way she could - that she couldn’t do it.

I didn’t know what I didn’t know. I had zero understanding of equine nutrition. Didn’t know horses’ stomachs secreted gastric acid 24/7. Didn’t know they needed constant foraging. Didn’t know what gastric ulcers even WERE.

All I knew was: lots of pasture, some hay, and love her with everything I had.

It’s only now - decades later, after a PhD in equine nutrition and 26+ years working as a professional equine nutritionist - that I can look back and SEE it.

All those anxious behaviours. The unpredictable performance. That day she bucked me off and tried to tell me she couldn’t do it anymore.

CoaCoa was in pain. Likely suffering from gastric ulceration. And she kept trying anyway. For me.

On my Happy Horse Nutrition podcast, I ask my guests: “If you could ride any horse, past or present, who would it be?”

I never answer the question myself, but if I did?

There are SO many incredible, famous horses I’d love to ride. But my answer would always be the same: I’d ride CoaCoa again. With her gut healthy. With her mind at peace. So I could finally see who she would have been if I’d known better.

That is the horse I carry with me. The one I loved more than life itself. The one who deserved better than what teenage Nerida could give her.

Brené Brown says when we know better, we can do better.

Horses are stoic. They’re prey animals, hardwired to hide pain. They suffer in silence because of how we feed them, and too often, we don’t recognize the signs. We don’t know enough to change.

That’s why I created MyHappy.Horse.

It’s not just an app. It’s the knowledge teenage Nerida didn’t have. It’s a way for horse owners to actually SEE what they’re feeding - to KNOW if their horse’s gut is healthy, if their diet is causing problems, if there’s something they need to change.

Because horses like CoaCoa shouldn’t have to keep trying when they’re in pain.

And owners like you shouldn’t have to carry regret decades later, wondering “what if I’d known?”

When we know better, we do better.

Let me help you know better. 💚

👉 Try MyHappy.Horse and see what your horse’s diet is really doing - because they can’t tell you, but their gut health can. Click here to start your free trial

About the Author

Dr Nerida McGilchrist

Dr Nerida McGilchrist is an Australian equine nutritionist with a PhD and over two decades of experience. As the founder of Equilize Horse Nutrition, and advisor to some of the world's largest nutrition companies, she’s built an international reputation for blending science with practical solutions. Now, she’s bringing her expertise to My Happy Horse to make advanced nutrition accessible to all.