Gastric ulcers affect the majority of performance horses and a significant proportion of pleasure horses, causing chronic pain that owners frequently attribute to behavioural problems or lameness.
EGUS is a condition where veterinary understanding significantly outpaces owner awareness, resulting in large numbers of horses living with chronic, treatable pain that is attributed to training problems or temperament. The horse that pins its ears when girthed, bucks under saddle, or resists contact may be communicating gastric pain that has been dismissed as a behavioural issue. The link between management — inadequate forage time, grain-heavy diets, intensive work schedules, transport stress — and ulcer development means prevention is genuinely achievable through husbandry changes. When prevention fails, treatment is effective and relatively accessible. Raising owner and trainer awareness of EGUS as a welfare priority — not a competitive inconvenience — is essential for reducing its prevalence.