Gastric ulcers are remarkably common in performance and stabled horses, and most cases are preventable through evidence-based management changes.
Gastric ulcers cause chronic pain and significantly reduce quality of life in affected horses. The fact that the majority of horses in competitive work have ulcers reflects a management crisis rooted in practices prioritizing performance schedules over digestive health. Horses evolved to spend most of their day eating; the typical stable environment — restricted forage, periods of fasting, high-grain diets, and stressful competition — is profoundly ulcerogenic. Prevention requires structural changes: constant forage access, reducing concentrate feeding, managing exercise and stress carefully, and ensuring adequate turnout. Treating ulcers with omeprazole without addressing management causes only temporarily masks the problem.