Equine gastric ulcer syndrome is among the most common conditions in performance horses, and prevention strategies grounded in equine digestive physiology significantly reduce welfare burden.
Equine gastric ulcer prevention provides one of the clearest examples of how management system design creates preventable welfare harm. The natural equine digestive system produces stomach acid continuously and requires continuous access to forage to buffer it. Management systems that restrict forage access and provide large infrequent starch meals create the chemical environment that produces ulcers in a majority of horses subjected to them. The welfare improvement from simply providing continuous forage access is evidence-based, inexpensive, and achievable in most management situations. Resistance to forage-based management that is driven by tradition, convenience, or concern about weight gain in easy keeper horses can be addressed through appropriate forage selection rather than restriction.