Endoscopic scoring systems for equine gastric ulcers provide objective grading of disease severity that guides treatment intensity and welfare assessment across the population.
Objective ulcer scoring through endoscopy has transformed equine gastric welfare from subjective impression to measurable clinical assessment. The correlation between endoscopic grade and behavioral indicators — higher grades producing stronger behavioral pain signals — validates the use of behavioral assessment for welfare screening when endoscopy is unavailable. For welfare policy purposes, population-level scoring data reveals the prevalence of significant disease (grades 3-4) requiring treatment, providing evidence base for preventive management standards in competition horse welfare guidelines. The welfare case for endoscopic assessment is thus both individual — guiding treatment for affected horses — and systemic — generating population welfare data that informs policy.