Equine Squamous Gastric Ulcer Syndrome (ESGUS) and glandular gastric ulcers affect the majority of performance horses. Recognizing, treating, and preventing gastric ulcers is fundamental to horse welfare.
Gastric ulcers cause genuine, chronic pain in affected horses that manifests as behavioral changes often misattributed to bad attitude or resistance. A horse that pins ears when girthed, shows reluctance to work, or has a dull coat and low body condition may have ulcers causing daily discomfort. The good news is that ulcers are highly treatable and largely preventable through management changes that align with natural horse behavior — access to forage throughout the day, reduced stress, and limited NSAID use. The welfare cost of under-diagnosing and under-treating gastric ulcers in performance horses is enormous given the prevalence. Routine scoping and proactive management are welfare investments with clear returns.