Equine gastric ulcer syndrome is extremely prevalent in performance horses and causes significant chronic pain. Understanding causes and management improves welfare outcomes.
Equine gastric ulcer syndrome causes chronic abdominal pain that affects horses both physically and psychologically. The pain from gastric acid contacting ulcerated mucosa occurs particularly when the stomach is empty between meals, creating a cycle of pain associated with feeding management. Behavioral signs including resistance to being girthed, changes in attitude to work, and intermittent colic suggest ongoing pain that may be misinterpreted as behavioral problems and addressed through increased training pressure rather than medical investigation. Management changes including ad libitum forage access, reduced grain feeding, and alfalfa hay buffering gastric acid address underlying causes.