Gastroscopy is the gold standard for diagnosing equine gastric ulcer syndrome, allowing targeted treatment and welfare-informed management decisions for horses at risk.
Gastroscopy is a minimally invasive diagnostic procedure that causes brief discomfort but enables far more targeted welfare intervention than empirical treatment. The key welfare insight from routine gastroscopy is the prevalence of significant gastric disease in horses showing no obvious signs - stoic horses often continue working despite severe ulceration. Routine surveillance gastroscopy in high-risk horses (racehorses, sport horses, horses undergoing management changes) allows early intervention before welfare compromise becomes severe.