Equine gastric ulcer syndrome is extremely common in ridden horses and directly linked to management practices - welfare-focused management prevents most cases.
Equine gastric ulcers are a welfare problem that management practices both create and can prevent. The modern competition horse's lifestyle - intermittent stabling, large grain meals, restricted forage, and intense work - creates conditions that cause painful ulceration in the majority of horses subjected to it. The pain of gastric ulcers affects appetite, behavior under saddle, and general attitude, creating behavioral problems that owners may attribute to training issues rather than medical pain. The welfare solution requires challenging conventional management: feeding more forage, less grain, providing access to forage before exercise, and minimizing long fasting periods. This aligns welfare with performance - horses without gastric pain perform better.