Equine gastric ulcer syndrome affects a high proportion of performance and leisure horses. Prevention through management changes is more effective - and more welfare-positive - than repeated treatment.
Gastric ulcers cause chronic pain that profoundly affects horse welfare and behaviour. A horse with ulcers may seem difficult, reluctant to work or poorly performing without owners realising the underlying cause is physical pain. The welfare solution is fundamentally about husbandry: horses need continuous forage access, low-stress management, turnout time and social contact. The modern horse-keeping model of stabling, limited hay and regular exercise is fundamentally at odds with equine digestive physiology. Treating ulcers with medication while continuing the same management is a welfare failure that leads to inevitable relapse.