Signs of Ulcers in Horses: What to Look For, and What Actually Helps
Share
Girthiness that wasn't there last season. A horse who's gone off his feed but isn't sick. Weight that won't stay on no matter what you throw at him. Gastric ulcers are common enough in Australian horses that most owners will meet them eventually — and subtle enough that plenty go unnoticed for months.
This is what to look for, when to call your vet, and what actually makes a difference day to day.
What gastric ulcers actually are
Equine Gastric Ulcer Syndrome (EGUS): erosion of the stomach lining caused by acid making contact with tissue that isn't built to withstand it.
Here's the part that explains almost everything else. A horse's stomach produces acid continuously, whether there's food in it or not — because horses evolved to graze for sixteen-plus hours a day. Chewing forage produces saliva, saliva buffers acid, and a steady trickle of grass keeps a physical mat of fibre between the acid and the upper stomach wall.
Take away the constant grazing, and you take away the buffer. That's the whole mechanism.
The signs owners notice first
Ulcers rarely announce themselves. They show up as a horse who is subtly, persistently not quite right:
- Girthiness — pinning ears, swinging a head around, or flinching when the girth comes up
- Picky eating — leaving feed, eating slowly, or walking away mid-meal
- Lost condition — particularly a topline that won't build no matter the work or the feed
- A dull, staring coat that doesn't respond to grooming or oil
- Behavioural change — new spookiness, resistance, reluctance to go forward, or general grumpiness
- Mild recurring colic, often shortly after feeding
- Teeth grinding or excess salivation
Any one of these on its own means very little. Three or four together, in a horse whose management has recently changed, is worth taking seriously.
Why ulcers happen more often than you'd think
The risk factors are mostly things we do to horses for perfectly sensible reasons:
- Gaps between feeds. Even four hours with an empty stomach lets acid sit against unprotected tissue.
- Grain-heavy diets. Concentrates are chewed less, so they produce less saliva, and they ferment into additional acid.
- Hard work. Exercise pushes acid up into the more vulnerable upper portion of the stomach.
- Travel and competition. Floating, new environments and disrupted routine all raise the risk.
- Box rest and isolation. Stress is a genuine physiological contributor, not just a mood.
Which is why ex-racehorses and hard-working performance horses turn up so often in these conversations. Their entire routine is a stack of risk factors.
Only a vet can actually confirm it
This matters, so it gets its own heading: the only way to know your horse has ulcers is gastroscopy. A vet passes a camera into the stomach and looks.
Every sign listed above can also be caused by something else entirely — dental pain, a poorly fitting saddle, hindgut problems, or a musculoskeletal issue the horse is compensating for. Guessing costs you time and can leave the real problem untreated.
If your horse is showing several of these signs, book the scope. Diagnosed ulcers are treated with veterinary medication, and nothing in this article is a substitute for that.
What actually helps, day to day
Whether you're managing diagnosed ulcers alongside veterinary treatment or simply trying to keep a sensitive horse comfortable, the management changes matter more than any product:
| Change | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Forage first, always | A handful of hay before grain gives acid something to work on other than the stomach wall |
| Close the gaps | Slow-feed nets and more frequent small meals keep the buffer running |
| Cut the concentrates | Replace hard feed with fibre and oil where the workload allows |
| Turnout and company | Grazing time and herd contact reduce the stress load directly |
| Never work on empty | Forage before exercise reduces acid splashing into the upper stomach |
Where herbal support fits
Herbs don't replace veterinary treatment or good management. What they can do is support the tissue and the digestive environment while the rest of the work happens.
Our Digestive Soothe & Heal formula is built around three jobs. Soothing and protection comes from fennel seed, licorice root, marshmallow root and lecithin — traditional demulcents that support a high-fibre, prebiotic environment. Gastrointestinal balance comes from coptis root, mastic gum and spirulina. Gut barrier support comes from quercetin dihydrate, inner-leaf aloe vera, L-glutamine and zinc gluconate.
Every herb is named, with the reason it's there, on our ingredients page. If a supplement brand won't tell you that, it should worry you more than the price tag.
One owner's experience
"This Digestive Soothe & Heal formula is awesome. It's helped my ex-racehorse's ulcers, girthiness and lack of condition. He is now calmer, putting weight on and has a new healthier coat coming through."
— A., Geelong
Every horse is different, and we won't promise you the same outcome. What we will do is tell you exactly what's in the pouch and why.
Where to start
If several of those signs sound like your horse, the order is: call your vet, then fix the management, then look at what support fits alongside.
If you want to talk through what's going on before you spend anything, phone Kellie on 0404 333 059 or email FoxleeEquineWellness@proton.me. We would rather point you at the right thing — or tell you honestly that none of our products are the right thing — than sell you a pouch that won't help.
General wellness support — not a substitute for veterinary care.