Gastric Ulcers

This is a picture of a large gastric ulcer in a horse taken with a 3 meter endoscope. The red area is the ulcer. Gastric ulcers in horses are much more common than one would think. Many scientific reports give a prevalence of 50-90% depending on activity type, feed intake, and management. The clinical signs of ulcers can be quite vague and nonspecific, but probably the most common finding associated with gastric ulcers are related to feed consumption. Horses with ulcers typically take longer to consume their feed and owners/trainers report that it is more difficult maintaining good body condition in these animals. I also have seen depression as a clinical sign, ears down, dull look, are both signs of depression.
This is just a reminder not to forget ulcers if your horse is depressed and off feed.