What causes ulcer in horses?

Pet Care

In order to treat an ulcer successfully, one must fully understand the causes for occurrence of ulcer in it first place. Knowing the real reason behind this we can help out the horses from this problem or eradicate them completely. A recent study show that 03% of race horses suffered from ulcers, while 63 % are performance horses were likely to have horse ulcers at some point of their life, while the 35% are the domestic horses which also suffers due to  horse ulcers. While these numbers are really astonishing but we would should give a serious thought about it. While race horse and performance horse spend a lot of time stabled with little or no forage and a very controlled diet which leads to suffering of ulcers very much

How can we naturally prevent horses from getting an ulcer?

Forage is the most important factor for reducing the ulcer in horses but it will not be 100% successful.  There are certain factors taken into consideration but if we happen to follow the simple steps they can greatly reduce the chances of ulcers:

  1. Increased grazing
  • A horse stomach is producing continuously the acid regardless of whether they are eating or not and if they are not eating continuously the acid is going to build up. The horse should spend at least 16 to 18 hours grazing that this will help in neutralizing the acid.
  • Regular water:
  • Constant access to plenty of water is very essential to horse life and the prevention of ulcers is also no different. Water will help in the horse’s  digestion and also to wash out the excess acid through
  • Reduce grains:
  • Horses generally consume certain amount of grains in their diet, but feeding to much of grains will increase the risk of ulcers. This is because while chewing grains, they produce less saliva secretion while compared to hay or forage.


  • Be Consistent:
  • Horses are very intelligent animals and repetition can make the horses very boring and stressful. It is very important to keep them stimulated but rapid change at once will result in the increase production of acid which in turn leads to the risk of ulcers to a greater extent. Therefore change in the horse’s routine must be done gradually combined with anti-stress measures too.
  • Don’t exercise in empty stomach:
  • The horses should not be exercised on empty stomach then excess acid will be left to slash around the stomach this will result in the more sensitive in the upper portion of the stomach being damaged by the acid.


  • Aloe Vera:
  • Aloevera is the magical plant that can work wonders for the treatment of horse ulcers in the horse naturally. This plant naturally reduces the amount of stomach acid by its medical benefits.


  • Slippery Elm:
  • It is also known as red elm; it’s a member of the elm’s family. The inner bark of the tree has a lot of medicinal values and it is a very good natural remedy for the prevention and treatment of ulcers.