🐴💚 10 WAYS TO FEED YOUR HORSE TO HELP AVOID ULCERS 🌾✨

Ulcers are a real risk for horses. Whether you have an unridden paddock friend, a professional performance horse or any horse, pony or donkey in between, every equine can develop ulcers, as these ridiculous figures below show.

Can you believe ulcer rates above a whopping 90% have been reported in racehorses in training? 😳 That is absolutely massive and totally unacceptable. 🤬And in one study of 201 leisure horses, 53% had ulcers, despite their owners believing they were healthy. That’s more than half.😩

So what causes stomach ulcers?

ACID! 🔥

Stomach acid can damage the stomach lining when it doesn’t have enough protection provided by feeding suitable forage. These ten points explain how feeding and everyday management can contribute, and what you can do to help reduce the risk. 💚

🌾 1. FEED HAY OR GRASS REGULARLY

We might manage on a couple of meals a day, but horses aren’t built that way. They’re meant to trickle graze, eating little and often, around the clock. Their stomachs don’t stop producing acid just because we’ve decided dinner is at five. 🕔🐴

Feeding hay or providing suitable grazing 24/7 helps protect the stomach from acid. A practical way to keep forage available is to put up several slow feed haynets, so there’s always somewhere else to go when one runs out. You can bulk this out with straw to help with weight management if you don’t want your horse to eat so much hay.

🌿 2. GIVE ENOUGH FORAGE

Hay or suitable grazing should make up most of your horse’s diet, which encourages lots of chewing and grinding. This produces saliva that helps buffer stomach acid. Make sure your horse is getting enough to eat, rather than just having something available occasionally. 🌾💚

This is why we don’t recommend feeding hay a slice at a time. Better to fill suitable slow feed haynets and let your horse trickle feed whenever they want to.

🪣 3. KEEP HORSE KIBBLE MEALS SMALL

First, does your horse actually need horse kibble? They might be a big animal, but their stomach is only about the size of a rugby ball. 🏉 If you’re following point number one, there should already be forage in there, so that doesn’t leave a massive amount of room for a big bucket meal.

Whilst the horse feed industry wants you to feed your horse more because it makes them more money, it’s worth asking: does your horse really need that amount of grain or kibble? 🤔

For example, I’ve got draught horses, and most horse food packets give the frankly ridiculous amount of up to 9 kg of kibble per day. Mine actually get 500 g if they’re lucky, and they are doing great on it.

The message here is don’t feed big amounts. We suggest a maximum of around 2 litres per bucket feed, including the chaff. Try to resist feeding big meals and remember we are supplementary bucket feeding a horse, so this is on top of the forage diet. 🌾🐴

💚 4. REDUCE STRESS AND UPSET

Stress can contribute to stomach ulcers, so ask yourself: does your horse enjoy being ridden, or do they become stressed when the tack comes out? Are they comfortable with what you’re asking, or worried about the experience?

Some horses find the bit stressful. Could ditching the bit and learning to ride bitless make riding more comfortable for your horse? 🐴

What about hoof care? Does your horse find farrier visits upsetting? Could learning to maintain your horse’s feet yourself, with proper training and guidance, make the experience calmer and more familiar?

Are you stabling overnight and locking your horse away from his friends? Is he living with other horses of his own kind, or spending his time running up and down the fence line, screaming for company? 🐴🐴

Whether it’s handling, pain, bullying or separation, look at what upsets your horse and what you can change to help them feel safer and happier. 💚

🚚 5. MAKE CHANGES EASIER

Travel, stabling, isolation and changes in routine when getting out and about can interrupt eating and cause stress. Whenever possible, keep familiar forage available and maintain normal feeding routines. 🌾🪣

🐎 6. GIVE FORAGE BEFORE RIDING OR EXERCISE

Don’t ride straight after your horse has spent hours without food. Movement splashes stomach acid upwards, especially when there’s no forage.

Offer a small amount of suitable forage, such as hay, before exercise to help buffer acid, rather than a large bucket feed. 🌾💚

💧 7. KEEP CLEAN WATER AVAILABLE

Provide clean drinking water day and night. Check that troughs refill properly and buckets haven’t emptied or tipped over. ☀️🌙

In a group, make sure every horse can drink without being chased away. 🐴🐴

Allow your horse to drink after exercise. The belief that this causes colic is a myth. 💦

💊 8. TAKE CARE WITH MEDICINES SUCH AS BUTE

Use the prescribed dose for the prescribed time. If your horse needs ongoing pain relief, ask your vet about stomach protection and suitable alternatives, including alcohol free herbal remedies like Devil’s Claw. 🌿

🐴🌿 9. PROVIDE FRIENDS, FREEDOM AND FORAGE

Give your horse other equines for company and room to move. If grass needs restricting, provide appropriate hay and encourage movement and companionship wherever possible. 🐴🐴🌾

Restricting grazing shouldn’t mean leaving your horse hungry and alone. 💚

🌱 10. CHOOSE LESS PROCESSED INGREDIENTS

Unfortunately, a lot of feeds these days are highly processed. Look at the ingredients and how they’ve been prepared, rather than relying on the claims on the bag. 🔍 and ask manufacturers of hay if it’s been chemically sprayed, which can damage the essential digestive biome.

If you want to avoid genetically modified ingredients or ingredients grown using particular weedkillers, ask the manufacturer about those separately. You may be surprised and shocked at how many porkies the makers tell us through omission, or when they try to squirm out of giving a direct answer.

We prefer using suitable whole foods, such as chia, hemp or flaxseed (linseed), as less processed options. Choose ingredients that suit your horse’s needs, introduce changes gradually and watch for changes in appetite, droppings or comfort. 🐴💚

By feeding your horse like a horse helps to reduce their risk of developing ulcers. 🌾🐴💚

We hope this helps you keep your horse happy and healthy.