Diet for Horses with Ulcers: Feeding Strategies to Support the Stomach

Horses make stomach acid continuously, even when they are not eating. That is one reason ulcer-prone horses often struggle when they go for long stretches without forage, eat large grain meals, travel often, train hard, or spend more time stalled. A feeding plan for ulcers aims to keep fiber moving through the stomach, reduce acid splash onto sensitive tissue, and avoid diets that are heavy in starch and sugar.

For many horses, the foundation is more forage and fewer fasting gaps. Your vet may recommend free-choice hay when practical, more turnout and grazing time, or splitting hay into several feedings with slow feeders so the stomach is not empty for hours. Research-based guidance commonly targets at least 1.5% to 2% of body weight per day in forage dry matter for ulcer-prone horses, with grain meals kept small. For a 1,100-pound horse, that often means roughly 16.5 to 22 pounds of forage dry matter daily, adjusted for hay moisture, pasture intake, body condition, and workload.

Alfalfa is often part of the conversation because its calcium and protein content may help buffer stomach acid. Some horses benefit from a flake or small portion of alfalfa before exercise, or from a mixed grass-alfalfa forage plan. That said, not every horse should get the same amount. Horses with other nutrition concerns, including easy keepers or horses with a history of enteroliths in certain regions, need a more individualized plan.

If your horse needs more calories, ask your vet before reaching for a larger grain scoop. Lower-starch commercial feeds, ration balancers, beet pulp, and carefully introduced fat sources may fit better than high-cereal diets. Diet alone cannot confirm or cure ulcers, so if your horse has poor appetite, weight loss, attitude changes, or recurrent mild colic, your vet may recommend scoping and a broader treatment plan.

There is no single ulcer diet that is right for every horse, but there are practical intake targets that many vets use. A common starting point is at least 1.5% of body weight per day in forage dry matter, with many ulcer-prone horses doing best closer to 2% if weight and metabolism allow. For a 1,000-pound horse, that is about 15 to 20 pounds of forage dry matter daily. If hay is the main forage, the as-fed amount may be a little higher depending on moisture content.

Concentrates should usually be kept small and strategic. Merck advises not feeding more than 0.5% of body weight in grain-based concentrate at one feeding. For a 1,100-pound horse, that is about 5.5 pounds as an upper limit, but many ulcer-prone horses benefit from much smaller meals than that. Penn State guidance also recommends keeping sugar and starch under about 1 gram per kilogram of body weight per meal and 2 grams per kilogram per day when possible for horses at risk.

A practical feeding pattern may include near-continuous hay access, or hay divided into 3 to 6 offerings across the day and overnight, plus a small forage meal before riding. If your horse needs alfalfa, oil, beet pulp, or a fortified low-starch feed, introduce changes gradually over 7 to 14 days. Sudden feed changes can create new digestive problems.

Because ulcer signs overlap with colic, dental disease, weight loss, and behavior issues, your vet should help set the ration. The safest amount is the amount that supports body condition, workload, and the stomach without creating new risks elsewhere in the diet.

Ulcer-related signs in horses are often vague. Some horses show poor appetite, slower eating, weight loss, dullness, attitude changes, girthiness, resistance under saddle, or recurrent mild colic. Others may look normal between episodes. Performance horses sometimes show reduced willingness to go forward, irritability, or a drop in performance rather than obvious digestive signs.

Feeding-related red flags include leaving grain, picking at hay, seeming uncomfortable when the stomach is empty, acting worse during travel or training, or improving briefly when forage access increases. Foals can show different signs, including poor nursing, teeth grinding, salivation, lying on their backs, or diarrhea, and they should be evaluated promptly.

See your vet immediately if your horse has moderate to severe colic signs, repeated rolling, marked depression, trouble eating, black or tarry manure, rapid decline in appetite, or sudden weight loss. Ulcers are only one possible cause, and some emergencies can look similar at first.

Even if signs are mild, it is worth checking in with your vet if they keep coming back. Horses with gastric ulcers often need both management changes and medical treatment, and some horses have glandular disease or another condition entirely. A scoped diagnosis can help your vet match the feeding plan to the problem.

If your current feeding routine seems to trigger flare-ups, safer alternatives usually focus on replacing large, starch-heavy meals with more stomach-friendly calories. Options your vet may discuss include free-choice or more frequent grass hay, adding some alfalfa hay or chopped alfalfa, using a ration balancer for horses on mostly forage, and choosing a low-starch complete or performance feed when extra energy is truly needed.

For horses that need more calories without a lot more starch, soaked beet pulp, soy hull-based feeds, and carefully introduced fat sources may be useful options. These choices can help support body condition while reducing reliance on cereal grains. Slow feeders, overnight hay nets, and turnout can also be part of the plan because they change how the horse eats, not only what the horse eats.

Some pet parents ask about supplements marketed for gastric support. A few may fit into a broader plan, but supplements should not replace diagnosis or proven treatment. If your horse is already on omeprazole, sucralfate, or another medication plan from your vet, ask before adding buffers, nutraceuticals, or major feed changes.

The best alternative is the one that matches your horse’s whole picture: workload, body condition, pasture access, dental health, stress level, and budget. Your vet can help you build a conservative, standard, or more advanced feeding strategy that supports the stomach while still meeting the rest of your horse’s nutrition needs.