How To Prevent Equine Ulcers: A Bodyworker & Energy Worker’s Guide
Ulcer prevention is not just about finding the right supplement. It is about looking at the horse’s entire life.
What are they eating? How long are they going without forage? Are they comfortable in their body? Do they have friends, movement, choice, rest, and a predictable routine? Are we supporting their nervous system, or asking them to live in a constant state of readiness?
As an equine bodyworker, bit fitter, and energy worker, I believe the best approach to preventing equine ulcers is both practical and whole-horse. I start with the foundations we already know matter: forage, water, appropriate feeding, movement, reduced stress, and veterinary care. Then I consider supportive tools such as bodywork, Reiki, omega-3-rich foods, and carefully chosen gastric supplements.
No single step can guarantee that a horse will never develop ulcers. However, a thoughtful daily management plan can reduce known risk factors and give an ulcer-prone horse a better chance of staying comfortable.
Important: This article is educational and is not a substitute for veterinary diagnosis or treatment. Gastric ulcers can occur in different regions of the stomach and may require different treatment plans. Gastroscopy, commonly called scoping, is the most reliable way to confirm their location and severity.
Start With Forage
If you want to know how to prevent equine ulcers, start with the way a horse is designed to eat.
Horses produce stomach acid continuously, but they produce acid-buffering saliva primarily while chewing. Frequent access to forage encourages chewing, saliva production, and a more protective fibrous mat in the stomach. Long periods without food remove some of that natural protection.
My basic forage-first priorities are:
Provide free-choice forage when it is appropriate for the individual horse.
If free-choice feeding is not appropriate, avoid long fasting periods and offer forage at frequent intervals.
Aim for an appropriate total forage intake based on body weight, health, workload, and body condition. Many guidelines begin around 1.5 to 2 percent of body weight per day in forage, but an equine nutritionist or veterinarian can help individualize this.
Keep fresh water available at all times
Offer hay before riding, hauling, or other stressful activity instead of working or traveling a horse on an empty stomach.
Use slow feeders thoughtfully when needed, while making sure they do not cause frustration or force an uncomfortable neck or back posture.
UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine recommends a forage-first approach, avoiding long fasting periods, providing hay before exercise and trailering, and limiting large, high-starch meals.
Look Beyond the Feed Bucket
We often use the word “stress” to mean a visibly anxious or reactive horse. Stress can be much quieter than that.
A horse may appear well behaved while coping with pain, social isolation, an unpredictable herd, limited turnout, frequent hauling, overtraining, poor saddle or bit fit, or a schedule that does not include enough recovery. A shut-down horse is not necessarily a regulated horse.
Reducing ulcer risk means asking honest questions about the horse’s daily experience:
Does the horse have safe social contact with other horses?
Do they have enough turnout and freedom to move?
Is their routine reasonably predictable?
Are pain and lameness concerns being addressed?
Is their tack comfortable and appropriate?
Are training sessions within their physical and emotional capacity?
Do they receive true rest days?
Can they express discomfort without being punished for it?
Resistance is communication. Changes in girthing behavior, appetite, posture, willingness to go forward, sensitivity through the sternum or abdomen, irritability, or performance may tell us that something needs attention. These signs do not diagnose ulcers, but they are reasons to look more closely and involve the veterinarian when appropriate.
How Bodywork May Support an Ulcer-Prone Horse
Bodywork does not treat gastric ulcers, and a bodyworker cannot diagnose them. What bodywork can do is help us identify patterns of tension, guarding, compensation, and discomfort that may be adding to the horse’s overall stress load.
Gentle, consent-based bodywork may support relaxation, comfort, mobility, and body awareness. A small 2025 pilot study found that massage before riding was associated with lower cortisol and fewer conflict behaviors in recreational horses. That does not prove massage prevents ulcers, but it supports the idea that thoughtful bodywork can be one part of a broader stress-management plan. You can read the equine massage study here.
For me, the key is not forcing a release. I watch the horse’s breathing, facial expression, posture, blinking, licking and chewing, movement, and willingness to stay engaged. I give the horse choice whenever possible. Release begins where safety starts.
Bodywork may also help uncover another piece of the puzzle. If a horse consistently guards the rib cage, sternum, back, poll, or jaw, I do not assume the problem is muscular. I consider pain, tack, teeth, feet, training, nutrition, and gastric discomfort, then refer to the appropriate professional.
Can Reiki Help Prevent Equine Ulcers?
Reiki cannot replace forage, veterinary care, medication, or appropriate management. There is also no direct clinical research showing that equine Reiki prevents or heals gastric ulcers. But it doesn’t mean it won’t help.
I still believe Reiki may be a valuable supportive tool for an ulcer-prone horse because it creates space for quiet, choice, connection, and nervous-system settling. Ulcer prevention is partly about reducing the horse’s total stress burden. Anything that helps a horse feel safer and spend less time braced in a fight, flight, freeze, or shut-down state may support the larger goal.
During Reiki, I do not need the horse to stand perfectly still or accept touch. I can work hands-off, allow the horse to move away, and follow their consent. Some horses show softer eyes, slower breathing, yawning, licking and chewing, stretching, or simply choosing to rest nearby.
Those responses are not proof that an ulcer has healed. They are information about the horse’s state in that moment.
My own personal horse suffered from ulcers this past year. Along with medication and Reiki daily, he gained 200 pounds in a week, which far exceeded the vet's expectations. Now I can’t say it was the Reiki alone; of course, medication made a difference, but without Reiki I don’t think my horse would have bounced back so quickly.
But lowering my horse’s stress level, supporting his nervous system, and giving him daily time to get into the “rest, digest, relax, and heal” part of his nervous system, I don’t doubt it had a positive effect.
I view Reiki as nervous-system support, not ulcer treatment. It belongs beside good nutrition, pain management, turnout, social needs, appropriate training, bodywork, and veterinary care.
Build an Anti-Inflammatory, Forage-Based Diet
An ulcer-prone horse needs more than a low-stress environment. The entire diet should support the digestive system and avoid unnecessary inflammatory pressure.
In general, I prefer:
A forage-based diet
The lowest practical amount of starch and sugar for the horse’s needs
Small, divided concentrate meals rather than one or two large meals
Adequate quality protein, vitamins, and minerals
An appropriate balance of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids
Enough calories to maintain a healthy body condition without relying heavily on grain
Omega-6 fatty acids are essential, so the goal is not to remove them. The goal is to avoid a diet that is disproportionately high in omega-6 while supplying very little omega-3. Hay-based diets can be lower in omega-3 than fresh pasture, and many concentrate feeds and vegetable oils add more omega-6.
One option I like is stabilized ground flaxseed. Flax provides alpha-linolenic acid, an omega-3 fatty acid, and can help improve the fatty-acid profile of a hay-based diet. It is not an ulcer cure, but it can be a useful part of an anti-inflammatory feeding plan. It may offer additional support for the skin and coat as well. In a very small pilot study of six horses with Culicoides hypersensitivity, flaxseed supplementation reduced the horses’ skin-test response. The sample was small, so the result should be viewed as promising rather than definitive. Read the flaxseed study.
The right amount of flax depends on the horse’s total diet. More is not automatically better. A veterinarian or qualified equine nutritionist can help balance fatty acids, calories, vitamin E, minerals, and any metabolic considerations.
The Equine Ulcer Supplements I Use Most Often
Supplements are supportive. They do not correct an empty stomach, chronic pain, social stress, overtraining, or an unsuitable diet. They also should not delay scoping or veterinary treatment when a horse is showing possible ulcer symptoms.
With that said, these are two of the gastric-support products I personally reach for most often.
Jeremiah’s Ulcer Repulser
Jeremiah’s Ulcer Repulser is one of my primary choices for ongoing gastric support. Its listed ingredients include slippery elm bark, marshmallow root, fenugreek seed, carrot powder, probiotics, and L-glutamine.
I like it because it fits well within a whole-horse, forage-focused plan and is one of the more affordable options I have found for many owners. My recommendation is still to review the complete diet, follow current label directions, check competition rules when relevant, and discuss supplementation with the horse’s veterinarian or nutritionist.
Equine Elixirs Ulceraser and Sea Buckthorn
I also like Equine Elixirs Ulceraser, sometimes paired with the company’s sea buckthorn booster for additional glandular and pyloric support.
Equine Elixirs has published two scoped case reports involving horses with pyloric ulceration. According to the company, the horses received two scoops of Ulceraser in the morning and two in the evening, plus one scoop of sea buckthorn extract morning and evening, for six weeks. Follow-up gastroscopy showed marked improvement in both cases. These are encouraging individual case reports, not a randomized or controlled trial, so they cannot prove that the combination will produce the same result in every horse. Read the Ulceraser case reports.
There is separate research on a different commercial sea buckthorn product. In a randomized crossover study of eight horses, sea buckthorn did not improve naturally occurring nonglandular ulcers, but horses receiving it had lower glandular ulcer scores after a period of feed deprivation. This suggests a possible glandular benefit, but the study was small and it did not test Ulceraser. Read the sea buckthorn study.
This is exactly why I avoid calling any supplement a magic fix. Different types of ulcers behave differently, and what supports one horse may not be enough for another.
Know When It Is Time to Call the Veterinarian
Possible signs of equine gastric ulcers may include:
Changes in appetite or leaving feed
Weight loss or difficulty maintaining condition
Recurrent mild colic
Girthiness or sensitivity around the abdomen
Irritability, dullness, or a change in personality
Reduced performance or reluctance to go forward
Sensitivity during grooming, blanketing, or bodywork
Changes in manure or digestive comfort
These signs are not specific to ulcers. Dental disease, lameness, ovarian discomfort, back pain, unsuitable tack, kissing spine, and other conditions can look similar.
If ulcers are suspected, involve your veterinarian. Scoping can show whether lesions are in the squamous or glandular portion of the stomach and help guide an appropriate treatment and prevention plan. Prescription medication may be necessary. Supplements, Reiki, and bodywork should complement that plan, not replace it.
My Whole-Horse Ulcer Prevention Checklist
For an ulcer-prone horse, I look at all of the following:
Consistent access to appropriate forage
Fresh water available at all times
Hay before exercise and during travel
Small, lower-starch concentrate meals when concentrate is needed
Safe turnout, movement, and social contact
Pain, teeth, feet, tack, and training addressed
Enough rest and recovery between demanding sessions
An appropriately balanced diet with omega-3 support
Targeted supplements chosen for the individual horse
Consent-based bodywork and Reiki as supportive stress-management tools
Veterinary scoping and treatment when ulcers are suspected
The best ulcer-prevention plan is rarely dramatic. It is built through the small choices we make every day.
Keep the forage available. Listen when the horse’s behavior changes. Address pain instead of training through it. Give them friends, movement, rest, and choice. Support the nervous system as well as the stomach.
Most importantly, remember that the horse is not being difficult. The horse is communicating.
Frequently Asked Questions About Preventing Equine Ulcers
Can 24/7 hay prevent ulcers in horses?
Consistent forage access can reduce an important ulcer risk factor, but it cannot guarantee that a horse will remain ulcer-free. Pain, workload, travel, medications, social stress, diet, and individual susceptibility can still contribute. Free-choice hay also may not be suitable for every metabolic horse, so the feeding plan should be individualized.
Can equine Reiki heal gastric ulcers?
There is no clinical evidence that Reiki heals or prevents gastric ulcers. Reiki may be used as supportive care to encourage relaxation, choice, and connection while the horse receives appropriate nutrition, management, and veterinary treatment.
Can a bodyworker tell if a horse has ulcers?
No. A bodyworker may notice guarding, tension, sensitivity, or a change from the horse’s normal pattern, but these findings are not diagnostic. A veterinarian should evaluate suspected ulcers, and gastroscopy is the most reliable way to confirm them.
What is the best ulcer supplement for horses?
There is no single best product for every horse or every type of ulcer. Start with forage, feeding practices, stress reduction, and veterinary guidance. Then choose supplements based on the horse’s history, total diet, medications, workload, and whether squamous or glandular disease is a concern.
Is flaxseed good for an ulcer-prone horse?
Stabilized ground flaxseed can supply omega-3 fatty acids and may support a more balanced, anti-inflammatory diet. It is not a treatment for gastric ulcers, and the amount should be considered within the complete ration.
Whole-Horse Support in the Lowcountry
If your horse is holding tension, struggling to settle, or showing subtle changes in comfort or performance, I offer horse-first equine bodywork and Reiki throughout the South Carolina Lowcountry and coastal Georgia. My role is not to diagnose or replace your veterinarian. It is to listen to the horse, support comfort and nervous-system regulation, and help you identify when another professional may need to be part of the conversation.
Learn more about Spotted Horse LLC or book an equine bodywork or Reiki session.
