Megan Green, DVM, manager of Merial Large Animal Veterinary Services, responds to a question about equine stomach ulcers.

Q. I have several young horses in my care that aren’t in training yet. Is it possible for them to get equine stomach ulcers?

A. You’re smart to ask that question. We often think our young horses are immune to equine stomach ulcers because they aren’t exposed to the stressors that we know can contribute to ulcer development. Those stressors are more often associated with the kinds of activities we do with actively competing horses such as training, traveling, and trailering.

Unfortunately, even though young horses generally aren’t exposed to stressful activities, they can develop stomach ulcers. In fact, the presence of ulcers in foals has been reported as ranging between 25% and 51%