FEED ADVICE – HEALTH
Understanding Equine Gastric Ulcer Syndrome
The high number of horses afflicted with gastric ulcers has only become truly apparent in the last 20 years, as long endoscopes have become common in equine veterinary practices. Sadly, most horses will suffer from gastric ulcers at some point in their lives. This means that all horse owners should be clued up to the threats that this unpleasant condition poses.
Key Highlights
Equine Gastric Ulcer Syndrome (EGUS) is a common condition in horses characterised by the development of ulcers in the stomach lining.
It is associated with factors such as stress, diet, and the use of certain medications. Clinical signs include poor performance, and behavioural changes.
Immediate actions during an episode of EGUS include providing pain relief, modifying the diet, and possibly using medications to reduce stomach acid.
Long-term management and prevention strategies for EGUS include dietary adjustments, stress reduction, and regular veterinary care.
Understanding EGUS
EGUS is essentially the erosion of the stomach lining due to prolonged exposure to stomach acid. It is characterised by lesions or ulcers in the stomach lining, leading to pain and discomfort. This condition is often triggered by factors such as stress, irregular feeding schedules, sugary diets, and the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs).
EGUS arises from a combination of genetic predispositions, environmental triggers, and management factors, including:
Recognising clinical signs of EGUS
Recognising the signs of EGUS is essential for prompt intervention and management. Early recognition can improve outcomes and minimise long-term complications:
Diagnosis of EGUS
Diagnosis of EGUS involves several diagnostic approaches. Veterinary examination focuses on observing clinical signs such as poor appetite, weight loss, behavioural changes, and any history of colic episodes. A detailed history covering the horse’s diet, management practices, and any recent stressors is essential.
Gastroscopy
The gold standard for diagnosing EGUS is gastroscopy, which involves using an endoscope to visually examine the stomach lining for ulcers.
Faecal Blood Test
A faecal occult blood test can detect hidden blood in the stool, indicating gastrointestinal bleeding, though it is not specific to EGUS.
Blood Tests
Blood tests can help rule out other conditions and assess the horse’s overall.
Treating a Horse with EGUS
Treatment for a horse with EGUS focuses on relieving pain, promoting healing, and preventing recurrence. If your horse is diagnosed with EGUS, the following steps should be followed:
Dietary Changes
Increase access to forage, reduce sugar intake, and provide small, frequent meals to buffer stomach acid.
Medications
Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) like omeprazole are commonly used to reduce stomach acid and promote healing. Antacids and coating agents can also be beneficial.
Stress Management
Minimise stress by providing a calm environment, consistent routines, and regular turnout.
Recommend Dietary Changes
Effective management and prevention strategies can help minimise the occurrence of EGUS in horses and promote overall gastrointestinal health.
Dietary Adjustments:
Forage-Based Diet: Providing a forage-based diet with constant access to hay or pasture helps buffer stomach acid and prevent ulcers.
Small, Frequent Meals: Feeding small, frequent meals can help maintain a more constant stomach pH and reduce ulcer formation.
Balanced Diet: Ensure the diet is balanced with appropriate levels of vitamins, minerals, and amino acids to support overall health.
Avoid Sugary Diets: Limit high-sugar and starch feeds, which can increase stomach acid production and risk of ulcers. Did you know all of our feeds (apart from our Pure Performance) are suitable for horses with ulcers!
Omega-3 Fatty Acids: Supplementation with omega-3 fatty acids can help modulate inflammatory responses and support gastrointestinal health.
Developing a Sustainable Routine
Developing a sustainable management routine is crucial in managing and preventing EGUS in horses. Consistent feeding schedules, adequate forage, and stress reduction are key components.
Stress Reduction
Implement practices to minimise stress, such as regular turnout, social interaction, and a stable routine.
Regular Veterinary Care
Regular check-ups with a veterinarian can help detect early signs of EGUS and implement preventive measures.
Conclusion
In conclusion, understanding EGUS is crucial for the well-being of horses. Recognising the signs, implementing effective management and prevention strategies, and providing a balanced diet are essential steps in managing this condition. By taking immediate actions during an episode and making long-term adjustments to diet and routine, you can help minimise the risk and ensure your horse’s health and performance.
What we recommend for horses with ulcers
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🚨 Good doers need nutrients too 🚨
One of the biggest feeding myths we see? 👀
"My horse gains weight easily, so they don`t need hard feed."
The reality is that calories and nutrition aren`t the same thing.
A horse can be carrying plenty of condition while still falling short on important nutrients needed for healthy hooves, muscle function, immunity, coat quality and overall wellbeing 🌱
That`s where a feed balancer comes in 🩵
Designed to provide concentrated nutrition without unnecessary calories, a balancer helps support your horse`s diet when they don`t need large bucket feeds.
Why do owners choose Pure Balance? 👇
✔️ Low calorie, nutrient-dense formulation
✔️ Vitamins & minerals to help balance forage and grazing
✔️ Added amino acids to support topline and muscle maintenance
✔️ Pre & probiotics for digestive support
✔️ Biotin for healthy hooves
✔️ No molasses or added sugar
Think of it like this...
Your horse may not need more feed 👉 they may just need more nutrition. 🧬
Perfect for good doers, native types, horses on restricted grazing, and anyone looking to support a balanced diet without adding unnecessary calories 🩵
The hard work doesn’t end when the ride stops.
Whether it’s a competition, a schooling session, travelling, or simply coping with hot weather, giving your horse the right support afterwards can make all the difference to how they feel the next day.
Hydration, muscle function, digestive support and replenishing what’s lost through sweat all play a huge role in keeping horses comfortable, healthy and ready to go again.
That’s why we created Pure Refuel 💧🐴
An easy-to-feed recovery mash designed to support horses after work; without relying on cereals or unnecessary sugar 🍒🩵
Your horse’s feed should do more than just fill a bucket 👀
At Pure Feed, our complete range is formulated to be just that: complete. Meaning your horse gets balanced nutrition in every bite, without the need for endless extras and complicated feeding plans 🌱
Each feed combines:
✔️ High-quality fibre for digestive health
✔️ Added vitamins & minerals for daily balance
✔️ Essential amino acids to support topline & muscle
✔️ Linseed & rapeseed oil for slow-release energy
✔️ Pre & probiotics to support the gut microbiome
Because feeding your horse shouldn’t feel like solving a science equation every day 🧪
Whether you have a happy hacker, competition horse, veteran or good doer, the goal stays the same:
➡️ Simple feeding
➡️ Consistent nutrition
➡️ Healthy horses
☀️ Grass might look like the perfect summer feed… but appearances can be deceiving.
Lush grazing can provide plenty of calories, but it doesn’t always provide the balanced nutrition your horse actually needs to support:
⬇️ Muscle function
⬇️ Hoof quality
⬇️ Gut health
⬇️ Recovery
⬇️ Energy levels
⬇️ Overall performance & condition
As grass grows rapidly through summer, nutrient levels can fluctuate massively, and key vitamins, minerals, quality protein and electrolytes are often still lacking.
That’s why at Pure Feed all of our feeds are designed as complete feeds 🩵
Meaning every scoop contains:
✔️ High-quality fibre
✔️ Added vitamins & minerals
✔️ Pre & probiotics for gut support
✔️ Linseed & rapeseed oil for slow-release energy
✔️ Essential amino acids to support topline & muscle
No complicated feed rooms. No balancing guesswork. Just simple, complete nutrition that works with your horse`s gut not against it 🌱
It’s a really common misconception that Pure Feed has “higher feeding rates” than other brands. That perception usually comes from how different feeds are structured, not how much nutrition the horse is actually receiving.
Firstly, many traditional feeding systems are built across multiple separate products: a chaff for fibre, a balancer for vitamins and minerals, a mix or cube for energy, and then additional supplements for gut health, hoof condition, or muscle support. Because these elements are often purchased individually, it’s easy not to fully register just how many separate feeds are being used to build the daily ration.
Secondly, when you compare feeding rates in isolation, it can also be misleading. A single product, such as a chaff, may appear to have a lower recommended intake on its own, but that’s because it’s only contributing one part of the overall diet. The rest of the nutrition comes from other bags, buckets, and supplements.
Our Complete feeds are formulated differently. Everything is already built in; a balanced fibre base, carefully selected energy sources, a full vitamin and mineral profile, plus targeted functional support for gut health, muscle function, and hoof strength. Because of that, the feeding rate can look slightly higher when compared directly to a single-component product like a chaff, but you’re actually seeing the full ration in one place rather than just part of it.
It simplifies the whole routine, reduces the need to juggle multiple products, and ensures consistency in every mouthful 🩵
Final week ⏳
£5 off Pure Stud ends soon!
If you’re looking for a complete, balanced feed to support youngstock, mares or stallions, now is the time to try!
With higher protein levels, a full balancer, and a formulation free from cereals, molasses, soya and alfalfa, Pure Stud offers a simple and effective feeding solution.
Available in-store and online 🩵
Molasses is commonly used in horse feeds as a cheap palatability enhancer, effectively adding sweetness to make heavily processed or less naturally palatable ingredients more appealing.
The issue is that this approach also increases the overall sugar content of the diet, while encouraging reliance on flavouring rather than formulation quality. For some horses, this can contribute to unnecessary spikes in dietary sugar intake and inconsistent energy levels, particularly in more sensitive types.
That’s why the Pure Feed range is completely molasses-free.
We don’t rely on added sweetness or masking agents to make our feed tastier. Instead, we focus on naturally palatable, fibre-led formulations with slow-release energy sources, supporting steadier intake, more consistent condition, and a more transparent approach to nutrition.
Want to learn more about our molasses free feeds ? Link in bio 🩵
Feeding shouldn’t feel like building a puzzle every morning 🧩
A complete feed brings everything together in one consistent, carefully formulated ration; designed to deliver fibre, energy, vitamins, minerals and protein in the right proportions, every time.
Instead of relying on multiple buckets, supplements, and guesswork, you’re giving the horse a single, balanced foundation that supports gut health, condition, and performance as one joined-up system.
Because when nutrition is already complete, everything else becomes simpler, keeping them feeling their best, day in, day out🐴 🩵
A complete feed should do more than just “fill a gap”; it should actively support the horse from the inside out, every single day.
That’s why the Pure Complete range goes further, building in targeted support through Gut Support, Muscle Support, and Hoof Support packages as standard = not as add-ons, not as extras, but as part of the formulation itself.
So instead of juggling separate supplements and hoping everything adds up, you’ve got a fully balanced feed that supports digestion, topline, strength, and hoof health in one simple system.
Complete nutrition, complete support = all in one bucket 🩵
When it comes to youngstock and breeding horses, nutrition plays a key role in long-term development 🩵
Pure Stud provides higher levels of protein and a full balancer, while remaining low in sugar and starch, supporting a more controlled rate of growth.
Formulated without cereals, molasses, soya or alfalfa, it offers a clean, consistent approach to feeding, with a lower-risk profile for developmental concerns such as OCD.
Available in-store and online 👉 and now £5 off throughout May!
A complete feed is more than just a bucket of feed thrown together; it’s a carefully balanced system designed to support your horse from the inside out.
Each component plays a role: high-quality fibres for gut health and steady energy release, essential oils for slow-release fuel, and a fully balanced vitamin and mineral profile to remove the need for additional supplements. Add in digestible protein for topline and muscle repair, and you’ve got nutrition that works in harmony with the whole horse.
No gaps. No guesswork. Just everything they need, all in one place.
That’s the idea behind a Pure Feed complete feed = simplicity, balance, and performance you can see. 🐴
Vitamin C is a vital nutrient involved in a range of key physiological processes in the horse. It acts as a powerful antioxidant, helping to neutralise free radicals and reduce oxidative stress, particularly important during periods of work, growth, or recovery. It is also essential for collagen synthesis, supporting the integrity of connective tissues, including tendons, ligaments, skin, and blood vessels, all of which are under constant strain in the athletic horse. In addition, vitamin C contributes to normal hormone synthesis, supporting overall metabolic balance and physiological function.
Because of its importance across multiple systems, vitamin C is included as part of the carefully balanced formulation in our Complete feeds. This ensures horses receive consistent, appropriate levels as part of their daily nutrition, supporting health, resilience, and performance without the need for additional supplementation 🩵
Pre-ride feeding has a real physiological impact on how the horse’s body copes once exercise starts.
A small fibre-based feed before work helps support digestion by keeping hindgut fermentation active and gut function stable, rather than asking the digestive system to switch focus while blood flow is redirected to working muscles during exercise. It also supports steady energy by encouraging slow, microbial fibre fermentation in the hindgut. This produces a gradual, sustained release of energy substrates, rather than the quick spikes and drops associated with starch digestion.
And importantly, it helps protect the stomach by creating a fibre layer within the stomach contents, which reduces acid movement and splashing onto the unprotected stomach lining when the horse is in motion and abdominal pressure increases.
The great news is that, as Pure Feed is high in fibre, you can use a small handful of your chosen feed to give to your horse before you set off 🩵
Sending @elphick.event.ponies and her stunning greys all the best over the next few days 🩵
It’s finally here!! Badminton week! We’re wishing our brand ambassador @ellah.orses the biggest luck and can’t wait to cheer her down the centreline at 14:36 today! 🍀🩵
May just got better 🌱
£5 off Pure Stud, all month long!
Complete nutrition for youngstock, mares & stallions… without the extras you don’t want.
✔ No cereals
✔ No molasses
✔ No soya or alfalfa
✔ Low sugar & starch
Available in-store & online 🩵
Did you know the sugar in grass isn’t constant?
It rises and falls throughout the day, driven by photosynthesis and temperature. Early morning (6–10 am), photosynthesis hasn’t yet packed the grass with soluble sugars, so grazing is generally lower risk and a safer window for horses prone to laminitis or weight gain.
Between late morning and late afternoon (11–5 pm), sunlight drives sugar production. Levels climb steadily, meaning horses grazing during this period should be monitored closely, especially those with metabolic sensitivities.
By evening and overnight (18–05 am), grass sugar can peak. Cooler nights trap sugars in the plant, creating a riskier forage for susceptible horses. Grazing unmanaged during this window can overload the horse’s system and trigger laminitis.
Understanding these daily sugar fluctuations allows you to manage turnout strategically, protect gut and metabolic health.
Growth places specific nutritional demands on young horses, requiring a precise balance of energy, protein, vitamins and minerals to support correct development.
Pure Stud is formulated to deliver this in a controlled way; high in fibre to support the digestive system, low in sugar and starch to avoid unnecessary peaks in blood glucose and insulin, and with a built-in stud balancer to provide essential vitamins, minerals and quality amino acids.
This supports steady growth rates, skeletal development, and muscle formation without relying on high-starch, high-calorie formulations.
A consistent, balanced approach to nutrition during growth is key to supporting long-term soundness and development.
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