Stress and ulcers is, in many ways, a case of the chicken or the egg. Horses with ulcers are more reactive to stress, which leads to more of the stress hormone, cortisol. Cortisol reduces the regeneration of the glandular lining that plays a vital role in protecting the stomach from stomach acid. A study by Malmkvist and colleagues, found that horses with stomach ulcers had a 26% higher cortisol response to novel situations than horses without ulcers.
So, if you have a horse that jumps out of its skin, chomps the bit, spooks, generally freaks out… they are a prime candidate to be suffering from ulcers. And, you might find that if you resolve the ulcers, you might also resolve the stress (double bonus!)
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Malmkvist et al. (2012) Applied Animal Behaviour Science: 142
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