My horse has ulcers. Should I use Gastro Aid or omeprazole?

If your horse has gastric ulcers, you may wonder what’s best: omeprazole, or a product like Cavalor Gastro Aid? The simple answer is that they do different things.

Omeprazole is a veterinary medicine. It strongly reduces the amount of acid the stomach produces. This helps create the right conditions for ulcers to heal.

Gastro Aid is targeted nutritional support. It does not stop the stomach from producing acid. Instead, it helps support a healthy stomach and boost its natural protection mechanisms.

So it’s not really a question of Gastro Aid or omeprazole. It’s about using the right solution at the right time.

Does your horse actually need omeprazole?

Gastric ulcers can only be confirmed with certainty through a gastroscopy carried out by your veterinarian. If your horse has been diagnosed with gastric ulcers, your veterinarian may recommend a short term treatment period with omeprazole.

Omeprazole blocks gastric acid production, giving damaged areas in the stomach a better chance to heal. It’s a proven and widely used treatment for gastric ulcers in horses, but it’s meant for short term use: research shows its effectiveness decreases the longer it’s used. Gastro Aid works differently and can safely be given long term, as part of your horse’s daily routine, but it shouldn’t replace omeprazole when your veterinarian prescribes it. Always follow your veterinarian’s advice on the dose, timing and length of treatment.

If omeprazole works, why not use it all the time? Because your horse also needs gastric acid. Horses naturally produce stomach acid throughout the day, and it plays an important role in digestion. It also protects your horse: it helps to protect against microorganisms entering through feed and water. So the goal isn’t to block as much acid as possible, all the time.

When a horse has ulcers, reducing acid temporarily can certainly help the stomach heal. But once treatment is finished, we want the stomach to return to its normal function. That’s the important difference between treating an ulcer and supporting the stomach every day.

Why do ulcers keep coming back after omeprazole?

Because omeprazole doesn’t solve the cause.

Research has shown that ulcers often come back if the root cause isn’t addressed. Medication can help an ulcer heal, but it doesn’t change the reason why the ulcer developed in the first place. Omeprazole tends to work best when it’s combined with changes to feeding and management: in studies comparing horses on omeprazole with and without dietary adjustments, many of the horses that received no dietary changes saw their ulcers return afterwards.

For example, gastric problems can be linked to:

• long periods without forage
• large meals or too much starch
• poor quality feed
• intensive training
• stress, for example caused by transport or competition

If these factors are still there after treatment, the stomach can still be under pressure. That’s why addressing feeding and management is just as important as the treatment itself: treating the ulcer deals with the symptom, but looking at the whole horse is what protects your horse’s stomach for the long term.

Is it safe to use omeprazole long term?

Omeprazole is an important, well researched veterinary medicine, but it’s still a medication and should be treated as one. It was developed to temporarily relieve stomach acid so ulcers can heal, not to be taken long term.

We know more about using omeprazole short term to treat ulcers than about using it continuously over long periods. What we do know is that its effectiveness declines over time: if there’s no improvement after a couple of weeks, your veterinarian will typically switch to a different treatment strategy.

Some research suggests that long term acid suppression may affect normal digestion and nutrient absorption. Other studies are looking at its effect on the microbiome and how that may impact immunity, and at what happens to acid production once treatment stops. This doesn’t mean omeprazole is unsafe, but it does mean it’s important to understand what it does in your horse’s stomach, and to think carefully about when to use it, especially for longer periods. Always discuss preventive or long term use with your veterinarian.

What does Gastro Aid actually do?

Gastro Aid has a different job. It doesn’t switch off gastric acid production. Instead, it provides functional nutritional support that helps maintain a healthy gastric environment: neutralising excess acid, and supporting the healing of the stomach wall and its natural protection mechanisms. Because it doesn’t completely block acid production, it can safely be used long term as part of your horse’s daily stomach management.

For example, Gastro Aid Powder or Liquid are great options for daily nutritional support mixed with the feed. Gastro Aid Paste is an easy to administer booster paste to take on the road, or when quick relief is needed during stressful situations such as transport or competition.

Can I use Gastro Aid together with omeprazole?

They don’t have to be seen as competing solutions. If your horse has diagnosed ulcers, veterinary treatment comes first, but you should also look at nutrition and management to ensure long term stomach health once treatment ends.

Gastro Aid can be part of this wider approach to supporting the stomach. If your horse is receiving medication, always discuss the use and timing of supplements with your veterinarian or equine nutrition professional.

In most situations, Gastro Aid can be given together with omeprazole. In fact, it can offer that extra layer of protection when gastric acid production resumes after completing the omeprazole treatment. That is the moment the stomach is most sensitive and where proper nutritional support is key to avoid a relapse of the ulcers.

How do you stop ulcers from coming back?

Don’t only focus on healing the ulcer: think about how you can reduce the risk of it coming back. Ideally, start making management and nutritional changes before veterinary treatment is even finished.

Look at your horse’s daily routine:

• Does your horse have enough access to forage?
• Are there long periods without forage?
• How much starch does your horse eat?
• Could training, transport or competition be putting extra pressure on the stomach?

Good feeding and management should be the foundation. Nutritional support such as Gastro Aid can then help the stomach cope, especially in horses that regularly face these challenges.

Gastro Aid or omeprazole: what’s the takeaway?

Think of them as having two different jobs. Omeprazole helps treat gastric ulcers: it reduces acid production so the stomach has a better chance to heal. Gastro Aid helps support the stomach. It allows normal digestion and stomach function: it helps neutralise excess acid and supports the stomach’s own defence and healing mechanisms. It can be part of both the treatment and the everyday protection of the stomach.

If you think your horse has ulcers, always speak to your veterinarian first. And if treatment is needed, don’t stop at the medication: look at feeding, training, stress and management too.

Because healing the ulcer is one thing. Helping to keep the stomach healthy is the next step.

Medication when needed. Nutrition and management every day.

FAQ

Can Gastro Aid replace omeprazole?
No. If your veterinarian recommends omeprazole for gastric ulcers, Gastro Aid should not replace the treatment. Omeprazole reduces gastric acid so ulcers can heal. Gastro Aid has a different role: it provides nutritional support for the stomach. The two can therefore be part of the same overall approach.

Can I use Gastro Aid with omeprazole?
They have different roles and do not have to compete. Omeprazole is medication used to treat ulcers. Gastro Aid provides nutritional stomach support. If your horse is receiving medication, discuss the use and timing of supplements with your veterinarian or equine nutrition professional.

Why not simply use omeprazole all the time?
Your horse needs gastric acid for normal digestion. Reducing acid can be very useful when treating ulcers, but continuously suppressing acid is a different question. Preventive or long term use may be appropriate in some cases, but should always have a clear reason and be discussed with your veterinarian.

Can ulcers return after treatment?
Yes. Omeprazole can help ulcers heal, but it does not automatically remove the factors that contributed to them. Feeding, training, transport and stress can all play a role. That is why good nutrition and management remain important during and after treatment.

What should I do if I think my horse has ulcers?
Speak to your veterinarian. Signs such as poor appetite, changes in behaviour or reduced performance can have many causes. A veterinarian can help determine whether gastric ulcers are involved and what treatment is needed. Nutritional support can then be part of the wider stomach management plan.