Priming stallions for breeding season
Brought to you by BARASTOC
By David Nash, Director of Nutrition Technology for Kentucky Equine Research
Achieving and maintaining a stallion in appropriate body condition tops the list of nutritional concerns for stallion managers. Too often, stallions become ribby because of breeding efforts or anxiety, or obese due to spring grass and inactivity.
Body Condition
Priming a stallion’s weight for breeding season starts well before they enter the breeding shed. Like all horses, stallions are individuals and should be fed with their specific metabolism in mind. “Some stallions can maintain weight throughout the year on forage and a ration balancer, even when covering many mares, while others can get so worked up about breeding that they melt away their fat reserves” reports David Nash, KER Nutritionist and Badger in training.
For stallions that maintain weight during breeding season, starting the season with a body condition score (BCS) of 5 or 5.5 is ideal. On the flip side, for stallions that drop weight as the breeding season progresses, beginning the season with a BCS of 6.5-7 may be the only way to keep the stallion in reasonable weight. During the breeding season, weight should be monitored weekly or biweekly and appropriate dietary adjustments made.
Obesity is no ally for a stallion. Repercussions of excessive body weight are numerous: diminished libido, subfertility, increased strain on the joints of the hindquarters, and possible cardiovascular issues. When chronically over-conditioned, stallions may not have the stamina to breed a full book of mares. Just as excess weight can make a person more sedentary, so it is with stallions–their minds may say “go,” but their bodies say “no.”
Diet Considerations
“Matching dietary energy intake with energy expenditure is the way to control body condition,” said Nash. According to Nutrient Requirements of Horses, stallions have greater energy needs than mares and geldings, even when they’re not breeding. “Hormones can influence metabolic rate and cause stallions to have a higher energy requirement at maintenance than other horses.”
How often a stallion is asked to breed affects energy requirements, as does the horse’s focus and disposition. Some stallions take breeding in stride with few behavioural changes, while others get really worked up when mares are nearby, wasting calories calling to mares, stall-walking, or pacing the fence line. “In general, the energy requirement increases by about 20-25% during the breeding season, equivalent to the difference in an idle lifestyle and light work” said Nash.
Above all, the diet should provide ample amounts of a good-quality forage. Additional caloric needs can then be met through the use of a concentrate. For those easy keepers, the concentrate may be a ration balancer such as Barastoc KER Stud Balancer or KER All-Phase, which will augment the nutrients found in forage. Others need larger amounts of a well-fortified, energy-dense feed to maintain weight. In choosing a feed, adequate but not excessive protein is important, as the requirement for protein increases only slightly with breeding and is usually covered by the increase in feed intake. Barastoc Command or Barastoc Prepare have been used extremely successfully over a number of years to ensure breeding stallions maintain condition and performance.
The way energy is delivered to stallions makes a difference and may help diminish or add to anxiety. For nervous, tightly-wound stallions, providing a diet high in digestible fibre and fat such as Barastoc Low GI Cube instead of a diet high in starch can increase the caloric intake without increased starch, which can make some horses nervous.
Stallions that lose their appetite with the work of breeding may need a calorie-dense performance feed, which should be high in fat. Many performance feeds are textured and include molasses, which is palatable to finicky eaters. If the horse is not on fresh green grass, supplemental natural vitamin E may be warranted, particularly if feeding a high-fat diet.
Targeted Supplementation
Routine supplementation with high-quality supplements can help stallions in the breeding shed.
One supplement endorsed by several stallion managers is a deep-sea fish oil, due to its favourable omega-3 fatty acid profile, which includes docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA). Research has made clear the benefits of DHA for stallions. Though DHA won’t make an infertile stallion fertile, it can help with diminished motility. In addition to its benefits to semen, it helps with lubrication of joints, so stallions may feel better about mounting and breeding mares.
One study suggested that DHA appeared to be better absorbed when the diet contained a source of supplemental fat, so feeding either a high-fat concentrate or adding a little vegetable oil (soybean, canola) to the diet is recommended.
In early breeding season, when pasture might not be available to stallions, vitamin E supplementation should be considered. Not only will supplementation meet vitamin E requirements for horses consuming hay or other preserved forage, it may have some beneficial effects on fertility.
Breeding places much strain on joints, especially those in the hind limbs. Joint pain can limit a stallion’s willingness to breed. To help protect joints, high-quality joint supplements are a wise addition to your stallion management.
Ensuring your stallion maintains performance, fertility, and soundness during breeding season it is essential to ensure their diet is nutritional sound and if they have any issues that these are addressed prior to breeding season starting.
For further assistance with your stallions or any horse on your stud please consult a Barastoc Equine Specialist to assist you with your nutritional requirements.
Adam Campbell (VIC & NSW) 0447 410 688
Craig Neale (NSW) 0467 813 790
John Daley (QLD) 0436 678 846
Tracey Robertson (VIC) 0428 142 615
Shauna Anderson (SA) 0429 092 183
Image: Cliff’s Edge standing at Cornwall Park Stud. Photo Credit: Lisa Gordon, Cornwall Park Stud