Q)
Our 8-year-old breeding stallion has turned his nose up at several
different feeds in the last 8 months. And, his conception rate
this year is lower than the last 2 years. Obviously, this is of
great concern to me. The stallion has top-quality racing
bloodlines and is very active during breeding season. He has been
checked by our veterinarian, and all blood work and physical tests
are well within the normal ranges. I have recently tried feeds
from three different companies, but he does not have enough
appetite to maintain good body condition. What do you recommend
for a feeding program to improve his appetite and improve his
conception rate?
A)
Thanks for your question about a feeding program for your breeding
stallion. Stallions are one of the biggest challenges in horse
feeding because they have such variable requirements and need to
be fed for optimum health and fertility. If they become very
active during breeding season, or all year long, they have
tremendous feed requirements. If not, they can be fed more like
other horses on good maintenance programs.
You didn’t mention if your horse has been tested for gastric
ulcers. Horses with ulcers sometimes have poor appetites. Your
stallion’s reduced appetite and condition plus his bloodlines and
activity level predispose him to ulcers. Exercise compresses
abdominal muscles forcing low pH juices from the bottom of the
stomach up into the non-glandular upper region, where the stomach
lining is not protected against acid, increasing the likelihood of
ulcer development.
If your stallion has ulcers, it is very important to have your
veterinarian treat him medically, then adjust his feeding program
to minimize acid production in his stomach. Feeding whole grains
and sweet feeds (high in starch and sugar) results in increased
acidity of stomach contents compared to feeding digestible fibers
and fats. Feeding some alfalfa helps buffer stomach acid because
of the calcium ions it contains.
Feeding programs for stallions should include at least 2.5% of
body weight daily as good-quality forage; a balanced complete
vitamin and mineral supplement including natural-source vitamin E
and selenium; essential omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids; and extra
energy from vegetable fat as necessary to maintain a body
condition of 5-6 on a scale of 1-9. Following are ADM Alliance
Nutrition® FORAGE FIRST® Feeding Program options for your horse:
If you are not feeding a
good-quality forage, get one, and feed it in generous amounts.
Hay with 25-50% alfalfa is preferred and some daily turn-out on
pasture is ideal.
Feed 4-6 pounds of a high quality,
low starch, high-fiber concentrate such as SENIORGLO®,
POWERGLO®, GROSTRONG® Ultra-Fiber® or Patriot® 14P.
If more calories are needed, add 1
to 2 pounds of NATURAL GLO® or MOORGLO®. If, at some times of
the year, he does not need 4 total pounds of feed to maintain
condition, replace the feed with 1-2 pounds of MOORGLO and 3
ounces of GROSTRONG Minerals for Horses (our 27
vitamin/mineral/electrolyte supplement that costs about 10 cents
per horse daily).
Keep a GROSTONG Minerals QuadBLOCK®
in his feed tub at all times, unless he over-consumes it due to
boredom.
To help improve appetite and
fertility, you can top-dress about 1 pound per day of Fast FuelTM,
which contains wheat germ, stabilized rice bran, and
natural-source vitamin E.
If you aren't already, you could
feed a probiotic like Prosponse® NutriumTM
for about 45 days, to support hindgut bacteria populations, and
increase appetite. Regular Prosponse Yeast is contained in all
of the fortified feeds mentioned above and in MOORGLO.
Divide the total feed into two or
three meals per day. Monitor your horse and adjust your program
as his needs change.
Managing Stallions
A few years ago, I toured Taylor Made Farm in Lexington, KY, with
a group of ADM sales people. Our guide was Mr. Joe Taylor, who’s
sons own Taylor Made, and who managed Gainsway Farm for over 40
years. He pioneered the concept that each stallion has specific
fertility characteristics and explained that understanding those
characteristics allows each stallion to get as many mares in foal
as possible without over-using the stallion. This is extremely
important in Thoroughbreds, where all horses are still bred by
live cover. The length of time each stallion’s semen will
impregnate mares is determined, and the best specific semen
handling methods are developed for each horse. Nutrition is also
very important, and at Mr. Taylor’s insistence, GROSTRONG Minerals
for Horses blocks have been in every pen and paddock at the farms
in his care for over 55 years.
Behaviorists monitoring wild horse herds have found that dominant
stallions living with herds of mares are more fertile than
younger, bachelor stallions living in groups. To increase
fertility and libido in stallions, they should be housed near
mares and away from other stallions. This is contrary to the
common practice of housing mares and foals in one barn and
stallions in another barn at modern breeding facilities. With this
in mind, it might be worthwhile to consider some remodeling of
your horse facility and/or moving of groups of horses as
suggested.
Most importantly, stallions should be treated as individuals both
in their feeding and management. Of course, there are also
specific recommendations to help optimize health and fertility in
mares, the other half of the breeding equation. Horse owners are
invited to call our free "Equine Nutrition HELPLINE" at
1-800-680-8254, weekdays between the hours of 8:00 AM and 4:00 PM
Pacific Standard Time. Please call to discuss feeding and
management programs for broodmares, growing horses and performance
horses.
