Stallion Fertility ~ Enhancing Your Stallion’s Success
by Cara Rothrock, BS, RPh fertility, so keep this in mind when supplementing the diet. Don’t
forget to check the amount of each present in any grain you may
One of the ways in which Andalusian horses are so amazing is
feed.
the gentle nature of the stallions. For this reason, many people own
If you are new to stallion ownership and breeding, remember
Andalusian, Lusitano and partbred stallions and some stallion own-
that studying the principles of good stallion management, mare
ers are venturing into breeding their horses for the first time.
selection, and learning as much as you can, will help assure you a
Initially, honoring the many responsibilities and obligations of a
successful breeding season. Your goal is to make your stallion a
breeder may seem a little intimidating, but with research and learn-
proud papa—and one day, if all goes well, a famous grandsire.
ing, breeding can also prove very rewarding.
If the quality of your stallion’s conformation
and temperament indicate he might make a contri-
bution as a sire and you’ve made the decision to try
to improve the breed with your horse’s genes, it’s
wise to invest in a breeding soundness exam per-
formed by an experienced veterinarian. This usual-
ly consists of a physical exam, blood work, and
semen collection and evaluation. If you are consid-
ering shipping, ask the vet to do an extender
workup. This will compare the quality of the semen
in different extenders to determine which extender
will work best with your stallion. Once the vet
determines that your stallion did well on the breed-
ing soundness exam, then you should consider the
best ways to maintain and improve your horse’s
quality of semen.
A stallion’s physical and mental condition
directly affects the quality of the semen he pro-
duces. A good nutrition program is essential; under-
feeding can cause lack of energy and poor semen
quality, while overfeeding can cause physical dete-
rioration or even laminitis, making it difficult or
painful for the horse to breed. The stallion should
be vaccinated regularly, wormed every two months
or as your vet recommends, and must have his teeth
examined or floated at least once a year; this pre-
vents dental problems which affect his ability to eat.
Exercise is vital to maintain physical condition; a
vigorous working life also helps prevent any horse
from developing boredom or nervous habits.
Having an injury or being sick can also have a
big impact on semen. A fever your stallion runs
today may cause problems in his semen production
and quality for the next couple of months. It takes
approximately 60 days for sperm to be produced in
the testes and mature to what you’d see in a sample
under the microscope. Everything that your stallion
experiences on a given day can therefore affect
sperm production for the next 60 days. Detrimental
effects can be caused not only by fever, but also
other illness, injury to the sex organs, trauma, and a
variety of different medications.
Because it takes a couple of months for your
stallion’s sperm to become ready to conceive a foal
with a suitable mare, think ahead for breeding sea-
son. Keeping your stallion happy, healthy and free
of injury are keys to his potency; there are supple-
ments which can help increase the quality of semen
he produces. Although not all stallions respond in
the same ways, many stallions are routinely supple-
mented with vitamins C and E. These vitamins’
antioxidant properties help increase output, concen-
tration and motility of sperm. Another antioxidant,
L-carnitine, affects mitochondrial energy and is
believed to help increase sperm motility. Omega 3,
also known as DHA, is a lipid that has been shown
to increase stallion fertility. Lipids are highly con-
centrated in sperm and the sperm membranes, which
protect against cold shock. One thing to watch for
with the Omega fatty acids is that there are two
types, Omega 3 (DHA) and Omega 6 (DPA). The
ratio of DHA to DPA needs to be higher to increase
ANDALUSIAN Issue 2, 2009 31
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