Nutrition Important For Stallions Servicing Mares:

Last Modified: February 19, 1999

The equine breeding season gets underway at the end of February for most horse farms, and that means stallion owners need to review management plans for ensuring potential sires receive all the energy required to maximize performance and maintain health.

Many stallion owners are involved in breeding 10 to 20 outside mares, but have limited resources and labor, and use natural live cover regardless of breed registration allowances for the use of artificial insemination.

"We want to run feeding programs so nutritional concerns don't get in the way of the day-to-day breeding operations," stated Dave Freeman, Oklahoma State University Cooperative Extension equine specialist.

Freeman said the most frequent problem with stallions probably is maintaining desired body condition as breeding season progresses. The most obvious effect breeding season has on the nutritional requirements of a stallion is the need for additional energy. Heavy breeding use plus increases in the amount of energy a stallion expends through voluntary exercise--general excitement and actions such as walking pens studying mares--trigger an increased need for additional nutrients.

Freeman suggests the best method to monitor nutrient needs is to keep track of a stallion's body condition.

Generally accepted recommendations call for most stallions to enter the breeding season in a body condition score of six. This means the stallion should possess a fleshy condition that shows some fat cover along the ribs, tailhead, croup, neck and shoulder.

"While it's common for a stallion to 'lean down' as the breeding season progresses, horse managers will want to guard against too much weight loss by increasing the amount of grain or hay made available to the stallion, thereby helping to maintain desired condition," Freeman cautioned.

A sound nutritional plan begins with ensuring adequate amounts of forage intake. Most stallions rely on hay to meet forage needs because breeding studs are housed individually.

"Horse managers who use grass hays can expect to supplement stallion diets with more grain than breeders who use legumes such as alfalfa, simply because legumes have slightly more energy per pound than grass hays," Freeman noted.

The general recommendation is to plan on a minimal intake of long-stem forage at a rate of one percent of body weight per day. Thus, a 1,200-pound stallion should consume about 12 pounds of hay.

"Some managers have found that allowing a stallion continual access to clean, fresh grass hay also helps relieve behavioral problems sometimes associated with stallion boredom," Freeman stated.

A stallion's body condition dictates the amount of grain that needs to be added to the base forage diet. On average, stallions can be expected to consume 1.5 percent to 2.5 percent of their body weight in total feed per day. Thus, a 1,200-pound stallion might consume a maximum of 24 pounds of hay and grain combined per day.

"Although total maximum intake in important, it's vital to understand that total pounds isn't as important as understanding how much energy each pound of ration contains," Freeman said.

A common management practice is to keep hay at a set level and increase grain as a horse's energy requirement goes up. The reason for this is that grains are more energy dense than hays.

For example, a stallion may be consuming a 70:30 ratio of hay and grain (12 pounds of hay and five pounds of grain per day for a 1,200-pound stallion) at the start of breeding season. However, during the most active periods of the breeding season, a manager may feed a stallion a 60:40 ratio of hay and grain (12 pounds of hay and eight pounds of grain per day) to ensure adequate nutritional uptake.

"Managers usually are more concerned about protein rather than energy, although protein generally isn't deficient when feeding commercially prepared grain mixes and quality hay," Freeman added.

Freeman said those who feed grass hay as the source of forage will need to ensure adequate intakes by feeding a more protein-dense grain mix than if they were feeding a mix of alfalfa and grass hays.

"Look for a higher protein percentage listing on the bag of a commercially prepared grain mix," he suggested.

Stallions consuming legume-grass mixes and at least four to five pounds of grain per day usually can meet protein requirements with a 10 to 12 percent grain mix. Stallions consuming grass hays may need a grain mix with 12 to 14 percent protein.

"It's difficult to give an exact, one-case-meets-all answer because of the variations in hays and the amounts of grain that are fed to horses," Freeman noted.

Questions about providing vitamins and minerals also often arise during breeding season.

Commercial feeds marketed as "feed for breeding stallions" should have already-added vitamins and minerals that supplement what can be supplied by grain and hay alone.

"Managers feeding forage with a single-grain, non-formulated mix such as oats will need to add a mineral-vitamin supplement," Freeman said. "Mineral supplements should contain more calcium than phosphorus, and have sources of vitamins A, B, D and E. Aside from this, put a trace-mineralized salt block in the stallion's feeder."

In addition, stallion managers should not overlook the importance of providing access to clean, fresh water.

Freeman said it can be difficult to tell if a stallion's drinking pattern alters itself if automatic waterers are used by breeders. Changes in a stallion's drinking pattern can lead to an increased incidence of colic.

"Horse farms that have experienced 'unexplained' incidences of colic with stallions in the past may need a manual watering system, so any dramatic changes in consumption can be noted," Freeman added.

Freeman said potential difficulties often can be discovered early by practicing good stallion management.

---

The above article has been provided courtesy of
Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service.