What to feed a breeding stallion?

[chandab]

I know many are busy with foaling, but I'm curious what others feed their breeding stallions.

I have an older stallion, and he gets senior (plus a little performance horse feed) and hay and that seems to do well for him. But, I have a new young stallion, that I think will be a harder keeper than the boy he's replacing (my first stallion, that will soon be gelded, as he is subfertile), so just curious what others feed.

 

[Bess Kelly]

IMO this just very much depends on the personality of the individual stallion, as well as his exposure to mares and other stallions. I've had some who had to have food in front of them 24/7, others were not nearly as hard to keep in weight.

Some just work themselves into a sweat at the sound or smell of another stallion, or if the mares move out of a certain range from them when they are not run together. Age only plays a small part in this actually, as a younger animal may need more simply due to growth -- all males can go into the "testosterone insanity" zone, from 1 to 21+

I have used a 16% feed for years. If they need more weight, I up the amounts fed a little and if that isn't enough, increase the beet pulp, graze more, increase hay of excellent quality. My feed is soybean based, so exellent protein, good sugar/starch levels. Also use beet pulp. For the olders, I use a high quality senior feed which is a complete feed. This has been added to younger ones if the really needed an increase to maintain weight as the roughage helps with concerns about increased feeds. Neither contain corn.

Times like this I remember how easy it was to maintain the biggies -- never kept any stallions, so unbred mares and a couple laid back geldings

Sure was quiet then!

 

[chandab]

IMO this just very much depends on the personality of the individual stallion, as well as his exposure to mares and other stallions. I've had some who had to have food in front of them 24/7, others were not nearly as hard to keep in weight.

This I know, I only have 11 minis, but I have 3 very different groups for feed needs (and there is variation within each group - I have 3 hard keepers, 2 very easy keepers and the rest are fairly normal).

I have used a 16% feed for years. If they need more weight, I up the amounts fed a little and if that isn't enough, increase the beet pulp, graze more, increase hay of excellent quality. My feed is soybean based, so exellent protein, good sugar/starch levels. Also use beet pulp. For the olders, I use a high quality senior feed which is a complete feed. This has been added to younger ones if the really needed an increase to maintain weight as the roughage helps with concerns about increased feeds. Neither contain corn.

Thank you, this is the type of information I was looking for, what people feed (I know the amounts will vary based on weight and activity level; I know some stallions just run themselves ragged).

Times like this I remember how easy it was to maintain the biggies -- never kept any stallions, so unbred mares and a couple laid back geldings

Me, too! I still have 2 biggies (well 3 with my husbands), they are so easy to keep. [i lost my senior half-Arab gelding last June, and he did have some special needs, but a good senior feed plus a few supplements did wonders for him.]

 

[chandab]

Nobody else has anything to share? Just thought it might be a good discussion, especially since breeding season is either here for some or will be soon.

 

[Joanne]

My stallions all loose weight during breeding season as they are pacing and just not into eating. I am always looking for ways to get weight on them. Extra feed like Nutrena Senior and beet pulp with corn oil are usually eaten even if they are too busy to eat their hay.

 

[copperwood farm]

I just have 1 stallion, but I find if they come out of the winter in good weight they do well of rbreeding season. I don't change feed just up the amounts if I see the need. This method worked for me with big horses for years.

 

[chandab]

I just have 1 stallion, but I find if they come out of the winter in good weight they do well of rbreeding season. I don't change feed just up the amounts if I see the need. This method worked for me with big horses for years.

Do you feed any particular feed? Just curious.

 

[Reignmaker Miniatures]

I have access to different feeds than you do so what I feed may be of little benefit to you but I usually opt to increase grazing time in the one stallion I have who tends to pace his fence line. He is young yet (coming 4 this spring) so its possible he may need more in the future. My go to feeds here are hifat feeds that increase the fat calories as well as being a good protein source. We have one called Cool Calories and another called Hi-Fat20 both of which I have seen help in cases where a horse needs concentrated calories(the problem with many stallions who get thin is they don't want to stop pacing long enough to eat much so best if the feed is very calorie dense) to maintain their weight. I have no idea whether either are available to you tho.

 

[copperwood farm]

I agree with the 'plumpness' factor after the winter. Mine is already sarting to slim down as he starts pacing the fences, with the smell of spring ( fool!!!).

As for feeding I feed Purina products... Equilizer and Integri - t ( fat and fibre like product) as well as beet pulp and ground flax. I increase the beet pulp and integri t.

Hope this helps.

 

[Becky]

Chanda, my breeding stallions get the same as the open mares - Progressive's Pro-Add Ultimate supplement, alfalfa pellets and grass hay. Because they generally have mares living with them, they all get the same general amounts. Last year, Magic Maker had a heavy breeding schedule and was losing some weight. So, when his girls went out in the pasture during the day, I would give him a cup of Growth formula feed. That did the trick and brought his weight back up.

 

[chandab]

Chanda, my breeding stallions get the same as the open mares - Progressive's Pro-Add Ultimate supplement, alfalfa pellets and grass hay. Because they generally have mares living with them, they all get the same general amounts. Last year, Magic Maker had a heavy breeding schedule and was losing some weight. So, when his girls went out in the pasture during the day, I would give him a cup of Growth formula feed. That did the trick and brought his weight back up.

I really like the ProAdvantage grass formula, and it has done well for my easy keepers and "normal" horses, but I have a couple hard keepers that need something extra; and I think this new stallion might be one of those, so just checking my options. Hadn't thought of giving a stallion growth formula; this year I'm trying the Sporthorse for my hard-keepers, just started it so don't know how well its working yet (one of my hard keepers has gotten picky, so thought I'd try a sweet feed, the Sporthorse, to keep him interested, it seems to be working, so far).

 

[Becky]

I use the Growth formula for my foals and broodmares and since I had it here, I decided to try it with the stallion. It definitely worked! I looked at the Sporthorse just now and I would bet it would be a good choice for maintaining weight or putting it on. Can't beat the Progressive products!

 

[chandab]

I use the Growth formula for my foals and broodmares and since I had it here, I decided to try it with the stallion. It definitely worked! I looked at the Sporthorse just now and I would bet it would be a good choice for maintaining weight or putting it on. Can't beat the Progressive products!

That's kind of how I fell into senior for one of my hard keepers; I had it on hand for my senior half-Arab gelding, one of my minis wasn't holding weight on just the ProAdvantage grass, so I added some senior and it works for her. [i know usually oats or fat supplement is recommended for extra calories with the Proadvantage, but I had the senior and tried it; she's a hard keeper so she's on maintenance level of the Proadvantage (1/2#) plus 1# senior, and it works for her.]

With 11 horses, I can't keep it as simple as I would like, as I seem to have 3 different feeding groups, but I guess that isn't too bad. The base is still the ProAdvantage grass formula.