Question

A client’s stallion has experienced a dramatic drop in fertility this season. While his total sperm numbers have remained consistent, his motility has rock-bottomed. This seems to coincide with the owner’s decision to design his own feed. I would like to recommend a facility to test the feed and a list of tests to request. Can you help?

Answer

At Kentucky Equine Research, the lab we use for all our feed analyses is a division of Dairy One called Equi-Analytical. The company offers various analyses, but I would suggest the “Trainer” option with the addition of “fat” from the optional services. This will show how well the feed is balanced for energy sources and minerals. I also would strongly recommend the mycotoxin panel. Other analyses that would be of interest, though they are a bit expensive, are vitamin E and omega fatty acids.

Nutritional recommendations for the stallion are to start him on both an omega-3 fatty acid supplement that has DHA and EPA, like EO-3 fish oil, and a vitamin E supplement, particularly a natural form like the water-dispersible Nano-E. These nutrients have been found to influence fertility in research studies.