Breeding to Improve Equine Genetics: Include Nutrition

Specialized horse-breeding programs encourage genetic progress by mating elite animals with certain desirable characteristics.^* Adding genetic value to a specific population of horses is labor- and time-intensive and usually pricey. The success of resulting offspring doesn’t bank entirely on genetics, though.

“Genetics accounts for only 30% of phenotypic performance, meaning how a foal looks, behaves, and performs,” said Kathleen Crandell, Ph.D., of Kentucky Equine Research. Other factors can directly affect offspring quality, including the nutritional management of breeding horses.

“Mare and stallion nutrition also plays a huge role in breeding programs,” Crandell said. “Some everyday problems are sometimes overlooked because the horses appear glowing and healthy on the outside. For instance, obesity is one of the most widespread nutrition-related problems among breeding animals.”

Many mares do not require additional calories other than what they get from forage until the third trimester of their pregnancy and during lactation. To balance all the required nutrients in a mare’s diet without adding calories, choose a scientifically formulated vitamin and mineral supplement.

“A high-quality, well-formulated product will provide the essential vitamins and minerals that benefit the genetic potential of the fetus when mares are maintained on forage-only diets. When their caloric needs increase with advancing pregnancy, additional nutrient requirements can be met by feeding a concentrate specifically formulated for the broodmare,” Crandell recommended.

Other nutritional supplements that might be useful for stallions and broodmares include the omega-3 fatty acids DHA and EPA, and a natural-source vitamin E.

^*Palmer, E., and P. Chavatte-Palmer. 2020. Contribution of reproduction management and technologies to genetic progress in horse breeding. Journal of Equine Veterinary Science 89:103016.