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Animals : an open access journal from MDPI2021; 11(2); doi: 10.3390/ani11020361

Overfeeding Extends the Period of Annual Cyclicity but Increases the Risk of Early Embryonic Death in Shetland Pony Mares.

Abstract: Obesity has been associated with altered reproductive activity in mares, and may negatively affect fertility. To examine the influence of long-term high-energy (HE) feeding on fertility, Shetland pony mares were fed a diet containing 200% of net energy (NE) requirements during a three-year study. The incidence of hemorrhagic anovulatory follicles (HAF) and annual duration of cyclicity were compared to those in control mares receiving a maintenance diet. Day-7 embryos were flushed and transferred between donor and recipient mares from both groups; the resulting conceptuses were collected 21 days after transfer to assess conceptus development. HE mares became obese, and embryos recovered from HE mares were more likely to succumb to early embryonic death. The period of annual cyclicity was extended in HE compared to control mares in all years. The incidence of HAFs did not consistently differ between HE and control mares. No differences in embryo morphometric parameters were apparent. In conclusion, consuming a HE diet extended the duration of cyclicity, and appeared to increase the likelihood of embryos undergoing early embryonic death following embryo transfer.
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Publication Date: 2021-02-01 PubMed ID: 33535548PubMed Central: PMC7912773DOI: 10.3390/ani11020361Google Scholar: Lookup
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  • Journal Article

Summary

This research summary has been generated with artificial intelligence and may contain errors and omissions. Refer to the original study to confirm details provided. Submit correction.

This research investigates the impact of long-term high-energy feeding on the reproductive health and fertility of Shetland pony mares, highlighting that obesity resulting from such feeding can lead to extended annual cyclicity but also an elevated likelihood of early embryonic death.

Objective and Methodology

  • The objective of this study was to examine the effects of long-term overfeeding on the reproductive activity and fertility of Shetland pony mares. The researchers fed the mares a high-energy (HE) diet (200% of net energy requirements) over a three-year period.
  • The researchers conducted comparative investigations on the incidence of hemorrhagic anovulatory follicles (HAF) and the annual duration of cyclicity between the test group and control mares that received a normal maintenance diet.
  • To evaluate the influence of such feeding on the growth and health of embryos, day-7 embryos were flushed from the mares, transferred between donor and recipient mares from both groups, and later collected for assessment 21 days post-transfer.

Findings

  • The study revealed that the mares that ate the high-energy diet became obese.
  • An obesity-induced risk was noted with the embryos from these high-energy-fed mares, as they were more likely to experience early embryonic death compared to those from the control mares.
  • The study also found that the period of annual cyclicity extended for the mares that consumed a high-energy diet compared to those that did not.
  • The incidence of hemorrhagic anovulatory follicles (HAF), however, did not consistently differ between the two groups of mares.
  • There were no noticeable differences in embryo morphometric parameters (structural/size aspects) between both the groups of mares.

Conclusion

  • The results suggest that while a high-energy diet can extend the duration of cyclicity, it also carries a potential risk by increasing the chance of early embryonic death in transferred embryos.

Cite This Article

APA
D'Fonseca NMM, Gibson CME, Hummel I, van Doorn DA, Roelfsema E, Stout TAE, van den Broek J, de Ruijter-Villani M. (2021). Overfeeding Extends the Period of Annual Cyclicity but Increases the Risk of Early Embryonic Death in Shetland Pony Mares. Animals (Basel), 11(2). https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11020361

Publication

Animals : an open access journal from MDPI
ISSN: 2076-2615
NlmUniqueID: 101635614
Country: Switzerland
Language: English
Volume: 11
Issue: 2

Researcher Affiliations

D'Fonseca, Nicky M M
  • Department of Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, Yalelaan 112, 3584 CM Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Gibson, Charlotte M E
  • Department of Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, Yalelaan 112, 3584 CM Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Hummel, Iris
  • Department of Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, Yalelaan 112, 3584 CM Utrecht, The Netherlands.
van Doorn, David A
  • Department of Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, Yalelaan 112, 3584 CM Utrecht, The Netherlands.
  • Department of Population Health Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, Yalelaan 7, 3584 CL Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Roelfsema, Ellen
  • Department of Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, Yalelaan 112, 3584 CM Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Stout, Tom A E
  • Department of Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, Yalelaan 112, 3584 CM Utrecht, The Netherlands.
van den Broek, Jan
  • Department of Population Health Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, Yalelaan 7, 3584 CL Utrecht, The Netherlands.
de Ruijter-Villani, Marta
  • Department of Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, Yalelaan 112, 3584 CM Utrecht, The Netherlands.

Grant Funding

  • 317146 / FP7 People: Marie-Curie Actions

Conflict of Interest Statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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Citations

This article has been cited 3 times.
  1. Hallman I, Karikoski N, Kareskoski M. The effects of obesity and insulin dysregulation on mare reproduction, pregnancy, and foal health: a review. Front Vet Sci 2023;10:1180622.
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  2. D' Fonseca NMM, Gibson CME, van Doorn DA, Roelfsema E, de Ruijter-Villani M, Stout TAE. Effect of Overfeeding Shetland Pony Mares on Embryonic Glucose and Lipid Accumulation, and Expression of Imprinted Genes. Animals (Basel) 2021 Aug 26;11(9).
    doi: 10.3390/ani11092504pubmed: 34573470google scholar: lookup
  3. Benammar A, Derisoud E, Vialard F, Palmer E, Ayoubi JM, Poulain M, Chavatte-Palmer P. The Mare: A Pertinent Model for Human Assisted Reproductive Technologies?. Animals (Basel) 2021 Aug 4;11(8).
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