Effects of Exercise on Donkey Semen Parameters and Some Physiological Indices

To study the effects of exercise on donkey semen parameters, Dezhou donkey (Equus asinus) jackasses (n = 18) were assigned to three groups: control (CN, n = 6), 1-hour exercise (1 h EX, n = 6) and 2-hour exercise (2 h EX, n = 6) groups. They were exercised with a walking machine for 3 days/week for 8 weeks. Semen parameters and reproductive hormones were evaluated weekly. The heart rate, rectal temperature, blood haematology indexes, and the body condition score (BCS) were also measured. Results showed that the ejaculation volume increased while the sperm concentration decreased after exercise. However, other sperm parameters were unaffected. Reproductive hormones at resting period were rarely affected by exercise. The red blood cell number increased (P = .023), while the mean erythrocyte hemoglobin concentration decreased (P = .045) after the 8-week exercise in the 2 h EX group compared with the CN. After the 8-week exercise, the resting heart rate of the two exercise groups decreased significantly compared with the CN. The BCS in the CN group increased after the experiment (P = .024). In conclusion, we found that exercise had positive effects on some physiological indices but did not affect semen parameters expect for volume and concentration of the jackass.