Effects of sexual stimulation, with and without ejaculation, on serum concentrations of LH, FSH, testosterone, cortisol and prolactin in stallions

Six lighthorse stallions with previous sexual experience were used to determine the short-term effects of sexual stimulation (SS; 5 min exposure to an estrous mare), SS plus ejaculation (SSE), and no stimulation (control) on serum concentrations of LH, FSH, testosterone, cortisol and prolactin. Stallions received one treatment per day on d 1, 4 and 7. Treatments were assigned such that each stallion 1) received each treatment once and 2) experienced a unique sequence of treatments. Neither SS nor SSE had any consistent effects on LH or FSH concentrations. Testosterone concentrations during control bleedings increased (P less than .05) with time. This increase was suppressed (P less than .05) by both SS and SSE. Cortisol concentrations increased (P less than .05) immediately after SS and SSE. Cortisol concentrations also tended to increase during the control bleedings, but only in stallions that previously had been exposed to SS or SSE. Prolactin concentrations increased (P less than .05) immediately after SS and SSE and tended to rise during control bleedings in stallions previously exposed to SS or SSE. We conclude that 1) prolactin and cortisol were secreted rapidly in response to SS and SSE, 2) the rise in cortisol concentrations likely suppressed testosterone secretion within the next hour, and 3) stallions appeared to associate the distant sounds of other stallions with their own previous exposure to SS and SSE, resulting in a cortisol response (and perhaps a prolactin response) even in the absence of direct stimulation.