Ef forts to stop the Suf folk dying out

SUFFOLK stallions have been contributing to saving the breed.

Thornfield Pendragon, Whatton Albert and Craikhow Hall Jensen have been staying at Stallion AI Services while their semen is collected and preserved.

It is a joint initiative between the owners, the centre, the Rare Breeds Survival Trust (RBST) and the Suffolk Horse Society.

The yard and laboratory staff have had to adjust their processes to accommodate the Suffolks’ characteristics to achieve the best possible frozen semen quality.

“They frequently produce large volumes of semen in one collection, which has all our three centrifuges working at full-pelt to process it all,” said Bethany Morse-Wolfe of Stallion AI Services. “It’s been an exciting challenge to get it right.”

Head groom Anna Holland “adores” working with the trio.

“They’re real characters, but so easy to deal with,” she said. “They are the kindest and friendliest horses you can imagine.”

The RBST launched a campaign to save Britain’s heavy horses in October 2017, which has raised more than £25,000. This will go towards collecting and storing genetic material from Shires, Clydesdales and Suffolks — all of which are on the charity’s watchlist of endangered species.

“We have had some very poor birth rates,” Suffolk Horse Society executive secretary Janie Barbiaux told H&H. “If current birth rates continue, the Suffolk could, in theory, be extinct by 2027.

“We’re trying to encourage breeding as much as possible.”

The society contacted owners of registered stallions to ask if they

would consider leasing them for semen collection and had a very positive response.

It also has financial grants and advice on gene pools available for owners of Suffolk mares.

A total of 27 foals are expected to be born this year, which it is hoped will mean a slight increase on the 25 born last year.

The Suffolk Horse Society currently has 20 stallions on its licensed list and seven coming forward for licensing and registration this year.

“We’re serious about using our technological and scientific advances as a force for good,” said Stallion AI Services founder Tullis Matson. “By addressing the numbers of breeding females essential to the survival of breeds like the Suffolk, we are closing the circle to save these lovely horses for future generations.”