Introduction
On 17th April 2018, the Rare Breeds Survival Trust issued their Watch List for 2018 together with another reminder of the potential extinction of the Suffolk Horse in the UK by 2027. Now only nine years away.
This was a follow-on to the October 2017 bulletin when the Rare Breeds Survival Trust had issued a wake-up call poster with a grim message.
Conservation: The Breedable Herd and a New Definition of Rare & Critically Endangered needed
Probably the major conservation agency in the UK, The Rare Breeds Survival Trust relaunched their GeneBank in November 2017.
Conservation geneticists’ view is that the UK Suffolk breedable herd is dangerously small. It has insufficient stallions and mares for genetic diversity, and this has been the case for many years. This is a view that is shared by some members and supporters of the Society. It is the breeding of horses which determines if any breed of horse survives, not the overall population, which contains old horses, geldings, fillies and colts too young to breed.
Possibly people are lulled into a false sense of security with the definition of a rare and critically endangered breed is when there are less than 300 animals.
Perhaps the Rare Breeds Survival Trusts might consider a new category that delineates a higher risk of genetic extinction when less than 100 animals comprise the breeding population.
The gender imbalance of foals reported in 2017 for 2014, 2015 and 2016 will also contribute detrimentally because there will be even fewer total breeding mares overall, and they are already between 20-30% short of minimum numbers for genetic security.
If there are insufficient breeding horses – both male and female – then genetic viability and diversity is eroded, inbreeding rates rise, and genetic extinction is a direct result.
Not surprisingly, attention has turned to Equine Assisted Reproductive Technologies, with some divergent views on how best to proceed.
For the past few years the UK Suffolk Horse Society has had protocols and procedures in place concerning what it calls Artificial Breeding Technology Protocols. This is in each Stud Book issued and deals with:
Artificial Insemination
Embryo Transfer
Cloning Procedures
Despite much debate among members of the Society, and especially those who are owners and breeders, there are some areas which have either not been explored nor explained, or only partially so.
In the above Artificial Breeding Technology Protocols, for example, there is mention of frozen embryos “iv Frozen embryos, and v. Frozen and transported embryos”. Nowhere does it state that as yet, no heavy horse frozen embryos, let alone frozen and transported embryos, have resulted in any heavy horse foal. Light horses, yes. Heavies, no.
This does not aid clarity of purpose nor direction.
In some areas because the Society has relied on the Suffolk Horse Magazine (available Spring, Summer and Winter of each year) and latterly on the Society’s website, there does not appear to be a mechanism by which fuller and deeper articles outlining current approaches to solving problems with the breed can be discussed. Not surprisingly social media has taken up the slack.
Equine Assisted Reproductive Technologies -EART
In the last fifty years Scientific advances in human reproductive technology have been astonishing. As have similar advances in equine assisted reproductive technologies. Our apparent familiarity for the first can lead to misinterpretation and misunderstandings of the second. Yes, there are obvious similarities between reproduction in the horse and the human, but there are also striking and major differences.
This also applies to other animals. Success with reproductive technologies in cows by the use of superovulation cannot be transposed to mares. For example:
” A superior cow inseminated with superior bull semen will have best chance to produce a superior calf. The progress of genetic improvement of a population is limited through low rate female reproduction. Normally a cow can produce a maximum of one calf per year. But through multiple ovulation and embryo transfer (MOET) a superior female can produce 15-18 calves per year without affecting her reproductive efficiency .”
(My emphasis) See: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/embryo-transfer-technology-genetic-improvement-cattle-dr-binoy
Superovulation or Multiple Ovulation and Embryo Transfer – MOET
Cloning
This is another EART area that has an almost science fiction aura to it. At Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, Texas A & M University Equine Embryo Laboratory Cloning Research is carried out.
“The principle of cloning is relatively simple. The chromosomes of a cell from the donor animal are transferred into the cytoplasm of an egg, and the egg is signalled to develop an embryo. The cells from the donor animal are typically grown from a small sample of subcutaneous connective tissue. At the laboratory, the tissue is placed into culture, and fibroblasts are grown from it onto the culture dish. The fibroblasts will proliferate until they cover the bottom of the plate and they may be resuspended in medium and used to “seed” additional dishes. After a sufficient number of cells are obtained, the cells are typically frozen to be used at a later time.”
For more on methods used, see: http://vetmed.tamu.edu/equine-embryo-laboratory/cloning-research
Frozen Semen
The harvesting, testing, collections of semen from three Suffolk Horse stallions has taken place during early spring 2018. Two stallions’ semen have been collected at export quality standard. This is commendable and a valued beginning. It is hoped that this programme of semen collection will continue year by year, until at least the minimum amount of stored semen collections from 25 stallions is achieved. Hopefully the semen collection programme will continue past this minimum point. But is the minimum collection sufficient?
Adding the 2018 collections to the already stored collections in the Gene Bank only gives a total of six different stallions.
If a further four collections per year are made, it will take until 2023 before the 25 collection of 25 different stallions’ semen is safely stored in the Gene Bank. It would be 2024 before owners of mares seeking to take up the portions of the collections available for use, would be able to make an informed choice from all 25 stallions and would see foals on the ground after successful insemination in 2023.
Table 1: Continuing frozen semen collections at four stallions per year from 2019
Figure 1: Adding four frozen semen collection per year from 2019 to the total already collected and stored will take to mid-2022 to achieve required 25 collections, available for the 2023 breeding season
By contrast, Table 2 and Figure 2 show the hypothetical case of increasing the rate of collection from 2019, by eight and from 2020 by ten. This could achieve a saving of three years on the lower rate of collecting outlined in Tables 1 and Figure 1 above. It is also 6.5-7 years from the potentially ominous year of 2027.
Table 2: Increasing the numbers of yearly collections will achieve an earlier minimum ‘safety’ number 25 by mid-year 2020, available for the 2021 breeding season.
Figure 2: Achieving the minimum 25 collections from 25 different stallions by 2020
EART is not cheap. Much of the research has focused on the various disciplines of the light horse which produce extraordinarily good financial returns. Breeding draught horses generally does not lead to striking it rich. As Nigel Oakley said recently “there is no monetary gain in breeding.
Fillies to Mares – from a conservation aspect
Conservation geneticists maintain that in order to maintain a breeding population a minimum of 25 stallions are needed. Each stallion should breed a minimum of four mares, who go on to produce viable progeny who thrive.
These progeny go on to adulthood and continue to increase the herd.
If each of the 25 stallions requires a minimum of four mares, then 100 fertile mares are needed:
25 x 4 = 100 fertile mares
It has been a very long time since this was the case. Probably not for something like 60-70 years has the average number of potentially available mares reached close to that figure. Potentially available mares have hovered around 70.
For 2018, the Rare Breeds Survival Trust recently announced the number of potential available mares is 80. This is a welcome increase.
For many reasons, not all the potentially available mares are used. Of those that are, not all mares served by stallions get in foal; some mares scan in foal post covering, but reabsorb, or slip, or abort. For owners and breeders, it is a long eleven+ months waiting.
Financial costs can be high, and this can be a real deterrent to deciding to breed. Even with the successful foaling, costs still can accumulate. After all the unit is now mare and foal for at least six months until weaning, and usually longer.
The Suffolk Horse Society has introduced a new grant for mare owners of £125 Reported Births Grant, payable for “each live or still born foal or aborted visible foetus.” It is also paid “if the mare dies in-foal and is shown to be by a Veterinary Surgeon’s post mortem.” (https://www.suffolkhorsesociety.org.uk/horse-business/grants/mare-grants/) Nevertheless, subsidies/grants for mares from the Suffolk Horse society, still continue to lag behind those available for stallions.
Compare the difference, even with the additional £125, in Table 3: SUFFOLK HORSE SOCIETY 2017 Grants in the article The Clock is Ticking… .. https://suffolkpunchaustralia.com/index.php/the-suffolk-punch-draught-horse/the-clock-is-ticking-part-1/
Eventual foal registrations per year are one way of determining how the numbers produced are contributing to the herd. But, as pointed out in articles on our website, numbers of foals produced are only in the low to mid twenties.
See: Figure 3: Total Colts, Fillies and full Foal Production 2006-2017 https://suffolkpunchaustralia.com/index.php/the-suffolk-punch-draught-horse/the-clock-is-ticking-part-1/
Continuing to exacerbate the situation, is the sustained choice of elite prize winning Sires over past decades further affects genetic diversity.
For example, take this extract from the 2009 article, Running out of time? https://suffolkpunchaustralia.com/index.php/the-suffolk-punch-draught-horse
Between 1993 and 2007, 71 registered and licensed stallions appear on the Stallion (or Breeding) Lists for those years. The total number of progeny from the foaling seasons to 2007 is 466 live foals. Some 19 of the 71 stallions, however, either never covered registered mares, nor produced registered foals. This reduces the registered and licensed stallions producing mares within this period to 52.
In this time, 14 stallions produced 10 or more foals each, accounting for 295 live foals. Within this group and period, two stallions produced 97 foals – just over 22% or just over a fifth of all live foals born 1994-2007. Both stallions stood in 2008. One is standing for 2009 and also appears as either the sire or the dam’s sire in the pedigree of seven of the 25 stallions for 2009. The other stallion only appears once in the pedigrees of the 2009 stallions. Further analyses of the Stallion Lists and foals produced for same period shows that 373 foals are the progeny of only 24 stallions (just over 75% of foals produced
Not all Stallions are Equal … … …
Most years there is a discrepancy between the number of stallions standing at stud and those actually covering mares.
Note there are three years, in the sequence 2010-2018, when numbers on the Stallion List are at the required 25 or over, (2011, 2012, 2013). Unhappily, when the totals for the number of stallions actually used is compared with the Stallion List, these totals are on average one third to one half of the numbers needed. The genetic criterion of each stallion covering at least four mares (and producing 4 foals) is also never met.
25 stallions = 100% then 1 stallion = 4%
Thus 13 stallions actually used are only 52% of the minimum 25 stallions for conservation purposes.
In January 2018 there were 22 Stallions on the Stallion List, 88% of the minimum number; as at April 2018, there are 19 which represents 76% of the minimum number and a 12% decline of Stallions on the List in just five months.
… … … and Some Stallions are constantly more equal than others – the Elites
Elite Sires still continue to have major impacts on genetic diversity.
There is also no guarantee that the preference for Elite Sires will not spill over into the use of frozen semen. It has already happened with Colony Edward 8781, not helped that his was the only frozen semen readily available. Although deceased since 2003, his progeny are at close to 40 horses, if not on the other side of that number. This is like having a 26-year-old stallion still standing at stud. The earliest registered foal by Colony Edward 8781, was Colony Julie 28412 born January 1997. One colt and two fillies by him are registered in 2012, 2013 and 2016 respectively.
Here is another reason to consider rapidly increasing the number of stallion collections in early Spring 2019 and 2020 – the wider the choice, the more it mitigates against genetic bottlenecks.
Table 4 shows that in 2011 50% of all foals were produced by 4 stallions. This also occurred in 2015, with 50% of all foals produced by 4 stallions. In 2016 only 2 stallions produced just over 50% of foals, and one stallion produced 33.3% of all foals.
So, how far have we got?
Not nearly far enough. We don’t appear to have even taken off the handbrake of the vehicle. For some within the UK Suffolk Horse community, the moment of truth is here.
We cannot continue to pretend the elephant isn’t in the room: the Anglo-American Suffolk Punches in the UK
In early 2010, Dr Sarah Bott gave a seminar at Rossdale & Partners, Newmarket. It is worth repeating the points detailed in The Clock is Ticking … … … Part 1 https://suffolkpunchaustralia.com/index.php/the-suffolk-punch-draught-horse/the-clock-is-ticking-part-1/
- Too much dependency on popular sires leading to a small genetic population
- Rate of inbreeding has gone up from 5% in 1978 to between 7-8% (as at 2010)
- To maintain a viable breeding population, there needs an introduction of new bloodlines
Four American Suffolk Punch horses were imported to the UK between 2001 and 2006: one stallion and three mares. Four years later, some of the UK Suffolk Horse community were made aware that new bloodlines were needed.
Table 5 shows the numbers of American Suffolks that are or were in the United Kingdom
In addition, in December 2011, the UK born and registered Whatton Freddie 9034 was also recorded with the American Suffolk Horse Association and given the registration number ES9034.
The first foals by the imported American Suffolk 3036-S Garrettland’s Golden Eagle were born in 2005. A total of 13 fillies and 8 colts were registered with either the American Suffolk Horse Association or in the International Section of the Suffolk Horse Society’s Stud Books between 2005 – 2015, with 3036-S Garrettland’s Golden Eagle as Sire.
In 2009, a filly foal was born from one of the imported American mares with Robeck Classic the First 8848 as Sire.
From 2011 to 2017, a further 12 fillies and 8 colts were registered with either the American Suffolk Horse Association or in the International Section of the Suffolk Horse Society’s Stud Books, with ES9034-Whatton Freddie as Sire and 3036-S Garrettland’s Golden Eagle as Grand Sire.
At the time of writing, the latest UK Suffolk Horse Society Stud Book for 2017 was not available (as at 20th April, 2018). With this proviso, based on the registrations in both the UK Suffolk Horse Society and the American Suffolk Horse Association Stud Books up until the end of 2017, total registrations for Anglo American Suffolks are:
26 females and 16 males + 3 imported mares
It is not clear how many of these Suffolks are still extant, nor how many of the males remain entire. What numbers do remain, however, are an indisputable resource for incorporation into the UK breeding herd for the 2018 breeding season in the UK. To do otherwise is folly. At the very least this could buy some time as we hurtle towards 2027. It would also provide some genetic buffering. It would be also far less expensive than employing Equine Assisted Reproductive Technology.
Why is there still reluctance to fully accept American and Anglo- American Suffolk Horses?
The old belief that the American Suffolk Horses are somehow lesser versions of the English ones still lingers. As detailed in Running out of time? (2009), from the earliest days of exporting heavy horses the greatest numbers of Suffolk Horses from the UK went to North America right up to just before WW2. In 1938, 77 horses were exported to North America.
In the 1960, 1970s, 1980s and 1990 Suffolk Punch owners and breeders imported over 20 English horses. By judicious planning they bred English horse to English horse, and increased their English lines as well as breeding to the older English lines and descendants already there.
The following table details exported English stock 1970 – 2000 and shows just how successful American owners and breeders were.
Table 6: Progeny and Descendent Generations of Suffolk Punches exported to North America, showing each animal’s contribution to both UK (a little) and North America (a lot)
Change is needed now
UK Suffolk owners of Anglo-American horses speak of the restrictions they face with the de facto grading up ‘International Register’; of the two-tier system in place if they wish to enter Shows, and of the inability to enter their horses in the Affiliated Shows. It is ironic indeed that these owners are reluctant to breed the very horses which may have the potential to slow down the genetic loss of the UK Suffolks due to the restrictions imposed on them. To continue to allow this state of affairs to continue is iniquitous.
Unlike the UK Percheron Society, there is no Suffolk herd just across the Channel. But here is an undetermined number of Anglo-American Suffolk Punches waiting in the wings. And, compared to the UK Suffolk Punch population, a far, far greater population to infuse new blood in Canada and the USA.
It is also quite incongruous to suggest that the American Suffolk Horse Association needs to change its modus operandi to accommodate the UK Suffolk Horse Society. Does anyone really need to be reminded that the UK Suffolks need the North American Suffolks: it is not the other way about.
The Suffolk Punch as a working draught horse
There has been much discussion over what role is left to all draught horses to work as traditional draught horses. Nigel Oakley, long-time owner, breeder, user of working Suffolks, stalwart of the Suffolk Horse world, gave a presentation to the National Equine Forum in March this year. This was in his role as Heavy Horse Ambassador the Rare Breeds Survival Trust. He spoke on the subject Heavy Horses: Use Us or Lose Us
https://www.acast.com/horsehour/nef18-heavyhorse-useusorloseus
To give one example: Nigel recounted how visitors from France were seeking three draughts to work in their vineyards. In the UK vineyards are a burgeoning area, with something like 20 UK vineyards advertising their businesses on their websites. Not only are draughts environmental friendly but working Suffolks would certainly add something different to the vineyard as a tourist attraction.
Training Facility – for both horses and humans
Perhaps there would be more of a market for working Suffolks if they could be sold already trained to work – ‘broken/trained to all gears’ – in conjunction with a properly constituted training course for potential owners; essentially those seeking to use the Suffolks professionally, are properly trained as well.
Anyone who has ever handled a fully trained draught horses knows what a joy this is. Our Foundation Mare was 11 years of age when we first met. She was trained to all gears and taught me, then, and throughout the years we had together. As an inexperienced novice I don’t think I would have continued with a lesser trained horse.
How much more important is it to help those who genuinely and realistically want to work with Suffolks, help them safely achieve both their goals and contribution to the survival of the ultimate agricultural horse?
The Training Days which are carried out each year are outstanding. The quality of those teaching reflects the experience of actually working Suffolks. Perhaps those who have been involved could contribute – one more time – in building a Working Horse Training Scheme.
There could also be a Scheme whereby colts could be taken in after weaning, to grow out to the Stallion Inspection year. They would be trained, up until two years of age with training continued whichever way the decision on their future went – as stallions, or gelded. Probably more people would be prepared to take on the care of stallions if properly trained to do so.
Some years ago such an endeavour was suggested to the UK Society, but it was not followed through.
All this of course necessitates a shift in perspective. What is very clear is that if the Suffolk is to survive as a working draught horse, new approaches must be sought. Yes the days of horses heading out to plough as daily work are over, except for a tiny minority. But like the vineyard idea, there are perhaps areas still to be investigated.
In comparison to Canada, USA, and Australia, the UK is geographically tiny, with substantial population. Hauling a horse float/box/truck across country is expensive and is not for the faint hearted. Even trekking across country with wagon and horse is difficult to contemplate. A set place for training both horse and human is vital, and the time for this to occur properly. Space and room to move is also needed. And yet this is possible in the three countries listed above.
In Continental Europe, working horses are making and continue to make a contribution, both in city and country, on the coast and in the forest. Lessons can be learnt there on their training schemes both for equines and humans. Perhaps the UK cities really are too congested for horse works, but there are areas of ecological significance where a working horse would be valued.
The Suffolk Punch Trust at Hollesley Bay is ideally placed geographically to undertake such an endeavour, providing proper and appropriate funding is found and ongoing support guaranteed. Could an approach might be made to the Suffolk Punch Trust to discuss this further?
The Suffolk Punch Trust has already forged a presence in the heartland of coastal Suffolk. It has the heritage, the history and the commitment to the future. It would provide a safe environment for horses and humans to learn. An increased Suffolk herd would add to its tourist attraction.
Nigel Oakley’s title to his talk is prescient: use us or lose us. The Suffolk Punch is a working horse by definition.
The real irony would be that if one wanted to see a genuine working Suffolk Punch, one had to travel overseas to Canada and the USA.
© Eleanor Yvonne Hatch, Australian Suffolk Punch Registry & Grading Up Registry 2018