Image (c) Rose Rodgers www.roserodgersphotography.co.uk
RBST Equine Seminar to look at Reproductive Technology
In a rare gathering of breeders and societies, the AI Services Chapel Field Stud is set to host the upcoming RBST Equine Seminar which will look at 11 out of 12 rare equine Breeds and reproductive technology, on Saturday 13th October.
The RBST Charity, which works to monitor, save and promote the UK’s farm livestock and equines, has recently run a successful appeal to collect genetics from three of the Heavy Horse Breeds to protect them from extinction.
With numbers of all native horses and ponies falling, RBST hopes to help breeders and breed societies avoid problems of inbreeding through pedigree-based tools and the latest reproductive technology.
Ruth Dalton, Field Officer for the RBST says
In recent years we’ve been working to develop new pedigree-based tools for choosing stallions, both for Gene banking and for matching to the right mares – and there are some really exciting new reproductive techniques too. It hopefully all makes it easier for breeders to produce foals that will help rare breeds survive and thrive into the future”.
Several rare UK breeds have significant populations overseas, and Jeannette Beranger, from the US charity The Livestock Conservancy, will be speaking on conservation programmes implemented recently through their new Endangered Equine Alliance.
The seminar will be opened by the Rt Hon Owen Paterson, MP for North Shropshire, himself very involved in the equine world.
