User:Gschenkel/Endangered Breeds of Horses

Endangered Breeds of Horses is an article explaining the various endangered horses breeds, and the degree to which breed is endangered. These endangered horse breeds include wild horses as well as pleasure horses, and each breed has its own level of endangerment, as according to the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy guidelines. These guidelines sort livestock under five different groups: Critical, Threatened, Watch, Recovery, and Study, with the description of each group shown below. Critical: Fewer than 200 annual registrations in the United States and estimated global population less than 2,000.

Threatened: Fewer than 1,000 annual registrations in the United States and estimated global population less than 5,000.

Watch: Fewer than 2,500 annual registrations in the United States and estimated global population less than 10,000. Also included are breeds that present genetic or numerical concerns or have a limited geographic distribution.

Recovering: Breeds that were once listed in another category and have exceeded Watch category numbers but are still in need of monitoring.

Study: Breeds that are of genetic interest but either lack definition or lack genetic or historical documentation.

Critical Breeds
This category contains an unsettling amount of endangered horse and pony breeds. One of which being the American Cream Draft. This medium sized draft horse is the only horse that was originated in the United States. These horses sport a cream, or, "Champagne" color coat, pink skin, and amber eyes. Having been originally used as farm workers before machinery was developed, they were no longer sought after once tractors had made their appearance on the fields of America. This lead to decreased breeding of the breed, and their numbers decreased drastically. In 1982 the breed books were re-opened and breeding of these calm and willing natured horses brought the numbers up to around 400 total registered in the more recent years. Another gentle giant on the critical list is the Suffolk Punch. These horses were also used for agriculture, and date back to the 1880's. They were chosen as farm horses for much the same reasons as the American Cream, having desirable temperaments, strength, and longevity. These horses were incredibly strong, as well as hardy, leaving the farmers with no reason to want to sell them. While this kept the breed's bloodlines pure, it also kept the numbers of the breed dangerously low, and with the mechanical onset of the 50's the breed became all but extinct. It wasn't until the 80's that the breed started to recover, and the registry stands today with only 800-1,200 Suffolks in the United States total, and a mere 150 in England. The lighter horses in this category include the Caspian Horse, Cleveland Bay, and Exmoor Pony. The Caspian Horse is a very lightly built horse, with heavy Arabian influence. It's size is more like that of a miniature horse, as it stands between 10-12 hands high. This little horse did not begin recovering with full-blooded members of the breed in the United States until the 1990's when the stallions Kineton Kalif and Runnymede were imported to America from the United Kingdom, along with five mares; Mullacot Bathsheba, Mullacot Chestnut, Runnymede Beryl, Henden Shazee, and Shepton Terraneh. Soon after stallions Henden Hannibal, Darkhorse Siydeh and Darkhorse Siykander were also imported along with more mares; Mote Shalaby, Runnymede Camelia, Jandowae Shahsva, Darkhorse Tiram and Costessa Bellamira. This herd, now numbering 15 strong, began to bring back the numbers of the Caspian Horse in the United States. Although the breeding programs are working phenomenally to bring this horse back into population, the registry only contains about 1,600 horses as of 2008, with only about 500 of which living in the United States. The Cleveland Bay is yet another horse breed that has fallen victim to the mechanical era. When the Cleveland Bay was introduced to society, it was primarily used for pulling buggies and carriages, as well as for packing materials to seculded areas of the Cleveland Bay area. Today this breed is quite versatile, and is used for many sports in the English riding discipline. It is indeed a critically endangered breed, however, as there are as few as 500 purebreds in the entire world, 200 of which are located in North America. The Exmoor Pony is the last to be seen on the Critically Endangered species list. This special pony breed has been around in the wild for centuries, with the first recorded civilization to tame them being the Celts, who used them as chariot horses. They still very much display the characteristics of living in the wild, with small ears, toad eyes, and a stocky, thick-boned build. The breeding of these ponies is very carefully monitored, to ensure that the bloodline stays pure. While they do "roam free" on the Moors of Britain, once the foals have been born they are rounded up, inspected, and branded according to the herd they belong to along with the star of the registry. This ensures that the horse is a true pure-blood exmoor and has been registered as such. Today the registry contains less than 1000 ponies.

Threatened Breeds
While there are several critically endangered breeds, there are several more threatened breeds. The horse types that are on this list are the Spanish Mustang, Lippizan, Hackney, Canadian, and the Akhal-Teke. The Spanish Mustang was brought over to the Americas by Columbus, who was interested in bringing over top breeding stock from Europe. When the Apache tribe invaded the Mexican cities and vistas, taking whatever stock they pleased. They proceeded to trade and sell the Mustangs, ensuring the spread of the breed throughout the West. By means of escape, being left behind, and being stolen, these horses eventually became feral, numbering in the hundreds of thousands.