According to the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization, it is estimated that worldwide, we lose two domestic animal breeds every week. When it comes to livestock, many of these unique breeds were developed to suit a specific region, management system or need, and represent hundreds (and in some cases, thousands) of years of selective breeding. Their loss is not only significant from a historical perspective, it also reduces genetic variation and diversity within a species. In a world facing climate change, there is no telling how such a loss could impact food and agriculture systems in the future. 

Fortunately, for nearly 50 years, The Livestock Conservancy has led U.S. efforts to promote, protect, and bank genetic materials from rare and threatened breeds of livestock, poultry and rabbits. Based in Pittsboro, North Carolina, TLC is dedicated to addressing the unique needs of rare livestock breeds by helping to support their continued presence on farms across the country while simultaneously working to build gene banks to protect their future. 

“The U.S. has turned out to be a repository for genetics that have been lost in other places,” says Dr. Charlene Couch, a specialist in conservation genetics and one of TLC’s senior program managers. “Our biggest focus is on building awareness—helping people understand these breeds exist, and that some of these breeds are really uniquely suited for a specific  environment or set of conditions in ways our more commercial breeds are not any longer.” 

Although not food species, horses and donkeys have always figured into the work of TLC. To this end, the organization tracks equine breed association registration numbers, which they believe reflects a good representation of available breeding stock. Based on those numbers, TLC staff then use a multiplier to calculate the estimated total population for each breed, so they can determine whether it is in need of more aggressive conservation efforts. 

After the 2008 recession, TLC leaders noted a pronounced decline in horse and donkey registrations—a species-wide trend that persisted long enough to raise some red flags. 

“Numbers were declining, not just among the endangered breeds but even among more well-known ones, like Saddlebreds and Arabians,” says Couch. “That lit a fire, because if even the larger or more numerous breeds are struggling then how much more so are the endangered equine breeds?” 

Thanks to a grant provided by the USA Equestrian Trust, in 2018 TLC drew together more than 50 concerned stakeholders for a networking and educational summit. Attendees represented breed and discipline associations, as well as academic institutions and reproductive management companies. Their goal was to identify reasons why registration numbers were declining, determine what could be done to change the trajectory, and set specific, actionable steps to attain those goals.

Participants identified several areas of need, including better technical assistance and education on genetic diversity and breeding for owners; improved marketing and outreach skills for associations and members; and the need for a national semen repository and collection program. In response to the positive momentum and collaboration that came out of the summit, TLC established the Endangered Equine Alliance, a program intended to serve as an informational clearinghouse for those working to protect rare equine breeds, where they could seek assistance, get advice, and build connections.

Today, more than 75 organizations and related entities support the work of the EEA. Couch notes the program has been successful in reaching several of the goals outlined by participants at that initial summit—including increased marketing and collaboration among organizations, the development of educational materials for owners, and better access to advanced reproductive technologies, such as gene banking. 

“We set up the Endangered Equine Alliance as a focal point to help associations find educational resources, to find each other, and to share advice,” says Couch. “We have made some big gains since 2018.” 

What Is Rare?

TLC has a fairly specific set of criteria when it comes to classifying a breed as “rare,” including stipulations in terms of population size (both within the U.S. and worldwide), how long they have been in the U.S. (they tend to not focus on more recent arrivals), and what level of genetic diversity remains within the breeding population. Based on this data, breeds may be further classified as “critical” (those with fewer than 200 annual registrations in the U.S. and an estimated global population of fewer than 2,000) or “threatened” (fewer than 1,000 U.S. registrations, and fewer than 5,000 worldwide). Of the 37 equine breeds currently listed on TLC’s Conservation Priority List, nearly all fall into either the critical or threatened categories. 

“We work with a lot of international breeds, where we in the U.S. have a part of a greater resource,” explains Couch. “For example, the Cleveland Bay and the Clydesdale have been in the U.S. for a long time, and we have a significant chunk of these breeds’ genetics. But they are a little bit different than those in another country, and that actually makes them valuable to the breed. Keeping a breed going requires that sort of diversity.” 

Other breeds, such as the critically listed Marsh Tacky, were created in North America from stock originating elsewhere. This breed is well suited to navigating the lowland swamps of the Carolina region, and its genetics are completely unique, making each breed representative irreplaceable.

“The original bloodlines and ancestors of the Marsh Tacky horse are long gone from Spain and the Iberian peninsula,” says Couch. “We couldn’t create another Marsh Tacky, so we have to maintain what we have. There is no rebuilding it.” 

Although summit attendees recognized a need to preserve and protect this kind of unique genetic material beyond the current generation, most rare  breed organizations simply lacked the resources to offer much support for the type of advanced reproductive technologies required to do so. One of the most important outcomes of the EEA has been creating and increasing access to tools for this purpose.

“Prior to that meeting, there was no owner’s manual if you needed embryo transfer, or if your horse was dying, and because they are the last of a bloodline or a rare breed, you need to collect tissue,” says Couch. “Prior to that meeting, there was no national gene bank for endangered equine breeds, and now there is. These were a few of the solutions identified, and we’ve managed to put together.”

By 2019, the EEA released a book, “Advanced Reproductive Technologies For Equine Breed Conservation,” now in its second edition and available for free download or hard copy, to help owners better understand the how, when and why of accessing these services. Additionally, several laboratories have partnered with TLC to offer discounted services for preserving and storing equine genetic material for breeds listed on the organization’s Conservation Priority List.

But perhaps one of the most significant outcomes of the summit is a collaboration between TLC and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Animal Germplasm Program, which banks genetic resources—including tissues, embryos and reproductive organs—for North American livestock and poultry species. While their mandate did not originally include horses, USDA-NAGP coordinators understood the importance of protecting rare equine breeds. Thanks to this collaboration, TLC can now assist rare breed owners with banking semen, ovaries, embryos and other tissues with the USDA.

“Then, it is in a safe place, no matter what happens to your breed association, or should there be a conservation emergency of any type,” says Couch. “That’s been a major win for all sorts of organizations, and that wasn’t a resource that was available until folks here asked the question.”

Genetic materials sent to the USDA-NAGP are considered a donation and become part of the program’s “library.” TLC acts as a gatekeeper to the materials contributed to the USDA’s equine collection, which are generally only available to a breed association in the event of a true emergency.

“A breed is protected by this gene bank,” says Couch. “You save it so you can use it in the future—it’s your insurance policy. Typically, the USDA works directly with The Livestock Conservancy to make these exchanges. They tell me they have never said no to a request for a release of germplasm.” 

For some rare breeds not represented by a current organization, TLC has obtained archival copies of studbooks and other herd records. When it comes to protecting these breeds through banking tissue, sperm, or eggs, this data helps to ensure as much unique genetic material is preserved as possible. 

“That type of historical information helps determine whether a bloodline or an individual is rare, or isn’t,” says Couch. “We try to work with breed associations, or the genetic committee of a breed association, so that what is put in the bank is important, and what is being taken out is used wisely.” 

These increased opportunities have even made it possible for several EEA member organizations to create breed-specific genetic banks for their members, supplemental to the USDA’s collection. 

“Several breed organizations have jumped on the boat with saving semen, and getting the message out to their members that this is important,” says Couch. “If you have semen stored from a stallion you owned 20 years ago, and you don’t know what to do with it anymore, there is a place for it. This broadens conservation efforts.” 

Collaboration And Communication

Another positive impact of the Endangered Equine Alliance is the educational and collaboration opportunities it offers to its members. Many of these organizations are volunteer-based and face similar challenges, ranging from limited resources—both human and financial— to effective program management. But through the EEA, these groups have been able to combine efforts and find new ways to handle old problems—everything from implementing best practices for organization management to rare breed promotion and marketing efforts. 

“We have these breeders and breed organizations talking to each other, and that’s a fairly heavy lift to do,” says Couch. “We’re all in the same boat together, and part of the reason we chose to set up the Endangered Equine Alliance was to serve as a focal point to find educational resources, to find each other, to share advice, and to share marketing and promotion programs.” 

In 2020, EEA pivoted funds granted by the North Carolina Horse Council to create a series of both general and equine-themed webinars, located on the Teachable platform. Several tackle subjects in the realm of organizational leadership, while others feature presentations from internationally renowned experts on genetics, equine reproduction and related topics. Most are free, or available for a nominal fee. 

Getting word out about the unique attributes and talents of rare breeds to those who might enjoy them is also an essential step to ensuring their future. Several members of the EEA include discipline organizations, like the U.S. Dressage Federation, the American Driving Society and the American Endurance Ride Conference, which represent ways to get rare breeds in front of more people. 

“Every little bit gets the word out,” says Couch. “Getting as many different types of organizations working together as possible shines a light on how neat these breeds are, how important they are, and that some are just so excruciatingly rare—we’ve got to do something.” 

Additionally, leaders established the EEA Rare Equine Breed Facebook page, which currently has 2,600 members, to give organizations and breeders a dedicated public platform to share information specific to horses and donkeys. 

“The page is quite popular, and there are thousands of folks who post photos of their rare breeds,” says Couch. “It helps to get animals out in front of people who might want to buy them and build awareness and get things seen. 

“Horses are tough—they are expensive to keep, and the market for them is pretty challenging,” Couch continues. “But I’m convinced for some of these breeds, there is no reason they shouldn’t be common. They have beautiful traits, pleasant dispositions, or are as tough as nails. They are trying to find a way to be seen, and part of our job is to make that be possible.” 

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A this article originally appeared in the Winter 2024 issue of Untacked. You can subscribe and get online access to a digital version and then enjoy a year of The Chronicle of the Horse. If you’re just following COTH online, you’re missing so much great unique content. Each print issue of the Chronicle is full of in-depth competition news, fascinating features, probing looks at issues within the sports of hunter/jumper, eventing and dressage, and stunning photography.