EXMOOR stallion Elsinore Alan Partridge, known as Q, has become the first to take part in a new programme to have genetic material cryogenically frozen and stored.

He will provide genetic material later this month for a £100,000 Exmoor Pony Society (EPS) gene bank campaign which it hopes will secure the future of the UK’s oldest native breed.

The society has been guardian of the equine breed since 1921 and has already raised half the money it needs for the project.

The innovative initiative will create an Exmoor pony gene bank to cryogenically preserve genetic material which could safeguard the breed against future disasters.

Society chairman Nigel Hill said: “It is our role to safeguard the future of the Exmoor pony, one of the most iconic native breeds in the UK.

“The Exmoor is a ‘priority’ breed according to the Rare Breeds Survival Trust and this means they are essentially endangered.

“Instrumental in the launch will be the oversight of our recently announced scientific advisory panel, which will lead on genetic research and innovation.

“The panel is comprised of Exmoor pony experts from the fields of genetics, ecology, and veterinary science, which ensures we are well placed to take advantage of developments in equine genetic conservation.”

Q, a 15-year-old multi-show winning registered Exmoor pony, will be the first stallion to provide semen to the gene bank.

His stable name comes from the Star Trek character of the same name, and he has sired 12 ponies in the stud book asministered by the society.

He is based at the Suffolk stud owned by mother and daughter breeders Sandy Wooderson and Madeline Haynes.

Sandy said: “We were delighted to be asked to take part in the gene bank campaign.

“We bought Q as a yearling and he really kicked off our love of the breed and our stud.

“At the age of six he had qualified for the Horse of the Year Show under saddle and has also sired some beautiful stock who are now also winning in the show ring. We are very proud of him.

“In a way, it is ironic naming him Q after the character in Star Trek, who is an omnipotent and immortal being.

“The Exmoor pony is far from immortal, but Q’s contribution feels like they now could be.

“I hope other equine breed societies are able to follow suit.”

Madeline said: “It is wonderful that the EPS are introducing such a forward thinking initiative, which is paramount for protection of this rare breed.

“Learning from history, a catastrophe really could happen.

“We are proud to be involved and contribute to protecting this precious native pony that faces the real life possibility of extinction, as well as safe guarding Q’s rare genetic bloodline.”

The semen donated by Q and other stallions in coming months will be owned by the Exmoor Pony Society, which will co-ordinate the collection and preservation logistics.

The Exmoor pony gene pool is numerically small with only 600, or 15 per cent, of the total population actively breeding, which makes the breed extremely vulnerable.

Genetic variation within the gene pool is limited because the population crashed to just 50 individuals during World War II, and many bloodlines then and subsequently were lost.

Cryopreservation, the freezing and storage of genetic material, is now an established strategy for ensuring that, if decimated, a viable population can be restored, or a disappearing bloodline saved.

The minimum requirement is for semen samples from 25 stallions, representing as much of the breed’s genetic variation as possible, to be held in long-term storage at two separate locations.

Eight embryos should also be in a breed’s gene bank, but there are currently still technical issues to overcome in equine embryo preservation.

Ecologist Sue Baker, a member of the Exmoor Pony Society’s scientific advisory panel, said: “Currently, semen from only six Exmoor stallions is stored in the National Livestock Gene Bank but only three of these have sufficient doses.

“In order to reach the minimum quantity to provide breed ‘catastrophe insurance’, ideally 22 additional stallions need to contribute 50 doses each.

“The primary aim of the project is to achieve this within two to three years.

“We need to commit £100,000 to the project to support the costly collection of genetic material and its cryopreservation.

“The Exmoor Pony Society is part-funding this to get the project off to the best start by contributing £50,000.

“We are looking to raise the additional money through fund-raising, legacies. and donations.”

The scientific advisory panel, which has experience in sample design and understands the structure of the Exmoor population, will take on the major task of selecting suitable stallions to represent the variation within the breed.

The Exmoor Pony Society seeks donations towards their gene bank campaign, full details of which are available on the EPS website at www.exmoorponysociety.org.uk.