Suffolk Punch
The Suffolk Punch, which is also called the Suffolk horse, is a draught horse breed that originated from Suffolk, hence it’s name. It is the oldest heavy horse breed in Britain, dating back to the early 16th century. All Suffolks currently alive can be traced back to a single stallion, Crisp’s Horse of Ufford, who was foaled in 1768.
Suffolk horses are always a shade of chestnut with no white and are unusual among British heavy horses as they have no feather on their legs. This enabled them to work the heavy ground of their native East Anglia without becoming weighed down by the mud. Used extensively in farming prior to the industrial revolutions, the breed’s numbers plummeted when horses were no longer required to work the land and the breed neared extinction. The Suffolk horse is currently described as ‘critical’ on the Rare Breed Survial Trust’s watchlist, which means there are less than 300 adult breeding females registered with the breed’s studbook.
Find out more about the breed
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‘We didn’t claim the Eurovision title, but we still won that night’: double delight with arrival of rare breed foals
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Suffolk foal who broke leg in multiple places recovers thanks to vet's skill
“On the day his accident happened I really thought we were going to lose him, so it is lovely to think that he has an exciting future ahead of him”
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‘Fantastic opportunity’ for most at-risk rare breeds in new championship classes
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Suffolk horse Roy plays vital role in flood management system
Roy was able to move tree trunks to the watercourse without damaging the environment
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‘She never gave up on her foal’: Suffolk mare and filly thriving after complicated birth
Welcoming a filly had been “extra special”, and the foal is the farm’s first for seven years. The farm has five Suffolk mares and is embarking on a breeding programme in the hope of boosting the rare breed’s numbers
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‘Mark of esteem’ to Prince Philip as Suffolk foal named in his honour
The colt was welcomed at 9pm on 17 April
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Your breed needs you: push to save our rare horses *H&H Plus*
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All in a day’s work: rare breed advocate, farmer and presenter Adam Henson *H&H Plus*
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‘Beacon of hope’ for endangered breed as new tech leads to filly’s birth
‘The birth of this foal marks a major step towards securing the future of the Suffolk horse and all other rare animal breeds’
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‘Exceptional’ Suffolk mare beats the odds to survive and look after her new filly
‘You can see she’s under the weather but she’s done her best for her foal. She’s a diamond of a mare’
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Good news for some rare breeds as numbers stablise *H&H Plus*
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Rare breed foal lifts spirits during ‘dark days’
Coppermantle Big Stig was born on 8 March
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‘Quirky’ Suffolk and ‘long-legged’ Shire help protect homes from flooding
The project manager said the heavy horses were a perfect fit for the work at the sensitive woodland site
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Rare Suffolk mare in foal thanks to innovative ‘sexed semen’ technology
‘Hopefully this may be a way to stop these breeds from disappearing’
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‘She flew round’: Suffolk mare shows off breed’s versatility
‘I kept thinking imagine if I could find a mare for sale and eventually set up a breeding programme’
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Suffolk stallion storms round event at Burghley
‘We made our way to the dressage arena and everyone was staring’
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Mounted police ‘delighted’ as critically rare horse joins the force
The force was ‘quite taken’ with the 16.3hh mare when she arrived at the unit’s headquarters
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Rare breed boost as stud celebrates arrival of Suffolk filly foal
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Pioneering science helping save rare breed horses on BBC One
Stallion AI Services and Suffolk horses will feature on Countryfile on 14 July
