The Queen is playing her part in the survival of one of our most endangered native breeds.
Four years ago the Suffolk Horse Society (SHS) presented the Queen with a filly foal named Whitton Poppy, who had been bred on a farm at Ipswich.
And in May Poppy (pictured below) produced her own foal, a colt to be named Sandringham Sailor II after a Suffolk horse once owned by the Queen’s father George VI.
Amanda Hillier, administrative secretary of the SHS said Sailor is registered number 9000, meaning he is the 9000th Suffolk colt to be born since the society was formed in 1877.
“It’s lovely that he should have a special number like that,” said Mrs Hillier.
“We are still a critically endangered breed according to the Rare Breeds Survival Trust.
“We are moving forward, but slowly.”
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Before the First World War there were more than two million Suffolk heavy horses used on farms in the UK.
Now the breed is considered by some to be more endangered than the Great Panda, with only 420 registered – 110 of which are geldings.
Sailor could become one of the breed’s registered stallions if at two years old he is found to conform to breed standards.
(Image credit: creditUnknown)
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