Organised by the National Equine Forum, this webinar took place on Wednesday 13th January 2021. Speakers considered the magnitude of the decline of the UK’s native breeds and how their future can be safeguarded. The impact of the extinction vortex on the natural world and how it applies to equine breeds was covered, and the challenging situation of inbreeding in Thoroughbreds explored. The advantages of DNA analysis were debated, to show how science can provide breed societies and breeders with keystone support to guide decisions that can increase effective populations. This was endorsed with a case study to show proof of concept that breeds in decline have a chance to be saved when genomics and kinship analysis are utilised.

The webinar was chaired by Prof Tim Morris, and featured speakers: Tullis Matson, Simon Cooper, Paul Flynn and Dr Andy Dell. Prof Tim Brigstocke (Chairman, National Equine Forum), also took part in the panel discussion. Further details can be found on our website, here.

Prior to the webinar taking place, Tullis Matson gave an overview of what to expect in the video below.

Once registered you will be able to access the event page on Eventbrite, and watch the webinar replay.

A summary from the webinar will be presented at #NEF21, on Thursday 4th March 2021 (tickets will be available for #NEF21 from February 2021).