PRESS RELEASE 24 February 2023

SHIRE HORSE SOCIETY SPARKS GOES INTERNATIONAL

The Shire Horse Society introduces SPARKS for Shire horse breeding world-wide

The Shire Horse Society (‘the Society’) has adopted the SPARKS breed advisory programme for 2023 onwards to reduce the rate of increase in inbreeding and enhance genetic diversity in the Shire horse population. First rolled out for UK-based mares and stallions in December 2022, it is now available for Shire horses around the world.

The SPARKS system (Single Population Analysis Record Keeping System) was developed by Dr Andy Dell to help breeders reduce the depletion of genetic diversity in endangered horse and pony breeds by selecting optimum pairings of mares and stallions from a genetic and kinship point of view.

SPARKS calculates ‘Mean Kinships’ for Shire horses in the Society’s Stud Book. Mean Kinship is a measure of how related an individual Shire horse is to all others in the population.

Dr Dell explained, “The Kinship Tables are an additional tool that breeders internationally can use alongside their own judgement on the physical attributes of mares and stallions, when selecting a stallion for their mare. Based on Mean Kinship values, the potential pairing of a given mare and stallion is classified as ‘green,’ ‘yellow,’ ‘amber’ or ‘red.’ Green pairings are the most likely to maintain genetic diversity, and red pairings are the least desirable in this context.”

International Kinship Tables for the 2023 breeding season have now been produced for living pure-bred Shire mares located in countries outside the UK, born between 2003 and 2021 and registered in the breeding section of the Society’s Stud Book.

The stallions listed in the Kinship Tables are living pure-bred Shire stallions located in countries outside the UK that are registered in the Society’s Stud Book, are Approved under the Society’s inspection and approval process, and that have been used for breeding in the past five years, according to the Society’s records.

The Tables are available for breeders to download free of charge from the Society’s website: go to https://www.shire-horse.org.uk/ and select ‘SPARKS International’ tab. Tables for mares born before 2003 are available on request to the Society’s office.

Ends

Press contact: Victoria Clayton, 01536 771 611 or victoria@shire-horse.org.uk

Notes to Editors

The Shire Horse Society is dedicated to the protection, promotion and improvement of the breed. Since its establishment in 1878, the Society has strived to maintain interest in these magnificent animals and regularly organises events to showcase the Shire horse. Further information available at: https://www.shire-horse.org.uk

Release issued by The Shire Horse Society, The Old Dairy, Rockingham Castle, Market Harborough, Leicestershire, LE16 8TH 01536 771611 info@shire-horse.org.uk www.shire-horse.org.uk

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