Artificial Insemination (AI) The building blocks for the future of this ancient and rare breed - the Caspian Horse.
"The Caspian Horse Society (UK) works for the benefit and promotion of the rare Caspian Horse of Iran. The Society, a charitable trust with limited funds, is raising money* to set up a Caspian Semen Bank - with two important purposes. The first is to preserve as many of the breed’s valuable bloodlines as possible against loss by disease or death. The second is to make bloodlines available to overseas breeders which they would otherwise be unable to access and thus maintain the integrity, purity and unique features of the Caspian breed wherever it is bred. To do this, semen must be obtained and correctly stored from as many bloodlines as possible, a costly exercise requiring expert knowledge, but considered vital to the breed.
Descended from ancient small horses revered and celebrated as long ago as 3,500 BC, the Caspian was only rediscovered as recently as 1965 in northern Iran, and has since been much researched. With the proportions, mind and paces of a well-bred horse, the elegant Caspian measures between 10 and 12.2 hands high and is thought to be one of the oldest breeds in existence, a founder of many well-known hot-blooded breeds today. Excelling at jumping, dressage, gymkhana and driving, it is now bred in many parts of the world. Numbers are still low - so the Caspian Horse requires all the help we can give it to survive and prosper into the future.
*Although a Justgiving page starts at zero, CHS has so far raised £3,300 towards our target of £10,000, the cost of sending two stallions for evaluation, collection, storage and all paperwork required for the export of semen."
