Mountain and moorland pony breeds Mountain and moorland pony breeds Mountain and moorland or M&M ponies form a group of several breeds of ponies and small horses native to the British Isles. Many of these breeds are derived from semi-feral ponies kept on moorland or heathland, and some of them still live in this way, as well as being kept as fully domesticated horses for riding, driving and other draught work, or for horse showing. Mountain and moorland classes at horse shows in the British Isles cover most of the breeds; however, the four closely related Welsh breeds often form their own classes. Traditionally the
Animal genetic resources for food and agriculture also currently shrinking, with rapid and uncontrolled loss of breeds and conjointly their often uncharacterized genes. Nearly 100 livestock breeds have gone extinct between 2000 and 2014. With the loss of these breeds comes the loss of their unique adaptive traits, which are often under the control of many different genes and complex interactions between the genotype and the environment. In order to protect these unique traits, and the diversity they allow, collaborative global efforts towards the characterization and management of these genetic resources must be made. Unlike plants, which can be easily conserved in seed banks, a large portion