British shire horse faces extinction thanks to invasion by its French cousin

It has been a symbol of Britishness for centuries and served man in war and work, but the British shire horse could be threatened with extinction - because it is being outnumbered by its French cousin.

Equestrian experts believe the dwindling numbers of female horses and a lack of young breeders are leaving British shire horse numbers falling to 'dangerous levels'.

The Shire Horse Society of the UK has claimed French shire horses are starting to overtake the British variety thanks to French government-funded breeding programmes.

Up to 300 female shire horses of breeding age are usually needed yearly to replace those too old to breed.

But experts have warned they are only producing 200 female shire horses of breeding age each year.

Ken Young, from the Shire Horse Society, said: "The extinction of British shire horses is a distinct possibility - we have to do something now rather than wait until it is too late, which could be within ten years.

"For animals like horses who breed annually and only produce one offspring you need around 300 breeding age females, and we are well below that at the moment.

"The number of shire horses being bred in the UK has fallen to dangerous levels.

"Another breed of horse, the Suffolk Punch, suffers from the same problem in this country. Its numbers are also dangerously low and it is all but extinct.

"If we don't do something about the shire horse situation now that is where we are going.

"The existing breeders are not getting any younger, and today's youngsters are not attracted to breeding shire horses.

"It will slowly become more and more of a problem because the gene pool stays small, and once no young people come in to take over the breeding the problem becomes a lot more serious very quickly.

"If we don't do something now it'll get worse and worse until we reach crisis point and we will never be able to recover.