Suffolk Punch DNA bank

According to this BBC report, there are only 18 stallions on the studbook for this magnificent breed of horse, which over the centuries has carried men into battle, pulled their ploughs and hauled their timber.

Now the Rare Breeds Survival Trust is raising money to preserve DNA from this and other rare breeds of British livestock, some of which are rarer than the Giant Panda.

Let me find you a filly for your proud stallion seed
to keep the old line going.
And we'll stand you abreast at the back of the wood
behind the young trees growing
To hide you from eyes that mock at your girth,
and your eighteen hands at the shoulder
And one day when the oil barons have all dripped dry
and the nights are seen to draw colder
They'll beg for your strength, your gentle power
your noble grace and your bearing
And you'll strain once again to the sound of the gulls
in the wake of the deep plough, sharing.

Read all the lyrics to Heavy Horses by Jethro Tull.