The first stallion to donate to the gene bank is named after comedy character Alan Partridge
By Rachel Candlin and Janine JansenBBC News
Alan Partridge could be the saviour of the Exmoor pony - not the TV character but a stallion named in his honour.
The breed is considered endangered, so the Exmoor Pony Society is creating a gene bank to secure its future.
About 25 stallions are donating semen to the project at an equine fertility clinic.
Scientists will pick different stallions across the breed to ensure a valuable cross-section of genetic material is preserved.
Elsinore Alan Partridge is a 15-year-old registered Exmoor pony, who has won at many shows.
He has become the first to donate at the equine fertility clinic in Suffolk and his owner, Madeline Haynes, said she was very proud of him.
Alan Partridge is a 15-year-old Exmoor pony, who has won prizes at many shows
"He seems to have settled in quickly. They are collecting his semen as we speak," she added.
"The Exmoor Society want about 50 doses so he'll spend the next few days donating there (at the fertility clinic) and will be looked after really well."
The Exmoor pony is one of the most iconic native breeds in the UK.
The animals have been on the moor since ancient times and the environment has shaped their size, characteristic hardiness, independent spirit and native intelligence.
Surviving on moorland
The isolation of Exmoor has also protected the breed from exotic influences.
Although the majority are now bred in studs throughout the country, herds of semi-feral, free-ranging ponies still live on the Somerset moor.
Exmoor Pony Society (EPS) chairman, Nigel Hill, explained how the breed survives on the exposed heathland.
"You can see on the windswept and rainy Exmoor, they're really well protected with double coats. On the top of their tails they've got a snow chute, which throws all the water off them.
The Exmoor Pony is a hardy breed, which has been on the moor since ancient times.
"They really are supremely hardy ponies," he added.
After the Second World War there were only 50 Exmoor ponies still surviving.
Since then the number has risen to 4,000 worldwide, although only 600, or 15%, are actively breeding, which makes the Exmoor population vulnerable owing to a lack of diversity.
The Rare Breed Survival Trust currently has the Exmoor Pony on its Category 2 Watchlist for endangered breeds.
Mr Hill says the gene bank is intended as an insurance policy. In future a viable population could be restored, if necessary.
"We're collecting semen from stallions from a cross-section of the whole breed that will be stored in a bank to preserve as many of the original bloodlines as possible.
The EPS is setting up a scientific advisory panel of equine specialists to oversee the project, which is costing £100,000.