 Numbers subsequently recovered slightly; 85 head were recorded in 2008.The conservation status of the breed was listed as "critical" by the FAO in 2007.In 2003, genetic analysis using microsatellite data found the Yonaguni to be most closely related to the Miyako and Tokara smallisland breeds, and less closely related to various Mongolian horse breeds than were the Dosanko and Kiso breeds of the main islands of Japan.