 The Association of Breeders of the Murge Horse and the Donkey of Martina Franca (ANAMF) was founded in 1948 to protect the Murgese breed.In 1990 the Italian Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry established the Anagraphic Register to record equine groups identifiable as individual breeds, which included the Murgese.As of 2005, the Murgese population numbers more than 1500 breeding animals, including 1080 mares, 107 stallions and 350 foals.