Irish Draught

Overview

The Irish Draught is Ireland's national breed. Despite the name, it is not a heavy horse. The Irish Draught Horse Society (Great Britain) describes it as "a lighter free-moving animal than the traditional image of the heavy horse". It developed on small Irish farms, where one horse had to do everything, and today it is valued above all for breeding: an Irish Draught mare put to a Thoroughbred stallion is a well-known way to breed a hunter.

History

Traditionally the Irish Draught was the farm horse of Ireland. It pulled the cart, tilled the fields and kept up a good jog in the trap into town, and was also hunted and ridden. It had to be docile, strong and economical to keep. Its traditional winter feed was young gorse put through a chaff-cutter, boiled turnips, and whatever bran or meal could be spared from the cows. The Rare Breeds Survival Trust traces its development to native Irish horses crossed with Norman, Andalusian and Thoroughbred blood.

The breed has existed for a century or more but has nearly been lost several times. In periods of poverty and famine, many breeders stopped registering their horses. Breed enthusiasts and the Irish Horse Board worked to start a new stud book, finding that hundreds of horses were going to slaughter each week and very few were left. The Irish Draught Horse Society (Great Britain) was formed in 1979 by enthusiasts who wanted to register Irish Draught-bred horses in Great Britain.

Breed standard

• Height: the breed developed into horses of around 15.2–16.2 hh for mares and 16–17 hh for stallions.
• Colour: any whole colour.
• Head and neck: a graceful carriage of the head and neck, with a big, kind eye.
• Limbs: strong, with particularly short cannon bones.
• Feet: like those of a hunter, not a carthorse. The society counts the feet among the breed's most important points, because show jumpers bred from Irish Draughts must withstand the concussion of jumping, often on hard ground.
• Movement: free-moving and not ponderous, despite its power. The Rare Breeds Survival Trust describes a straight, active, ground-covering stride.

Temperament and uses

Irish Draught stallions are used more and more to add bone and substance to the offspring of lighter mares. Horses by registered Irish Draught stallions compete in every discipline, and have qualified for the Horse of the Year Show in working hunter, ridden hunter, show jumping and cob classes. The Rare Breeds Survival Trust calls the breed a cornerstone of Ireland's international eventing success, thanks to its jumping ability and calmness.

Conservation

Although the Irish Draught is an Irish breed, the Rare Breeds Survival Trust includes it on its Watchlist because it is found in the UK.