The Irish Draft, or Irish Draught, is a breed of horse which was developed for both ploughing and riding purposes. They are especially popular for crossing with Thoroughbreds, producing the popular Irish Sport Horses (or Irish Horses) that excel at the highest levels of eventing and show jumping.

Breed Characteristics

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The Irish Draught does not have the typical draft-horse body suggested by its name. They are lighter, with a build similar to a Warmblood, and move much more freely than the heavy draft horses. They have very powerful hindquarters, strong legs with good bone and short cannons, muscular gaskins and forearms, and large feet. Their neck is short, thick, and crested. The Irish Draught has a straight or slightly convex profile and intelligent head.

The horses have good temperaments, being gentle and kind, yet bold, sensitive, and alert. They are very versatile horses, and naturally athletic.

The Irish Draught stands between 15 and 17 hh. They are usually bay, brown, gray, or chestnut.

History of the Irish Draught

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The breed ancestors were the war horses of the 12th century, taken to Ireland by the Normans during the Cambro-Norman invasion of 1172, and bred with the local stock. Spanish blood was added to the mix in the 16th century, Connemara blood was also added. The true Irish Draught type really started, however, in the 18th century, when Thoroughbreds were bred with local mares to produce a light work horse that could not only be used to plough, but also for riding. The original type was around 15 to 15.3 hh and had a more draft-like conformation than the present-day type.

The breed flourished for a while, but numbers subsequently dropped as a result of the famine of 1847 and later agricultural recession in the 1870s. After the economy improved, Clydesdales and Shire horses had to be imported from Britain to meet the demand for work horses. They were cross-bred with the remaining Irish Draft horses, producing an animal that was bigger and courser. However, the Clydesdale was blamed for adding a lack of stamina and poor lower leg conformation to the Irish Draught. Infusions of Thoroughbred blood helped to breed out these traits, and also added more refinement, greater endurance, and better shoulder conformation.

The Irish government became involved with the breed at the beginning of the 20th century, trying to promote better horses by introducing registration and offering subsides for stallion (in 1907) and mares (1911). Inspections for registration also began. The stud book was opened by the Ministry of Agriculture in 1917, selecting 375 mares and 44 stallions to enter as the foundation stock.

As motorized vehicles became popular, and tractors took the place of the horse on farms, Irish Draughts became increasingly popular for crossbreeding. They were well-known for producing upper-level eventers and showjumpers, and were exported across the globe.

However, the pure-bred Irish Draught was in danger of dying out. To preserve the purity of the breed, the Irish Horse Board was formed in 1970 to organize the breeding of both pure- and part-breds.

Today, the Irish Draught is mainly used for crossing with other breeds to produce sport horses. The most popular cross is with the Thoroughbred, producing an Irish Horse. The Irish Draught gives bone and substance to lighter stock. The breed is also used for showing, being excellent jumpers themselves.

Famous Irish Draughts and Part-bred Irish Draughts

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• King of Diamonds: Irish Draught stallion most famous for producing top show jumpers, including Special Envoy.
• Special Envoy: top show jumper for Brazil, ridden first by Nelson Pessoa, and then by his son Rodrigo
• Mill Pearl: was ridden by Joe Fargis in the United States

Horse breeds