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The Irish Draught horse is the national breed of Ireland which developed primarily for farm use.
History of the Irish Draught
The name Irish Draught may be misleading in that many people are surprised to find that the breed is a lighter free-moving animal than the traditional image of the heavy horse. Nevertheless, the ancestry of the breed goes back to the small Irish farm where the farm horse doubled up as a hunter as well as taking the trap or dogcart into the town. However, today the Irish Draught is more sought after for its breeding qualities. In England, the brood mare has been acknowledged as an excellent dam of a hunter when mated with a Thoroughbred stallion.
Now the Irish Draught stallion is being used more and more to get extra bone and substance in the progeny of the lighter type mare. The breed has been in existence for a century or more, though it has been nearly lost on several occasions. During periods of poverty and famine in Irish history, many breeders gave up registering their animals and it took many hours of work by breed enthusiasts and the Irish Horse Board to get a new studbook started. They found that hundreds were going to the slaughterhouses each week and that there were very few left.
Traditionally, the Draught was the farm horse in Ireland and it also had to be capable of being hunted and ridden. It pulled the cart, tilled the fields and had to be capable of keeping up a good jog in the trap. The horse had to be docile, strong and economical to keep. Its traditional winter feed was young gorse put through a chaff-cutter, boiled turnips and bran or meal of some sort that could be spared from the cows. Gradually the breed developed into an animal around 15.2 hh - 16.2 hh in mares and 16 hh - 17 hh in stallions and of any whole colour.
The horse has a graceful carriage of head and neck with a big, kind eye, strong limbs with particularly short cannon bones. Despite the power, the horse should be free moving and not ponderous. The feet should be like those of a hunter and not like a carthorse. The feet are one of the most important points and the reason why the Irish Draught is required for the breeding of show jumpers is that they have to withstand the concussion from show jumping, often on hard surfaces.
By Dan McCaffery - Taken from the Irish Draught Horse Society's newsletter.
Breed Standard
Type & Character The Irish Draught Horse is an active, short-shinned, powerful horse with substance and quality. It is proud of bearing, deep of girth and strong of back and quarters. Standing over a lot of ground, it has an exceptionally strong and sound constitution. It has an intelligent and gentle nature and is noted for its docility and sense..
Height Stallions: 15.3 h.h. to 16.3 h.h. approx. Mares: 15.1 h.h. to 16.1 h.h. approx.
Bone Good, strong, clean bone.
Head Good, bold eyes, set well-apart, long, well-set ears, wide of forehead. Head should be generous and pleasant, not coarse or hatchet-headed, though a slight Roman nose is permissible. The jaw bones should have enough room to take the gullet and allow ease of breathing
Shoulders, Neck and Front Shoulders should be clean-cut and not loaded, withers well-defined, not coarse; the neck set in high and carried proudly. The chest should not be too broad and beefy, the forearms should be long and muscular, not caught in at the elbow; the knee large and generous, set near the ground; the cannon bone straight and short, with plenty of flat, clean bone, never back of the knee (calf kneed), i.e. not sloping forward from knee to fetlock. The bone must not be round and coarse. The legs should be clean and hard, with a little hair permissible at the back of the fetlock as necessary protection; the pastern strong and in proportion, not short and upright nor too long and weak. The hoof should be generous and sound, not boxy or contracted and there should be plenty of room at the heel.
Back, Hindquarters, Body & Hind Legs The back to be powerful, the girth very deep, the loins must not be weak but the mares must have enough room to carry the foal. The croup to buttocks to be long and sloping, not short and rounded or flat topped; hips not wide and plain; thighs strong and powerful and at least as wide from the back view as the hips; the second thighs long and well developed; the hock near the ground and generous, points not too close together or wide apart but straight, they should not be out behind the horse but should be in line from the back and the quarters to the heel to the ground, they should not be over bent or in any way weak. The cannon bone, etc, as for the foreleg short and strong.
Action Smooth and free but without exaggeration and not heavy or ponderous. Walk and trot to be straight and true with good flexion in the hocks and freedom of the shoulders.
Colour Any strong whole colour, including greys. White leg, above the knees or hocks, not desirable.
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Horse breeds
"Irish Draught"