History of the Irish Draught
RID stallion Rhyd's Sea Quest~
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 town. However, today the Irish Draught is more sought after for its breeding qualities. In England, the broodmare has been acknowledged as an excellent dam of a hunter when bred 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 existance 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, tiled 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 traditonal 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 15.2hh - 16.2hh in mares and 16hh - 17hh in stallions.
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 jumping, often on hard surfaces.
Horses by our Registered Irish Draught Stallions are now well to the fore in every discipline. They have inherent natural jumping ability, make the best field hunters in the world, compete with athleticism and soundness in the dressage ring, possess the hardiness and courage to event, portrays the bold outlook and panache to go in harness.
The unique and desirable qualities possessed by the Irish make them the ideal foundation for Sport Horse breeding, competing at the international levels, ranked first in the world for eventing and fifth in the world for show jumping. Their temperament and versatility make them suitable for the amateur as well as the professional competitior.
RID stallion Kilpeck Diamond Knight ~