Breeding & Breed Standards

Breeding

The Irish Draught has had an enormous contribution to the horse industry, for many years It has provided a wonderful foundation from which some of the finest competition horses have been bred, traditionally it was primarily crossed with the TB, in order to produce the much sought after true half bred, a horse with stamina, quality and substance, this type of horse has provided us with a safe yet exciting ride across country in the hunting field, it has proven itself equally in eventing and showjumping, and more recently it is proving to have ability in the dressage arena.

It is important not to forget that these horse have originated from the traditional Irish Draught a short shinned, deep bodied compact horse, yet a horse that has retained quality, substance and movement, it is these horses that we should not forget, it is important that we maintain breed standards when undertaking a breeding program, then with thoughtful and selective breeding we shall improve and preserve our national herd.

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.

HORNBY TRUST PREMIUM SCHEME

The Hornby Premium was devised to recognise the exceptional mares in the breeding herd and to encourage their owners to breed pure Irish Draughts.
The Premiums are awarded every year at the Mare Gradings, where the successful mares need to score a minimum of 125 out of a total of 145 points on their own merits. All graded Irish Draught mares are eligible for consideration, providing they have their own foal at foot, by an RID stallion. The foal itself is not taken into account when assessing the mare.
If you would like to put your mare forward for Hornby Premium assessment you need to contact the Office to request an application form – please do this in plenty of time, closing date for receipt of application is 31 July 2003.
As always our grateful thanks go to our generous benefactors the HORNBY PREMIUM TRUST for their continued support.

HORNBY PREMIUMS - UPDATE AND GOOD NEWS (Dec 2003)
These Premium awards are from a Private Trust that has loyally supported our breed through the enthusiasm of its Trustees. We are enormously grateful for their continued support. Their aim has always been to reward quality Irish Draught mares with a foal at foot by an RID Stallion.

The Select Hornby Premium Awards were introduced for mares who have won 3 Hornby Premiums, thus allowing older mares to step down and new younger mares to come to the fore. It also encourages members to breed pure, with the hope that their mare may achieve ‘select’ status. I recently approached the Trustees again, and they have accepted that whilst some mares fall short of the current top score required, if they have a creditable foal at foot, that foal’s quality could be taken into consideration. It was suggested that if the mare fell short by five marks of the total required number of points, the foal at foot could be assessed, and if it was thought of highly by the inspectors, they could use their discretion and award a Hornby Premium. The foal would not be scored. Mares that score top marks will not need to have their foals assessed.

SELECT HORNBY PREMIUM MARE
On being awarded her third Hornby Premium, a mare will be given the title of SELECT HORNBY PREMIUM MARE. She will hold this title for the rest of her life and may not be brought forward for assessment again. However, from that point onwards all her pure bred foals will be registered free of any charge (the only requirement being that her owner is a member of the Society).

If you believe that your mare has gained three or more Hornby Premiums you should send her passport to the Office to have it stamped and her name will appear in the next Yearbook. Mares will also receive a lovely Select Hornby Premium rosette.

Last Updated Tuesday, September 18 2007 @ 04:22 PM BST; 1,404 Hits