Buying a youngster from Ireland?? Help please!

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clarehawes

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As an experienced horse owner l have decided to take on a 'project' to buy a youngster to bring on myself and am looking for an Irish draught x, or Irish sports horse yearling/2 year old. Can anyone recommend someone that they have purchased from in Ireland or warn me off anyone else??! Im not able to travel to Ireland so would be buying unseen has anyone had any experience of this? Is it to risky?
I have looked at irishsportequine as they have been recommended to me but they don't ever seem to have any youngsters available.

Alternatively any recommendations for anyone in this country that has anything reasonably priced!!

Any advice would be appreciated
 
Not helpful but following this post! I am looking at the exact same thing.

There are a few delaers around who import directly from Ireland (try Irish Horse Imports, based in Reading). They "seem" to have some good ones, although as none of them are vetted etc I personally would take a vet along also.
 
Thank you! I did have a look at them but from what l could see they didn't seem to have anything under 4 years old?? Looking for something younger as l want it unspoilt!!
 
There is a poster on here who recently bought an Irish baby, bit older than what you're looking but she will maybe have advice and experience can't for the life of me remember her name but if you look on my comments I wrote on her update post. Good luck!
 
I bought my lad from Ireland. I'll get the advert for his other stock later and pm it too you. My lad has been amazing
 
Hi Clarehaws, I have a good friend here with wonderful two year-olds. He has a stud and has been breeding for fifty years. They are all by a horse called Cruising Harry (harlequin du Caral out of a Cruising dam) and their dams are by his own stallion Tjipke (he is sire of 4* eventer Soltair Justice). Not much about them on the internet as he is a real old timer, but photos and videos could be got. They range from nice correct youngsters to a couple that are truly show stopping. If you're interested I can ask for pics for you.
 
Why do British breeders bother. I have a lovely ID x, show quality small hunter potential. Easy, fab temperament and I have just broken her without issue. Six weeks in now and hacking out, brave in traffic, trots circles nicely balanced and tackled trot poles.

Lets think about getting her to this stage. £450 stud fee, AI costs £350 ish, 11 months keep for mare who is a good doer, farrier etc £750,
foaled unaided, post foaling check ups £100, vaccinate, chip and register the foal £250. Raise the foal for 4 years, god knows what I have spent on her.

She is a keeper and hopefully my next successful show horse. Seeing people wanting cheap nice young horses gets my goat, it is about time people realised what it takes to raise correct youngstock both in terms of finance and knowledge.

I mean no offence to the OP, but it would be lovely if you supported a British breeder, recognised a quality young horse with potential and took it on to success.
 
I agree AA, people should realise the huge cost and effort involved for the breeder and be happy to pay a decent and fair price. But that might be best achieved if individuals went directly to breeders and cut out the producers/dealers, who in this country fleece the poor breeder so they can then heap their cut on top.

The Irish horse is hugely popular in Britain, has been for centuries. Maybe it's time that buyers forged relationships with breeders here and bought direct in the interests of a better trade for all. There are many decent, honest farmer/breeders who would be delighted to deal directly with British buyers so they can avoid the dealer middlemen who cream off their profit.

People here in general breed because of their love of horses and it should be them that reap the rewards for all their hard work and dedication, not some middle man who owns the animal for all of five minutes and then sells it on.
 
If you had cared to read my post correctly l had also asked for any recommendations of breeders in this country and do not have any problems with buying from this country. I am fully aware of the costs involved in getting a horse to various stages but again as my post says l am looking for a yearling/2 year old not a 4 year old so your expenses are not entirely correct in relation to my post as l am not wanting a 4 year old. I have also not stated my budget so you are assuming that l am looking for a cheap horse for £500!! I could have a budget of £10k for all you know and l wouldn't say that was cheap??n I have a lot of success in the show ring and am aware of what to look for in a quality horse.
I have always supported British breeding, British horses and all British industries as a whole please do not hijack my post by accusing me of having a lack of knowledge and loyalty you know nothing about me or my experience and l if you cant offer helpful advice like other people then please don't comment.
 
AdorableAlice said:
Why do British breeders bother. I have a lovely ID x, show quality small hunter potential. Easy, fab temperament and I have just broken her without issue. Six weeks in now and hacking out, brave in traffic, trots circles nicely balanced and tackled trot poles.

Lets think about getting her to this stage. £450 stud fee, AI costs £350 ish, 11 months keep for mare who is a good doer, farrier etc £750,
foaled unaided, post foaling check ups £100, vaccinate, chip and register the foal £250. Raise the foal for 4 years, god knows what I have spent on her.

She is a keeper and hopefully my next successful show horse. Seeing people wanting cheap nice young horses gets my goat, it is about time people realised what it takes to raise correct youngstock both in terms of finance and knowledge.

I mean no offence to the OP, but it would be lovely if you supported a British breeder, recognised a quality young horse with potential and took it on to success.
Click to expand...

Yet look you are keeping your good one!
I looked for months in the UK for a top quality youngster at a reasonable price. I dont mind paying a bit more for british bred but i wont pay double or even treble the price.
I went to Ireland and had my pick of beautiful quality youngsters at a far more reasonable price. If I'd bought my lad from a british breeder I expect I would have had to pay in excess of £3000. In Ireland I paid £1500 including transport to the UK.
I dont have an unending bank account like some people and I could get more for my money in Ireland (Direct from breeder, no middleman).
 
Irish gal said:
Hi Clarehaws, I have a good friend here with wonderful two year-olds. He has a stud and has been breeding for fifty years. They are all by a horse called Cruising Harry (harlequin du Caral out of a Cruising dam) and their dams are by his own stallion Tjipke (he is sire of 4* eventer Soltair Justice). Not much about them on the internet as he is a real old timer, but photos and videos could be got. They range from nice correct youngsters to a couple that are truly show stopping. If you're interested I can ask for pics for you.
Click to expand...

Thank you that would be great
 
conniegirl said:
Yet look you are keeping your good one!
I looked for months in the UK for a top quality youngster at a reasonable price. I dont mind paying a bit more for british bred but i wont pay double or even treble the price.
I went to Ireland and had my pick of beautiful quality youngsters at a far more reasonable price. If I'd bought my lad from a british breeder I expect I would have had to pay in excess of £3000. In Ireland I paid £1500 including transport to the UK.
I dont have an unending bank account like some people and I could get more for my money in Ireland (Direct from breeder, no middleman).
Click to expand...

Thank you for this as this was my exact reason for looking in Ireland!
 
AdorableAlice said:
Why do British breeders bother. I have a lovely ID x, show quality small hunter potential. Easy, fab temperament and I have just broken her without issue. Six weeks in now and hacking out, brave in traffic, trots circles nicely balanced and tackled trot poles.

Lets think about getting her to this stage. £450 stud fee, AI costs £350 ish, 11 months keep for mare who is a good doer, farrier etc £750,
foaled unaided, post foaling check ups £100, vaccinate, chip and register the foal £250. Raise the foal for 4 years, god knows what I have spent on her.

She is a keeper and hopefully my next successful show horse. Seeing people wanting cheap nice young horses gets my goat, it is about time people realised what it takes to raise correct youngstock both in terms of finance and knowledge.

I mean no offence to the OP, but it would be lovely if you supported a British breeder, recognised a quality young horse with potential and took it on to success.
Click to expand...
If you had cared to read my post correctly l had also asked for any recommendations of breeders in this country and do not have any problems with buying from this country. I am fully aware of the costs involved in getting a horse to various stages but again as my post says l am looking for a yearling/2 year old not a 4 year old so your expenses are not entirely correct in relation to my post as l am not wanting a 4 year old. I have also not stated my budget so you are assuming that l am looking for a cheap horse for £500!! I could have a budget of £10k for all you know and l wouldn't say that was cheap??n I have a lot of success in the show ring and am aware of what to look for in a quality horse.
I have always supported British breeding, British horses and all British industries as a whole please do not hijack my post by accusing me of having a lack of knowledge and loyalty you know nothing about me or my experience and l if you cant offer helpful advice like other people then please don't comment.
 
Irish horses can be fantastic but I agree with AA: there are wonderful horses here who are correct and well produced and to a degree, you do get what you pay for: notwithstanding the point about dealers/producers prices!

We have bred a super youngster using a lovely, top quality stallion on a lovely, well made but quite ordinary mare. Youngster is for my husband who has frequently commented that at least one reason for never selling said youngster is the fact that in the UK market he could never re-coup the cost of producing him. Youngster in question will make a lovely, elegant 16 +hh sports horse type, he has been well handled, fed correctly,looked after and had feet etc done as appropriate since birth, taken on in-hand hacks, learnt to deal with local traffic, bikes, dogs, kids and gently backed and ridden in walk and trot for tiny sessions to date all with no problems or issues. He can be handled by our children (but is not, except for supervised cuddles) loads, easy to trim etc etc blah blah but yet would struggle to make even 1/2 of his value at sale. Thankfully he is not and will probably never be for sale. We often wonder how anyone manages to afford to raise a young horse for sale but the old saying 'fools breed horses for rich men to ride' is not wrong.

I was happy to pay for my horse as a completely blank slate at 3 years old: he too had been looked after and handled correctly up to that point. Best money I ever spent !!
 
Why not make a holiday of it and go scouting for your youngster ! I went for two weeks and had a ball looking for foal. To be quite honest I could have stopped longer the people are amazing out there and I have made friends for life. So easy to transport the foal back myself but I realise its cheaper to arrange this but i didn't want the freshly weaned foal stressed up by the journey.
 
With regards to overseas vs british breeders; I think it also depends what type of horse you're after.

I wanted a 4/5yo event horse, not surprisingly all of the ones over here were either vastly overpriced compared to what I could get elsewhere, or came from ireland originally anyway. Therefore I cut out the middleman and went to ireland. The additional bonus was that due to currency conversion you get a lot more for your money.
 
I've looked for here and there for around 2/3 years and properly looked for about a year now. Can not find any British bred horse, but plenty of nice Irish types - planning a visit to Ireland in the Mr too distant future to see if I can find one that ticks all the boxes. If anyone can point me in the direction of British bred ones, that would be great too.
 
conniegirl said:
Yet look you are keeping your good one!
I looked for months in the UK for a top quality youngster at a reasonable price. I dont mind paying a bit more for british bred but i wont pay double or even treble the price.
I went to Ireland and had my pick of beautiful quality youngsters at a far more reasonable price. If I'd bought my lad from a british breeder I expect I would have had to pay in excess of £3000. In Ireland I paid £1500 including transport to the UK.
I dont have an unending bank account like some people and I could get more for my money in Ireland (Direct from breeder, no middleman).
Click to expand...

Hi Connie, could you let me know where you got your boy from?
 
I have just been recommended trying Indigo Irish Draughts or Bowland Irish Draughts. Have only had a nosey through their websites so far but seem to have some good prospects!

Good luck in your search :)
 
ID (GB) site has a number of well bred British bred Irish horses, RID and Sport.

<£1000 will buy a youngster in Gorsebridge.
 
Just to jump in defense of AA...her post was valid and raised good points about british breeders. It was not clear from your post OP what sort of horse you were after and most people want to go to Ireland for a bargain. If you are after a top quality youngster, then I would suggest you look at finding introductions such as Irish gal to ensure you get to see the good horses, same as I would over here.

Personally I have no issue with using a middleman and my yard have bought a LOT of horses from Irish Imports. There is no need to put commas around the phrase "seem" with regards to these horses either..the inferance is that the yard is dodgy. I bought from there...and I vetted mine. I would always do that and that dealer expected me to do so. He also refused to let us try out a horse which looked stunning as he said it had gone up with his rider, ...if the horses show a vice, they are sent back. The yard has a very good reputation so please, be careful how you phrase yourself. I am not connected in any way, save that of seeing my YO buy a lot through them but there is no need to shed doubt when none is needed.
 
Brightwells have several elite sales coming up. Malvern and Addington followed bt Blenhiem. There will be nicely bred and correct youngsters.
 
Luci07 said:
Just to jump in defense of AA...her post was valid and raised good points about british breeders. It was not clear from your post OP what sort of horse you were after and most people want to go to Ireland for a bargain. If you are after a top quality youngster, then I would suggest you look at finding introductions such as Irish gal to ensure you get to see the good horses, same as I would over here.

Personally I have no issue with using a middleman and my yard have bought a LOT of horses from Irish Imports. There is no need to put commas around the phrase "seem" with regards to these horses either..the inferance is that the yard is dodgy. I bought from there...and I vetted mine. I would always do that and that dealer expected me to do so. He also refused to let us try out a horse which looked stunning as he said it had gone up with his rider, ...if the horses show a vice, they are sent back. The yard has a very good reputation so please, be careful how you phrase yourself. I am not connected in any way, save that of seeing my YO buy a lot through them but there is no need to shed doubt when none is needed.
Click to expand...

You misunderstand me, I have not personally used this yard so therefore I couldn't recommend. However, I have seen a number of ads for horses who do seem to be pretty good.

There was no inference from me that the yard was dodgy. I simply have no first hand experience of it yet. I can't help if you have a pessimistic interpretation of the language I've used.
 
Check KEC out Kennedy Equine centre. They breed their own horses from their own stallions obos quality, lancelot, Aldatus z and many more. They have been breeding for years top quality irish horses many making it to the top. We bought a beautiful 4 year old after having the choice of many shown to us. We have him nearly 6 month and are over the moon with him. They sell all over the world and have a great reputation. Check out their web site. They have 3 sites and we visited 2 and William Kennedy the father had alot more choice at his place. Good luck
 
Dublin horse show is on this week and you could go over and have a look at the youngstock? The programme/schedule usually lists which entries are for sale and tbh most are for sale at the show!!

Plus you can talk to the breeders/producers/studs and they might have something better suited for you at home.

The show is awesome to watch and shopping is fab! great atmosphere and is really worth visiting. No show like it!
 
I'm not sure I understand the argument against the price of British v Irish horses, as it assumes that Irish breeders don't have the same overheads as their British counterparts. Do Irish horses really live on fresh air?
 
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