Difference between a Irish Sports Horse and a LW Cob?

M

minimex2

Well-Known Member
Joined
16 May 2009
Messages
474
Visit site
Ive been looking at a few "ISH" but if they dont have breeding history you dont know for sure or whether they could be a LW cob.

Dont get me wrong I love cobs and have always had them but dont want to pay ISH money for something that genuinly isnt.

Apart from "feathers" what other signs are there ?

thanks
 
tbh with the amount of horses out there available if you want a true ISH pay for one with breeding ;)

mine (in pics) is a heinz 57 unknown breeding - id call her an ISH (Her passport says so too) and i clip a fair amonf of feather off. she's from ireland and i know most of her history but still cant find her breeding out.

so if feathers are a sign is she a LW cob? i'd not say so
 
If you have no breeding then there is no way IMO.

For example I have a Hanovarian X Cob with full breeding on the stallion side but nothing on the dam.

And I have been asked and TOLD she is both an ISH and a cob by many different 'experts', including a vet!

No papers = no idea

p.s my mare has no feathers but is coloured.
 
tbh i think now a days people call anything slightly 'irish' a ISH, my TB x ID is called as a ISH but has an irish sports passport, i think they have green passports for full ISH breeding and blue for part breeding. If the sire is registered on their database then it would make it part ISH at least.

I believe that people with cobs that may have a great aunties half cousin in ireland, say its an ISH! lol x Think it makes them sound better.

Stand to be corrected though! x
 
yeah - mine has a blue passport and no breeding :rolleyes: go figure - no idea why - questioned it and sent it back and it came back still blue - oh well!

oh - and she has cracking movement and a fab medium and extended trot....has won ridden and working hunter.... but still had feathers and tash in winter :p
 
Mine has a green passport and I can look him up on the Irish sport horse database. He gets a tiny bit of feather from the 1/8th draft in him.

My new one is Irish x don't know breeding. He's not an ISH thou although some people would call him that.
 
I have a yard full of ISH's and there is no "type" - two horses with proportionately the same amounts of, say, draught and TB blood in them can look totally different (eg I have one that looks like a TB event horse and another who is a true mw show hunter type - almost the same breeding).

I've also got two similarly bred pure draughts, one who is heading for maxi cob classes and the other for hw hunter - no cob in him!

It's true that Irish x anything tends to be labelled ISH, but if you don't want a cob then just find one that isn't :D
 
A lightweight cob could also be an ISH. To fit in with cob "spec" it would have to be 14.2 - 15.1h and of cob type. An ISH with a green passport is technically any horse bred in Ireland which has recorded pedigree and not eligible for registration as a TB, Connemara or Irish Draught (which is why a lot of horses which are by Warmblood stallions out of Irish mares are also ISH). The ISH is not actually a "breed" as such.
 
Cortez said:
A lightweight cob could also be an ISH. To fit in with cob "spec" it would have to be 14.2 - 15.1h and of cob type. An ISH with a green passport is technically any horse bred in Ireland which has recorded pedigree and not eligible for registration as a TB, Connemara or Irish Draught (which is why a lot of horses which are by Warmblood stallions out of Irish mares are also ISH). The ISH is not actually a "breed" as such.
Click to expand...

Agreed and it's helpful that the green passport ones are DNA verified so you can understand the breeding.
 
ISH is a generic term for the stud book. It may not be a straight ID x TB but could have WB x TB as an example. A TB stallion to an ID mare will throw a lighter build horse than the other way round which is why you can get great variances on build. A full green passport means that the breeding is fully documented, newer passports will also include chip/DNA information and the stallion and mare are in the top studbook. Blue means that partial parentage is known. White is unknown breeding and no chip. So in summary anything coming out of Ireland " could" be referred to as ISH, but I would actually look more carefully at the ones with full green passports. The fact that the Irish were more organised on the breeding front than we have been means that it is very easy to have a good idea of what sort of horse you are getting as the lines are so well known. As for mixing ISH with light weight cobs..that doesn't add up! ISH is a studbook. Same way as KWPN.
 
Here is my cart horse ;-)

2012-08-27165246.jpg


This is a LW cob - x this with TB and you get the sporty model.
 
horserider said:
TBF though, I'd expect to see a bigger, more fluid movement in the ISH compared to the cob's more workmanlike way of going.
Click to expand...

Ha, must make our ISH read this comment. His movement is not as good as our old cobs. He has a green passport and excellent breeding. We were looking for a maxi cob though and found ISH cheaper!
 
My Irish sports horse is nothing like a lw cob! She's only 1/8 irish draft rest is tb and wb. she is easily mistaken for a warmblood, quite fine and big floaty action...not a feather in sight! I think all her legs together would add up to the width of one LW cob leg!
 
Shivvy said:
If it is a genuine ISH it should have a green passport and be DNA tested to verify parentage and microchipped. The microchip number should tally with the ISH studbook ID number. :)
Click to expand...

This. ISH should be registered with the studbook. The "breed" is so diverse that they can look so different.The days of TBx ID are gone and even then you seen a lot of variation.

Buying a Unknown breeding horse in/from Ireland does not make the horse a ISH. It makes them a horse of unknown breeding that happened to have been born in Ireland. That may or may not have a mix similar to the ISH in them.

The amount of poorly bred horses/unknown breeding horses that are passed off and sold as ISH is mad. I've seen coloured 14.2 pony's with ISH on the passport's.cobxtrotter was the most likely actual breed. Passport means nothing as the breed can be stated without proof. Its the registration and tracking of the pedigree that makes the ISH's.
 
Well I have one of each and the difference is visible.

The ISH is registered and has a green passport (connie x tb) and is a lot lighter in build. He does however get light feathers which I trim. He is lighter in bone and coat, looks more refined, and is more athletic in his movement.

The LW cob is a lot chunkier, with shorter legs and more bone, and is obviously a 'cob'. His movement is different too with a shorter and choppier stride. He is of unknown breeding.
 
I have two registered ISH mares,identically bred,full sisters.One could be thought a lightweight cob,the other more sporty,neither has feathers.An ID breeder told me ID's shouldn't have feathers.Both mares are gorgeous.
 
Depends what you want it for, but I would say buy a horse of a size, movement, temprement etc that suits you and suits what you want it for, and worry less about what breed it might or might not be

You can't go wrong then :-)
 
Shivvy said:
If it is a genuine ISH it should have a green passport and be DNA tested to verify parentage and microchipped. The microchip number should tally with the ISH studbook ID number. :)
Click to expand...

OH's new mare has the above. She's by a TB stallion ( French Buffet) and out of a reg ISH mare. She is 17.hh but has the skinny TB build
 
I have an ISH , Blue Passport, sire & dam both registered as Irish Sport Horses aswell.
I will be completly honest & people presume she is a " Cob" just because of her colouring... grrrrrrrrrrrr..... racists :D I know its trivial but really gets my back up & just to be clear nothing wrong with Cobs but she isn't one!

show21.jpg


twix2.jpg


( & yes my heels are up in this pic lol! )
hh4.jpg
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top