Irish Draughts.

[kandm]

Hi all,

On my quest for a new horse I stumbled across a lovely 4 year old irish draught which ticks all the right boxes. However, I've never imagined myself with a heavy/chunkier horse.

How heavy would you expect an irish draught to get? Does anyone have any confo shots of their fully matured full irish draught(s) for a comparison?

Or if anyone knows of any off spring by Fintan Himself and whether they are of a chunkier type or less chunky type of irish draught that would be amazing!

It sounds silly, but it's the only thing which is putting me off.

Thanks,

Kiri

 

[Pilib]

If you buy an Irish Draught you''ll never want another breed! I have a chunky 17hh ID and he weighs 710kg. He is currently working at Novice dressage has such lovely paces, the most trainable attitude and a relatively sensible head on his broad shoulders. He's not a dope on a rope or a kick along type he's up for anything. I adore ID's I promise you will not regret buying one. X

 

[Goldenstar]

I have two
Fatty and H they are for my husband to hunt .
While I don't like to ride them myself I prefer something more sporty TBH , fine ISH warmbloods , they are the most lovely horses with lovely characters Fatty is just the most epic horse and H has gone from a nervous aggressive frightened rushed youngster to a calm happy confident horse but he did take a fair bit of effort to turn round and angry ID is not a nice thing at all.
If you like the horse you won't regret buying him the two words of warning when they mature they can be big wide horses you need to be prepared for that and you need a set up suitable for good doers .
You can always depend on an ID to make you laugh .

 

[stormox]

Irish draughts vary a LOT. From the chunky 15.1hh types to gargantuan 17hh ones. Fine ones that have a lot of TB blood and heavier types that contain Clydesdale way back in theiir ancestry. They dont really finish growing and 'chunking up' til about 8 years. Some are inclined to be a bit pigeon toed.
Look at each one as an individual, because an Irish Draught has traditionally been a type, not a breed, even purebred ones need to be assessed for type before they are graded RID.
There are some absolutely beautiful IDs out there, I am sure if you look you will find a nice one

 

[FfionWinnie]

I used a 16.3 huge lad on my mare this year. His temperament and paces have completely turned me on to the breed and I can't wait to see what my foal is like. He is a big chunky lad but boy could he move.

 

[utter-nutter]

i open team chase, hunt, pony club, hack mine, very comfy and an epic jumper! my novice mum now hacks and hunts him. i would also event him if he didn't find 90cm xc on his own terrifying, despite open team chasing over 6ft hedges..

 

[KautoStar1]

They are a breed not a type. A cob is a type as is an Irish sport horse. An Irish Draught is most definitely a breed with strict breed standards for grading. Over the years it has been refined to add a little quality what what was essentially a cart horse but it is not a type.

Anyway I have one and have friends who have bought an ID on the strength of my lads character. It very much depends what you want to do with your horse. If you want to hunt, hack, show and do lower level dressage and jumping then they are more than suitable. If you have aspirations of going 4* eventing or GP dressage I would say not suitable. Mine is 16.2 about 650kg deep of girth but not actually that wide. He's pretty much bang on the breed standard. But some can be bigger and some a little smaller.

Generally nice characters and easy to keep as in they are not high maintenance and don't require huge amounts of hard feed. But they do need to be managed weight wise.

 

[kandm]

Any pictures would be fab guys.

Thank you for all your replies.

 

[spacefaer]

I have a 16hh ID who is quite narrow - he looks more like a Connie cross. We also have an 18hh ID, who to be fair, is not wide either, but he is a big horse!

If I can get into my photobucket account, I'll put some pics up for you.

 

[stormox]

They are a breed not a type. A cob is a type as is an Irish sport horse. An Irish Draught is most definitely a breed with strict breed standards for grading. Over the years it has been refined to add a little quality what what was essentially a cart horse but it is not a type.
. .

Agreed- they are now a breed. But when they first started to register them, any horse could be taken to the assessments and if it was considered to be Irish Draught it was allowed onto the breed register. Then up to recently they had a couple of assessment days, where an ID type mare could be taken and assessed, and as long as 3 out of 4 grandparents were RID and the other TB or Connemara (no warmblood) she would become appendix and if mated to a RID the progeny could be graded and entered onto the breed register. I took a 3/4 bred draught to the assessment at Macroom about 12 years ago, she passed into the studbook,but my purebred mare didnt as she was deemed too small at just under 15hh.
But they were very strict on type- anything too light, or wrong colour, or too heavy, wouldnt be allowed onto the register. Nowadays they are all IDs, but can be graded 1-4.
I am in Ireland though, I dont know if the UK system is different.

 

[Spottyappy]

My daughter on her Grade A RID.
This mare has quite a lot of TB blood in her lines, her sire was Hillviewfarm Superstar who is a lot more substantial than she is!

 

[Asha]

I adore the breed.

I've just got back from camp and took my daughters ID gelding. I haven't ridden him for about a year, and had lost some confidence after riding some youngsters. His kind and generous nature has restored my faith in horses again. His heart is so big , and he couldn't have done anymore to look after me on the xc course. I ended up jumping 80cm. I just need to find another one like him now.

 

[LittleRooketRider]

IDs are awesome!

 

[AdorableAlice]

Fabulous horses, sadly lost my two pure ID's but have a lovely half bred (Amorous Archie x vanner).

 

[mle22]

We bought our first ID a year ago and she's amazing - though very opinionated! She has such a can do attitude and in the last 12 months she has won the all Ireland WH championship at Equifestival and is now out eventing, having placed in 2 90cms and finishing 10th in her first 100. She's quite a character too - impatient and very intelligent - love her and if she's indicative of the breed - I'm converted.

 

[Tyssandi]

Hi all,

On my quest for a new horse I stumbled across a lovely 4 year old irish draught which ticks all the right boxes. However, I've never imagined myself with a heavy/chunkier horse.

How heavy would you expect an irish draught to get? Does anyone have any confo shots of their fully matured full irish draught(s) for a comparison?

Or if anyone knows of any off spring by Fintan Himself and whether they are of a chunkier type or less chunky type of irish draught that would be amazing!

It sounds silly, but it's the only thing which is putting me off.

Thanks,

Kiri

Search previous post on these as there is a post with loads ID

 

[JanetGeorge]

Nowadays they are all IDs, but can be graded 1-4.
I am in Ireland though, I dont know if the UK system is different.

Not quite. They are graded Class 1 or Class 2 - depending on type, conformation and movement - having passed the vet.

If they fail the vet, it's Class 3 - and their progeny CANNO be accepted for grading.

Class 4 was uninppected - but passed DNA (now that's a ruddy farce when it's screwed up - it happens!) No now it's called U/I (uninspected.)

The UK is bound by Irish governance where IDs are concerned - we have to jump to Horse Sport Ireland (another ruddy farce as they don't give a hoot about the Irish Draught!!) But under EU law, we're stuck. Hopefully, once Theresa May gets her ruddy act together, we can DUMP HSI - and see a TRUE International Irish Draught Society!

 

[stormox]

Not quite. They are graded Class 1 or Class 2 - depending on type, conformation and movement - having passed the vet.

If they fail the vet, it's Class 3 - and their progeny CANNO be accepted for grading.

Class 4 was uninppected - but passed DNA (now that's a ruddy farce when it's screwed up - it happens!) No now it's called U/I (uninspected.)

The UK is bound by Irish governance where IDs are concerned - we have to jump to Horse Sport Ireland (another ruddy farce as they don't give a hoot about the Irish Draught!!) But under EU law, we're stuck. Hopefully, once Theresa May gets her ruddy act together, we can DUMP HSI - and see a TRUE International Irish Draught Society!

Yes this is true, and there were no takers for the last ID grading near me, all the IDs are going for the HSI one. A chap I know actually sent his stallion to the UK to be graded earlier this year , and brought him back to Ireland to stand.
Im not sure if you "PASS DNA" as all ID HSI reg horses are DNA tested nowadays. They can only go on the breed register if they are, otherwise they get a white book (no verified parentage). Assuming both parents are DNA typed and registered then a bit of the foals hair is pulled out and sent up to the lab and DNA tested to prove the foal belongs to those registered parents.
HSI is all going to change AGAIN this year........

 

[Antw23uk]

Awesome horses, I doubt you would regret getting one. When I get another horse he will also be ID.