Pure Irish Draught as a leisure horse?

Nothing better than ID for a fun horse, I had two RID's a Ben Purple and a Embla George/Colman Just fabulous horses and much missed now.

Have a half bred now by Amorous Archie out of a Irish Vanner and that has turned out to be a real cracker. Couple of days to back her and she is riding out now. It is well worth looking for an Amorous Archie youngster, he stamps them all with his amazing temperament and correct conformation.

My filly will be a lightweight cob or a small hunter. The horse below is a heavyweight hunter and by Archie too.

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Ye do have a lot of the good ones but you needn't worry we still have a few ourselves:) There are dedicated breeders keeping them up, thankfully. The thing to remember is that even the pure IDs are not all draught as they have been refined with a little TB blood through the years. Clover Hill, one of the most famed of all was half TB, just look at his pedigree. But he was such a good type he was admitted to the ID studbook in a somewhat controversial decision.
 
AA- beautiful horses and I do love Archie. I saw quite a few by diamond slipper at the breed show. Very nice too. I spoke to Janet George last year and she was great but my circumstances changed and it wasn't to be sadly. Things are ok now and I'd like nothing more than an indigo irish draught. Quite like skip and sea as well.
 
cblover said:
AA- beautiful horses and I do love Archie. I saw quite a few by diamond slipper at the breed show. Very nice too. I spoke to Janet George last year and she was great but my circumstances changed and it wasn't to be sadly. Things are ok now and I'd like nothing more than an indigo irish draught. Quite like skip and sea as well.
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Exciting time ahead for you. I hope you find what you want and look forward to perhaps seeing you at the shows.
 
I love mine to bits, he's my horse of a lifetime & my best friend. Generous, kind, honest & far more talented than people expect of an ID. But he can be sharp & opinionated and when he is there's an awful lot of horse to deal with. He's also a real worrier, which has caused a lot of problems over the years. Would I buy him again, knowing what I do now? Without hesitation. I dread the day that I lose him.
 
Nari - he sounds just great and very much like the mare I have. Sadly she's quite ill at the minute but on top form, she's much like yours. I wouldn't have her any other way!!
 
You can use a turkey for a leisure horse if you want, it is entirely your choice :). The only thing I would say is why pay the premium for a pedigree? I have a nice little cat. She loves plonking on my lap, catching frogs and harassing my chickens. She is a black moggy and nothing else. Having named parents and blue-blood wouldn't make her any nicer. If I wanted to show her, that would be different.
 
fatpiggy said:
You can use a turkey for a leisure horse if you want, it is entirely your choice :). The only thing I would say is why pay the premium for a pedigree? I have a nice little cat. She loves plonking on my lap, catching frogs and harassing my chickens. She is a black moggy and nothing else. Having named parents and blue-blood wouldn't make her any nicer. If I wanted to show her, that would be different.
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Because there's a lot of substandard stock out there .
A lame horse will cost you a load of money work and heartache buying a RID increases your chances of the horse being ' to type '.
 
Cblover, there's a group on facebook and it's for a good producer that sells a lot of Irish horses to the UK. They have some fab stock at very reasonable prices - especially with the exchange rate really going your way. The reason I mention is because it is impressive to read the comments by people from overseas who have bought and been very happy so it appears to be very reputable. There's all sorts with lots of ID and connie crosses. It's called Quality Irish Horses and Ponies, and as it's a group you'll need to ask to join.
 
Thanks, I've asked to join that fb group.

Fat piggy - I will be wanting to show my next horse, it's one of the reasons I'd like a well bred pure ID. Plus, I'm trying to reduce the chances of buying a horse with problems and feel going to a reputable breeder a better option.
 
Nari said:
I love mine to bits, he's my horse of a lifetime & my best friend. Generous, kind, honest & far more talented than people expect of an ID. But he can be sharp & opinionated and when he is there's an awful lot of horse to deal with. He's also a real worrier, which has caused a lot of problems over the years. Would I buy him again, knowing what I do now? Without hesitation. I dread the day that I lose him.
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I think you've described my lad there!!! He's sharper than my TB but far more talented. I struggled with him for the first year but now he's my dream horse.
OP he came from Tom Daly Abbeyward Irish Draughts.
 
I've got an ID x TB and he is the most awesome little horse ever. I bought him unhandled from Ireland as a 4 yr old. 12 weeks later he went to his first show under saddle!
He is the most mannerly, well behaved, brave, bold and careful lad ever.
You won't end up in trouble with him as his default reaction see to be 'oh well that's different' and to keep plodding on.
I kind of forget he is only 5 now and have to keep stopping myself from pushing him.
He thourghly enjoys hacking out and would safely carry a novice out on a hack.
My 6 yr old niece has ridden him and he looked after her like she was made of glass
 
The majority of police horses are ID's so yes they are great. Tend to be safe ( if trained properly) & usually solid & steady. Never met one I didnt like. Go for it 😊
 
I sadly lost my old boy at the beginning of April. He was roughly 3/4 ID, x with tb. I bought him from my yo who hunted him. He was my horse of a lifetime, generous and elegant. Intelligent and full of character. I miss him so much.
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Sad news regandal, sorry he's no longer with you. From what most people are saying, they are all generous and loyal creatures.
 
Research the lines as certain lines have certain traits. Used to breed them many years ago and there are different types with different traits.
 
I don't think you can have a turkey as a leisure horse because, well, it's a turkey not a horse !!!


OP - Janet at indigo IDs has some nice stock & she tends to start a lot of them off herself so they are well produced. I think the Cornthwaites have a few ridden horses for sale - Bowland Irish Draughts. Rita stands Archie but don't know if she keeps any stock herself for sale.

Have a look on the IDHS web site to see what's for sale. There are lots of really good breeders in the UK and to be honest they would be my start point before looking at Irish imports.
 
My beloved mare was (allegedly) an Irish Sport Horse, but I think she was more likely an Irish Draught crossed with a Tb and something spotty. In her youth she had competed at eventing and show jumping, by the time I got her she had worked hard and was 16 some funky crooked legs, COPD, arthritis, cruddy hooves but to me she was the most magnificent horse in the world. She was observant, clever, unflappable, wise, and had a lively sense of humour, she could be as gentle as a lamb with my friend's blind 80 year old mother aboard (who hadn't sat on a horse for 30 years) but could also tear up the stubble fields like a lion.
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I have recently taken this lovely chap on loan with a view to buy. I am told he is an RID. I started off being a bit nervous of him as he is so much more powerful than my mare, I never really understood what people meant by a horse having a "powerful engine" til i rode him and I found it a bit disconcerting to begin with, I almost never took him on but my daughter and friend knew I would love him once we got used to each other. So far, despite my novicey unbalanced self he has been an utter gent and my efforts to remain objective are in vain, I have fallen a bit in love with him. He has a touch of arthritis but nothing that will stop us from enjoying what i want to do
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Anyway, long winded way, plus photo spam of saying, based on my own experience I would absolutely consider an ID or IDx
 
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A year and a half ago, if you had told me I would fall in love with the Irish Draught as a breed, I would have laughed. Not knowing much about the breed I thought they had a tendency to be plain, not great jumpers and possibly a bit dull to ride... But looking for a new horse to get to the RDS the following year, my friend and I decided to target the Irish Draught Performance class as being a newish competition, it looked easier to qualify for than the Connemara equivalent. We looked at a few and finally settled on a weak 3 year old gelding by KEC Bluejay Diamond. Well, did he blow all my expectations of the breed out of the water. Hugo is a forward going, beautifully moving horse who loves nothing more than to jump. He won numerous 4 year old Working Hunter championships, was never out of the ribbons showing as a small hunter and qualified for his class in the RDS. At the RDS his tendency to be a bit of a worrier let him down, and he got over exited in his flat work show and didn't get great marks. He did go on to jump a super round and then later on was 3rd in his small hunter class. This year as a five year old he unfortunately measured out of smalls but qualified for the performance ID class at the first time of asking. He is a horse of a lifetime - bold hearted, forgiving, talented and handsome to boot. We have fallen for the ID as a breed so much that we went out last winter and bought a 2 year old filly who we've been showing in-hand with success this summer and who will hopefully also have a showing/ performance career before hopefully being our foundation mare to continue to promote the ID as a breed. So yes go for it, they are the most wonderful horses ;-)
 
Lovely story redmimosa, they both sound fab. Did you spend a lot of time looking and researching the blood lines you wanted?
 
I see your point but there are alot of pink-papered poor quality horses out their too. I've only ever had mongrels of any species and they have been fine, healthy beasts which did everything I wanted of them. One thing I have heard about IDs is that due to their size, they are prone to colic. Certainly I knew two who were repeaters and one ended up having surgery as a 4 year old, but carried on having low level colic if it got anything like decent grass.
 
This is my lad (half ID). He is currently 5 yrs old and the most genuine honest lovely little horse I have ever had the pleasure of meeting!

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His first time ever going into water and he just walked straight in
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Doing his leadrein pony bit
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Standing to be pampered by small children
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and with a complete novice on him (this was my OH's first time in the saddle ever!)
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cblover said:
Lovely story redmimosa, they both sound fab. Did you spend a lot of time looking and researching the blood lines you wanted?
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Both of the horses were bought off Donedeal, with the gelding I was more interested in his performance potential then bloodlines - he has a super off the floor canter. The mare is beautifully bred being by Crosstown Dancer - he was a stallion I particularly liked and a number of the best RID performance horses and show horses around are by him. Also her dam has already bred a HOYS winner, so when we saw her advertised we jumped at the chance to have her!
 
What a smasher Conniegirl and he makes the perfect advertisement for the ID/ID cross as a leisure horse. Sane, sensible, good looking and with a great step. Lucky you, bet you won't be parting with him anytime soon.

Agree with Redmimosa, I wouldn't get too caught up in bloodlines. It might be better to just work out the qualities you are after in a horse and focus on finding that. It's always nice to have great bloodlines but that's not the most important thing in a riding horse, unless you want to breed from the animal.
 
An Irish Draught will fit the bill perfectly for you. Sane and sensible for hacking out, they are good doers and then they polish up beautifully for showing or a bit of dressage or jumping.

The IDHS GB web site lists breeders and horses for sale. You'll find the breeders happy to chat to you about what you want and what they have, just bear in mind that they are usually selling 4 years olds that probably have only been lightly backed.
If they haven't got a suitable horse then they will usually offer to pass on your details or put you in touch with someone else. Trying to find a slightly older ID with a bit of experience is more difficult because they are such good horses and of course don't get sold !!.
I have just bought my fourth ID, all of them different in their own way but each and everyone has been a great leisure horse.

Echo what one of the other poster said, they do mature late both physically and mentally often up until they are seven or eight. They are certainly not plods and when you see them in the show ring they are certainly not common farm horses !

If you can make it, it's the Midland Irish Draught Show at Solihull on Sunday 19th July. Its a very friendly Show with a lot of quality horses and I promise you that anyone will chat with you (for hours!!) about Irish Draughts. Then the 12th and 13th September is the Annual Breed Show at Lincoln.

I'm the assistant representative for the Midlands area and if you'd like to PM me for a chat or more info about the Society please do so. Also the Society has been running Conformation clinics and Judges training days recently - these are open to non society members and it's a great way to meet enthusiasts, learn about conformation from top judges and learn about ID types. Details are posted on out FB page.

Good luck with your hunt
 
For anyone who might be looking for a horse, the most wonderful bunch of three year olds are currently for sale with fantastic IDxTB lines all being by the wonderful traditionally bred stallion Carrick Diamond lad. I mention it because the photo of the 14 horses for sale has made such an impression that it's gone a bit viral. It made such an impact on me that I was recently heard speaking in my sleep, saying....'Carrick Diamond Lad'....Talk about lusting after horses;)

http://carrickdiamondlad.com/horses-for-sale/


Video of them here:
http://www.donedeal.ie/horses-for-sale/14-irish-bred-3yr-old-horses-for-sale-/9788175?offset=1
 
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