Irish Sport Horse

Overview

The Irish Sport Horse (ISH) is Ireland's sport horse breed, kept in the Irish Sport Horse Studbook by Horse Sport Ireland, which the Irish Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine has approved to keep both this studbook and the Irish Draught Horse Studbook. The studbook's breeding objective is "to produce a performance horse that is sound, athletic with good paces and suitable temperament and capable of winning at the highest international level in FEI disciplines."

History

Horse Sport Ireland dates the breed to the 1920s, when breeders first began crossing Irish Draught and Thoroughbred stock. The Irish Draught Horse Society (GB) notes that an Irish Draught mare put to a Thoroughbred stallion has long been valued for breeding hunters, and that Irish Draught stallions add bone and substance to the offspring of lighter mares. The Rare Breeds Survival Trust calls the Irish Draught a cornerstone of Ireland's international eventing success.

The Irish Sport Horse Studbook was established in 1974 to register the sport horses produced by these crosses. Until 1982 it held only horses of traditional Irish breeding. From then on, foreign breeds and crosses were registered as Irish Sport Horses too, and from the 1990s Irish horses were increasingly crossed with continental warmbloods.

The Traditional Irish Horse

Horse Sport Ireland describes the Traditional Irish Horse (TIH) as a subset of the breed: the original Irish Sport Horse, developed in Ireland over 200 years ago by crossing the Irish Draught, the Thoroughbred and, to a lesser extent, the Connemara pony. These horses are registered as Irish Sport Horses and carry the prefix "(TIH)" in their passports. Because of their distinctive genetics, Horse Sport Ireland's breeding policies aim to preserve and develop them within the wider breed.

Breed standard

Horse Sport Ireland describes the ideal Irish Sport Horse as:

• Conformation: a functionally correct model with balanced proportions, suited to success at international level in FEI disciplines.
• Movement: correct, light-footed, balanced and supple, with good self-carriage and impulsion from the hindquarters.
• Temperament: good-tempered, rideable, intelligent and willing to perform.
• Jumping: courageous and careful, with good technique and scope.

Stallions and mares are inspected every year for entry to the studbook or to improve their classification. The breeding policy points in three directions: international-level show jumpers, international-level event horses, and sport horses for the growing leisure market. Horse Sport Ireland advises breeders to choose mares and stallions for one specific discipline: for example, using a mare whose dam line has jumped at a high level when aiming to breed a top show jumper.

Temperament and uses

Irish Sport Horses are bred for show jumping and eventing at the highest level and for leisure riding. The breed standard asks for a good temperament and a rideable, intelligent, willing horse. Because the breed now includes everything from traditional Irish Draught–Thoroughbred crosses to horses with much warmblood blood, individuals vary widely, so check a horse's breeding in its passport.

Health and management

Care depends on the individual horse's breeding and coat. Bransby Horses names Thoroughbreds and warmbloods as breeds with finer coats that are more likely to need a rug in winter, so a horse with a lot of that blood may need the same. See the care guide for finer-coated horses and the daily care guide.