Irish Draught vs Irish Sport Horse
Updated · HorsesalesIreland.com
The three names get mixed up constantly, including in sale listings. They describe related but different horses, and the difference matters for what the horse will do, how it will feel to ride and what it's worth.
Irish Draught
The Irish Draught is Ireland's native breed of horse: a strong, deep, short-legged horse with plenty of bone, a kind head and a famously sensible temperament. It was bred to work the farm all week and hunt at the weekend, and that versatility is still its calling card. Registered Irish Draughts are recorded with the Irish Draught Horse Society and Horse Sport Ireland, and the breed is classed as endangered, so pure-bred mares and stallions are valued. Pure Irish Draughts are usually 15.2hh to 17hh and are superb hunters, riding club horses, driving horses and confidence-givers. They are not, as a rule, the quickest or the most athletic jumpers.
Irish Sport Horse
The Irish Sport Horse (ISH) is not a breed but a studbook: a performance horse bred in Ireland, registered with Horse Sport Ireland, and traditionally produced by crossing the Irish Draught with the Thoroughbred. That cross gave the world its most successful event horses, with the Draught's sense and bone and the Thoroughbred's speed and stamina. Over the last thirty years the studbook has also admitted continental warmblood blood, so a modern ISH may carry Dutch, German or Belgian lines as well. An ISH can be anything from a hunter to an Olympic showjumper; read the breeding in the passport to know what you're looking at.
Traditional Irish Horse
The Traditional Irish Horse (TIH) is the name for an Irish Sport Horse bred only from Irish Draught, Thoroughbred and Connemara blood, with no continental warmblood in the pedigree. It was formalised to protect the old cross as warmblood breeding grew. If a horse is described as a TIH, its passport should carry the designation. Traditional Irish Horses are sought after by eventers, hunting people and anyone who wants the classic Irish all-rounder.
Which one suits you?
- You want a safe, honest hunter or riding club horse, or a horse for a nervous or heavier rider: an Irish Draught or a Draught-cross ISH.
- You want to event, showjump or do a bit of everything competitively: an Irish Sport Horse, and look at the breeding for the balance of Thoroughbred, Draught and warmblood.
- You want the old-fashioned Irish type with the papers to prove it, or you plan to breed: a Traditional Irish Horse.
- You want to breed registered Irish Draughts: only a pure-bred, registered mare will do, and a graded one is worth more.
Reading a listing
"ID" means Irish Draught. "ISH" means Irish Sport Horse. "ID x TB" means a Draught crossed with a Thoroughbred, which is usually an ISH. "RID" means a Registered Irish Draught. "By Cruising out of a Clover Hill mare" tells you the sire and the dam's sire, which is how Irish horse people describe breeding. If the listing says Irish Draught but the passport says Irish Sport Horse, ask.
Common questions
Is an Irish Sport Horse a warmblood?
Some are, some aren't. The studbook admits warmblood blood, but a Traditional Irish Horse has none. Check the pedigree in the passport.
Are Irish Draughts good for beginners?
Often, yes. Their temperament and steadiness make them one of the best choices for novice adults, though every horse is an individual.
Why are registered Irish Draughts expensive?
The breed is endangered, pure-bred mares are scarce, and demand for genuine Draught temperament and bone is constant, in Ireland and abroad.