Irish Sport Horse

What is an Irish Sport Horse?

A cross between the Irish Draught and the Thoroughbred, in varying proportions, standing roughly 15.3 to 17 hands. The studbook is maintained by Horse Sport Ireland, and it is a performance register rather than a closed breed - so "Irish Sport Horse" describes a type and a pedigree, not a narrow physical standard.

The intended result is the Thoroughbred's speed and scope on the Draught's bone, sense and soundness. When it works it produces the best cross-country horse in the world, and Ireland has the eventing record to show for it.

History and origins

The Irish Draught is the foundation: a farm horse that had to plough, pull a cart, carry the family to Mass and hunt on Sunday, which selected for exactly the temperament and athleticism wanted later. Crossing it with the Thoroughbred for the hunting field is a nineteenth-century practice that became systematic in the twentieth. Horse Sport Ireland's studbook was established in 1923.

Appearance and size

157-173cm. Good bone, a sloping shoulder, a strong back and powerful quarters. Substantial without being heavy. Any solid colour; greys, bays and chestnuts predominate. Type varies widely with the percentage of Thoroughbred blood: a three-quarter-bred looks and rides very differently from a half-bred.

Temperament and personality

Honest, bold and generally kind, with more sense than a full Thoroughbred and more scope than a Draught. They are workmanlike horses that like a job. The more Thoroughbred in a horse, the sharper it tends to be, and that is the single most useful thing to establish before you sit on one.

Intelligence and trainability

Trainable and quick to learn a course. They tend to be genuine rather than clever-evasive, which makes them forgiving of an amateur rider's mistakes across country. They still need consistent, competent riding: a green five-year-old ISH is a lot of horse.

Children and other pets

Not a children's horse in any ordinary sense - this is an adult or experienced teenager's ride. They are usually easy in a herd and straightforward to handle on the ground, which is not always true of the sharper continental warmbloods.

Health problems

Broadly sound, but they are large athletic animals doing demanding work:

Hock and fetlock arthritis and navicular-type front foot pain are the two commonest reasons a horse comes out of work early. Both are visible on radiographs before they are visible under saddle, which is why a competition vetting includes X-rays.

Tendon and ligament injury from jumping, particularly on hard ground.

Gastric ulcers, very common in horses in hard work on concentrate feed and stabled routines. Treatable, and worth asking about if a horse is described as girthy or a poor doer.

Sarcoids - skin tumours common in the Irish and British population. Usually cosmetic, occasionally a real problem depending on site.

Daily care routine

A working sport horse is a daily job: mucking out, turnout, feeding twice or three times, and ridden work six days a week. Farrier every five to six weeks - usually shod all round. Dentist, vaccinations and worm counts as standard. Most are on part or full livery because the routine is not compatible with a full-time job.

Grooming and coat care

Clipped through winter, rugged accordingly, and groomed daily when in work. Saddle and back checked by a qualified fitter at least twice a year, and after any significant change in condition. Legs checked by hand every single day - heat or filling in a tendon is the thing you want to find on day one, not day three.

Exercise needs

Very high. Six days a week of structured work for a competing horse: schooling, hacking, jumping and fitness work. An ISH standing in a field for a fortnight will tell you about it when you get back on.

Feeding and diet

Forage first, then conditioning feed matched to the work, a balancer and electrolytes in the competition season. Feeding a horse in hard work is a technical job and getting it wrong shows up as ulcers, tying-up or simply no energy at a competition.

Price

£6,000-£15,000 for a competent all-rounder or hunting horse; £20,000-£60,000+ for a proven eventer with a record and points. Unbroken three- and four-year-olds run £3,000-£8,000, with all the risk that implies.

Keeping one realistically costs £6,000-£15,000 a year on part or full livery, before competition expenses, and insurance on a horse of this value is not trivial.

Buying advice

Establish the breeding, the percentage of Thoroughbred blood, and the horse's actual competition record - Horse Sport Ireland and British Eventing records are checkable, and a record is worth more than any description in an advert.

Ride it twice, on separate days, and jump it. Ask to see it caught, loaded, shod and turned out. Ask directly why it is for sale, and ask for the vet's practice name so your vet can request the clinical history.

Commission a five-stage vetting with a full radiographic set - hocks, front feet, stifles. £800-£1,500. On a horse at this price it is not optional, and the insurer will want it anyway.