Info on ID please

[*JD*]

As said above, I am interested in a large ID currently for sale but I don't know anything about IDs.

Any information would be helpful!

Can they cope with hilly parts of Scotland?

[cinammontoast]

Big working horses, weight carriers, meant to be good temperament but depends on the individual. Waht do you want to do with him?

[kookoolaalaa]

I have a 17hh Chestnut mare full Irish Draft. She has the temperarament to die for. Would make a great police horse. Not many things my girl wont go past or spook at. She's safe as houses even out hunting. She's very steady though, wish she had that extra gear...

[*JD*]

Big working horses, weight carriers, meant to be good temperament but depends on the individual. Waht do you want to do with him?

Well there wont be much weight to carry :p

General pleasure riding really. Hacking, Schooling and a bit of jumping. No competing or anything, maybe for the rest of the non-horsey family to try out too!

Just not sure about the grazing, we basically have hills and hills and more hills, some quite steep. I know TB's do not do well here. Usually have Highlands, New Forest, Connie, native types.

How do you reckon an ID would do with that?

[*JD*]

I have a 17hh Chestnut mare full Irish Draft. She has the temperarament to die for. Would make a great police horse. Not many things my girl wont go past or spook at. She's safe as houses even out hunting. She's very steady though, wish she had that extra gear...

HA, I'm okay taking it slow but as long as they step up a gear when need be!!

[carthorse]

Can't see hills being a problem, they're a bit like a good 4 wheel drive (or maybe a tank?!).

I've never yet met a nasty natured one & I've been around them for years, I grew up around an ID stud. However they aren't all the quiet plods that people expect & if you get a sharp athletic one it's a lot of horse. Mine lives to work, let him get bored & he's not easy. They're incredibly willing & trainable but will learn wrong things as quickly as right. They can be strong-willed & tend to think they know best (often they do, which just adds insult to injury!).

If you go to my user profile & look at my statistics you should find some pics of Jim, he's my purebred ID & the love of my life. However if you read some of the threads I've started you'll also see he's not the easiest horse around. I still love him to bit though :D

[*JD*]

[QUOTE=carthorse;2334073]Can't see hills being a problem, they're a bit like a good 4 wheel drive (or maybe a tank?!).


He is lovely!

So you reckon they are as sturdy on their feet as a native type?


It worries me as I wouldn't want to get rid if he couldn't cope as this is all we have got. And by hilly I mean a vertical mountain! :eek:

[Gem at heart]

I would be worried about the wear & tear on joints with constant grazing on a vertical hill.

I love ID though, everyone i have ridden has been beautiful, strong, willing & usually very talented. :)

[callie&rupes]

very strong, level headed, strong willed, grafters, fun, can be flighty, calm, cheeky, loyal, fun, challenging, intelligent, i absolutely love em wonderful breed as you can tell, they are so many different horses in one. As for hills i have no experience of them flat as pancakes where i kept mine.

[Skippys Mum]

Roughly where abouts are you? Just to give me an idea of how hilly you are talking.

I love the breed though. My all time favourite:D.

[carthorse]

I'd trust my ID to take me over ground that I wouldn't tackle on my welsh cob. I may not always like the pace he's taken me over it at but he's never stumbled or struggled even on loose footing up & down steep hills at a near gallop (his idea, not mine).

[*JD*]

Roughly where abouts are you? Just to give me an idea of how hilly you are talking.

I love the breed though. My all time favourite:D.


West Coast! Very hilly!

Its a no anyway, he wasn't what I was looking for.

Where abouts are you in Scotland?

[Skippys Mum]

Ayrshire:)

[Rips]

I would be worried about the wear & tear on joints with constant grazing on a vertical hill.



A good example of an ID is stocky and sturday with a leg at each corner - you generally don't find them suffering from wear and tear like other manufactured breeds (TB's, Warmbloods etc) They were bred from horses who could work all day long for years, not bred based on breeding or showing performance.

I know lots of ID's who were broken as 3yr olds and worked hard hunting all their lives well into their 20's.

Lol, :p OCD, DJD, navicular... are not words you associate with a draught... unless its a very poor example of one!!

Infact, 'lame' is not a word I often come across in the same sentence as Irish Draught!!

[Amanogawa]

We have a 2-year old RID and he is wonderful. Nothing phases him and he is not at all silly. Basically the ID was bred as an all purpose horse, something that would pull the farmer's plough as well as taking him hunting on the odd day. An ID will turn his hand to everything, literally. Traditionally they have mainly been used for jumping (show and event) but I must say our youngster puts many dressage bred warmbloods of the same age to shame with his trot and canter!

I have spent a lot of time with an ID breeder and I will love the breed forever. It must be said though (and I am sure that there are exceptions out there so please don't kill me) they are not the most intelligent breed and so they tend to be reasonably happy to do what they are told and many of the IDs I have been dealing with have been very keen to look for leadership from the handler, which is also why they are very dedicated to their humans. They are very amenable characters.

They are usually very good doers but are also slow to mature they can easily mature until they are 6/7 years but if you look after them they have good lifespans.

Just a word of caution though: Unfortunately the ID in Ireland has been allowed to deteriorate and deviate from the original breed standard and has been turned into a quasi-warmblood which is why RID mares bred here in the UK are excruciatingly expensive, we still breed to the traditional standard.

If you treat your ID right you will have a devoted friend for life, they have huge kind and brave hearts

I will ALWAYS have an ID.

Edited to say: A fit ID will go and go all day long in any terrain.

[carthorse]

While I agree with a lot of that Amanogawa I really can't go with the "not the most intelligent". I've known some pretty clever ones & Jim is far far too bright for comfort, trying to stay one step ahead of him can be challenging at times! He certainly isn't looking for leadership, most things are done by mutual consent, but he's very loyal & devoted. Friends compare him to a labrador & they aren't far wrong - he likes everyone but his people are very special to him & he'll do almost anything to please them.

I can, however, think of one very sweet mare who was so thick that she'd try to canter through xc jumps if you didn't tell her to take off ......

[Rips]

Just a word of caution though: Unfortunately the ID in Ireland has been allowed to deteriorate and deviate from the original breed standard and has been turned into a quasi-warmblood which is why RID mares bred here in the UK are excruciatingly expensive, we still breed to the traditional standard.



What a load of crap!

The only reason the Irish Draught has suffered in Ireland is from the number of quality ID mares being constantly bred to foreign stallions to produce sporthorses... the Irish Draught has not suffered as a breed, we still have outstanding mares and stallions.

In my experience, it is the majority of the UK bred ID's that are not true to traditional type!! And the amount of poor quality overpriced examples of ID's I have seen for sale in the UK is shocking!

And you accuse the IHB of breeding quasi-warmbloods?? Some GB registered ID's... some very nice horses I might add - but I think a case of 'pot calling the kettle black'!!
http://www.adhorse.com/uploadimages/22545.jpg
http://www.idhsgb.com/web/mediagallery/mediaobjects/orig/b/b_dress08_cloonacauneen.jpg

Lol, even this headshot of the IDHS (gb) inhand winner...
http://www.idhsgb.com/web/mediagallery/mediaobjects/disp/9/9_perf_cove08.jpg
WTF? Where is the draught?