Episode 16: All About Irish Draught Horses

Hello! Welcome to Flip N Tails: a tiny podcast for BIG horse lovers! I’m a horse girl who loves to ride and each week I’ll share about what I learn and love about horses. Today is episode sixteen and it’s all about the Irish Draught.

What are they known for?

They’re known for being the national breed of Ireland.

Imagine you’re on an Irish Draught and you’re racing through the woods and the fields. And you’re in puddles and you jump over fences and there’s like… I don’t know maybe twenty dogs at your feet and they’re all barking and all the energy is amazing. And it’s really cool. And you’re really running and going fast and you jump over and it’s really cool.

When you hear Irish Draught, you might think like a horse like a Clydesdale or maybe a Percheron but an Irish Draught isn’t one of those big and bulky horses. In Ireland it’s wet and it has lots of hills, and you can’t be a big thick Percheron there because you need to be quicker and agile to be able to jump over the fences and go around the corners with the slippery puddles.

And have you ever walked through the forest and you have those little velcro-y things that stick to your clothes? Imagine having feathering in there. It would be so annoying because all of the velcro or burdock would get onto the fetlocks or the feathering. And then you wouldn’t be able to get it out. That’s why it’s a good thing that they don’t have any feathering.

Influences

The influences are the Spanish and the Flanders horse. It got its draft from the Flanders horse. Which was strong, big, bulky. It just helped will all that stuff. And the Spanish horse helped with precision. And remember Ireland was very slippery so it was hard to keep your feet on the ground to be able to not slip and slide all over there. Another breed that the Spanish horse influenced was the Lipizzaner. If you want to learn more about Lipizzaners go to Episode 12: All about Lipizzaners.

What makes them so cool?

Their origin is in the 12th Century. Which was a long time ago. What else happened in the 12th Century? Basically imagine if you’ve ever know like a kingdom or a castle. Basically imagine all the Knights in the castle were riding an Irish Draught, that’s how long ago that the 12th Century was. And it’s two thousand right now. so twelve hundred, two thousand. It’s a big difference. That’s 800 years.

What are they, a horse or a pony?

They’re a large horse or a draft horse. Irish Draughts can be from 15.2 to 16.3 hands high. Tall, athletic, and crossed with a Thoroughbred it can make a very good cross country horse. Irish Draught horses are good crosses. Like when I said earlier, they can be a good cross with a Thoroughbred to make the Irish hunter.

Describe them.

Irish Draughts have solid colors. It can be any solid color. Like chestnut, bay and dapple.

Something unique

Something unique about the Irish Draught is their temperament. They’re curious and interested in learning and trainable.

What makes them different?

There’s only 8,400 left worldwide.

Famous Example.

There are many famous Irish Draught horses who have won world events or who became Stallions who have sired. The breed is famous for many things including fox hunting. Irish Draughts can be good patrol horses which is like police horses.

Fun Fact.

In New York City, the police horse stables used to be underground, but now it’s on the main floor of a fancy apartment building.

So that’s it! Now you know a tiny bit more about this special horse. Join us next time and subscribe for another episode of Flip N Tails: a tiny podcast for BIG horse lovers!