Irish Draught

In 1976, the Irish Draught Horse Society was founded to preserve the breed,[7] with an external branch in Great Britain emerging in 1979. A horse board, Bord na gCapall, was also founded in 1976 (later resurrected as the Irish Horse Board in 1993), in order to promote the breeding and use of horses other than Thoroughbreds in the country.[2] In 2008, control of the Irish Horse Register, which contains the registry of both the Irish Draught and Irish Sport Horse, was handed from the Irish Horse Board to Horse Sport Ireland.[8] In November of the same year, the Irish Draught Horse Breeders Association was formed by members of the Irish Draught Horse Society.[9] Increased interest in the breed internationally has led to the formation of Irish Draught societies and registries in many countries, including Canada, the US, Australia and New Zealand. In 2011 and 2012, the representative bodies of Ireland, Great Britain and Canada agreed to harmonize their breed standard and inspection criteria.[10][11]

It is the Irish Draught's popularity as a foundation animal for the production of sport horses that has put the breed at risk a second time. Many Irish Draught mares never produce a purebred replacement for the herd. Aggressive selection for show jumping characteristics has degraded the foundation stock,[12] and inbreeding to a few popular performance bloodlines has further endangered the genetic diversity of the breed.[13] The Irish Draught is considered an "endangered maintained" breed by the Food and Agriculture Committee of the United Nations.[14] In 2009, the breed was upgraded to the "Watch" category on the American Livestock Breed Conservancy's Rare Breed Conservation Priority List.[15] The Irish Draught Horse Society of Ireland,[16] with support from the Royal Dublin Society and technical assistance from the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation, have spearheaded research into a breeding plan to improve genetic diversity, and to maintain the traditional breed traits that are the defining characteristics of the Irish Draught breed.[13]

In an attempt to guide breeders in producing healthier progeny, annual inspections of adult horses listed on the studbook were introduced by Horse Sport Ireland,[17] with other registries later following suit.[10][11] These inspections are used to produce a linear profile which is included in each studbook entry, and identifies areas in which the animal may deviate from the standard, so as to help in determining the animal's suitability for breeding.[17] A 4-tier classification system was also introduced[18] in place of a pass/fail system, in order to list animals on the studbook that do not meet the breed standard, with an aim to improve the genetic diversity of the breed.[19] There is also a supplementary section in the Horse Sport Ireland studbook in order to recognise horses which may be primarily registered as Irish Sport Horses, but conform to the standard of the Irish Draught.[18][20]

The Irish Draught studbook in many countries[10][11] does not admit animals on a pass or fail basis; instead, animals are invited to undergo an inspection which assesses the athleticism, movement and conformation in order to determine how closely they match the standard, after which they are classified according to a 4-tier system.[23][18]

• Class 1 horses have both passed the official veterinary examination and met the breed standard criteria.
• Class 2 horses do not meet the breed standard, but have passed the official veterinary examination. The offspring of a Class 2 horse is eligible for inspection to be upgraded to Class 1.
• Class 3 horses have failed the official veterinary examination, and are not recommended for breeding. Their progeny are not eligible for upgrading.
• Class 4 horses have not yet been examined, and could meet either of the other classification standards upon examination.[24] Their progeny are not eligible for upgrading.