Irish Draught Horse Studbook Mare Inspections
Inspection for mares in the Irish Draught studbook are also held in spring and autumn each year. In
recent years there have been 2 inspection venues for the spring inspections and up to 8 regional venues
for the autumn mare inspections.
Irish Draught mares must be a minimum of three years of age to be presented for spring inspection and
two years of age to be presented for autumn inspection. Mares that meet the requirements are
awarded ‘CLASS 1’ status in the Irish Draught Studbook and are eligible for Merits based on their own or
their progeny’s performance in a range of disciplines including showjumping, eventing, dressage,
showing, driving etc. Irish Sport Horse mares that meet certain pedigree requirements can also be
inspected for classification in the ‘Grade Up Register’ in the Supplementary Section of the Irish Draught
Studbook.
Mares that are presented for Irish Draught inspection undergo a clinical veterinary examination on the
day of inspection before being assessed by a panel of two Irish Draught Horse inspectors. The pedigree
of the mares are assessed and pedigree bonus points are awarded to mares based on genetic diversity
and performance parameters. On the day of inspection mares are required to stand for an assessment
of their conformation before they are shown in hand by their handler in walk and trot. The movement
of the mare is then assessed loose in the arena. Mare owners can opt to have their mare’s athleticism
assessed by means of a loose jumping demonstration.
Irish Draught Horse mares are assessed using linear profiling and overall scores for ‘Conformation’,
‘Type’ and ‘Movement’ are awarded for each mare. Mares that meet the veterinary requirements and
achieve a minimum score of 70 (out of 100) in ‘Conformation’ , 65 in ‘Type’ and 70 in ‘Movement’ are
awarded ‘CLASS 1’ status and are eligible for additional merits. ‘CLASS 1’ mares that are loose jumped at
inspection and achieve a minimum score of 70 or above (out of 100) for overall ‘Athleticism’ are
awarded a Bronze merit for Showjumping. Mares that do not meet the inspection requirements but
that meet the veterinary requirements are awarded ‘CLASS 2’ status.
Benefits of presenting your Irish Draught Mare for Inspection:
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Opportunity to increase the value of your mare and her progeny by achieving ‘CLASS 1’ status
and additional merits
Only the progeny of ‘CLASS 1’ and ‘CLASS 2’ sires and dams are eligible for Irish Draught
Studbook inspections
Details of ‘CLASS 1’ mares are published in the HSI Breeders Magazine
All mare owners that present their mare for inspection get a linear profile for their mare which is
a description of the mare’s strengths and weaknesses. This information is very valuable when
making decisions in relation to which stallion is most suitable to cover your mare.