Horse breeding is an art

I am very troubled about the future of the Irish Draught. There is no agreement within the different factions about what an Irish Draught is much less what it should be. Without a vision to work toward there is only chaos, ineptitude and animosity. While the infighting continues, the Irish Draught loses vital bloodlines and traditional traits every year. As humans, we seem to be unable to leave something alone, we have to "improve" it. The lovely ID is quickly losing its uniqueness and charm and hence its intrinsic value. Let's not force all horses into some homogenized warmblood template. Diversity is the key here.

Over the years. countless people have contacted me about the Irish Draught and the conversation has turned to their dissatisfaction with the continental warmbloods. It goes something like this. "They are just too darn hard to motivate" and "no fun to ride". Or they "have invested a small fortune in them" only to have them break down to become expensive lawn ornaments...or they "just can't ride the extravagant movement". My philosophy is that first and foremost, a horse should be easy to handle and fun to ride. If you can't enjoy riding the horse or you can only ride it safely in an enclosed arena what's the point? Who wants a horse that only a professional or advanced amateur can ride? I can attest to the fact that no one has ever contacted me and asked for a horse that isn't sound and is difficult to get along with.

The continental warmbloods have been very strict with their acceptance standards for their breeding stock and seem to have had a particular focus on movement for dressage. Over the years, I've often spoken about my thoughts about inspections and the resulting numbers on a piece of paper. I think I've even inspired others to use the same idea in various arguments. What I see in the warmbloods is an increasing emphasis on one trait with the resulting loss of temperament and soundness. That one trait is movement. The most outspoken Irish Draught breeders are falling into the same trap and the result is beginning to show with less bone and more difficult temperaments becoming evident in the Irish Draught.

The newest plan for saving the Irish Draught involves the suggestion of utilizing a rating system that has been successful on livestock. I personally see little of value in this idea for a couple of reasons.

Number one: The end result is merely more numbers on a sheet of paper and
Number two: I'm not breeding livestock. I'm breeding companion animals and partners in riding adventures. The traits necessary to attain this result are intangible.
Number three: The goal of the system is to "improve" the breed.

From my point of view, there isn't ever going to be a good workable plan for the simple reason that breeding horses is an art and you can't quantify art. As soon as you forget this fact, you've already lost the fight.

Recommended reading:

The Old Sort: of Connemaras and Sweet Corn by Caroline Nesbitt www.creativenonfiction.org/thejournal/articles/issue12/12nesbitt_theoldsort.htm

If the link doesn't work, either cut and paste the URL or use the links section to the left of these blog entries.