Indigo Irish Draughts– a small stud standing R.I.D. Lady's Tralee Raj.

Indigo Irish Draughts
Stottesdon, Shropshire

The Irish Draught
Breed Standard

The Irish Draught has provided the foundation from which some of the finest competition horses in the world have been bred. Traditionally, the Irish Draught has been crossed primarily with the thoroughbred, to produce a horse with stamina, quality and substance. This type of horse will provide a safe yet exciting ride across country in the hunting field, and has proven itself equally in eventing and showjumping, and more recently, in the dressage arena.

But the pure-bred Irish Draught can be just as versatile. Our own stallion, Lady's Tralee Raj spent a season as a whipper-in's horse, proving sensible and safe around hounds and other horses, and fast and bold enough to be a first class hunt horse. Raj's sire, Touch of the Blues (now standing in the United States) is a NASTA Grade I Performance tested stallion, who successfully competed in Eventing at Intermediate Level.

TYPE & CHARACTER
The Irish Draught Horse is an active, short-legged, powerful horse with substance and quality. It is proud of bearing, deep of girth and strong of back and quarters. Standing over a lot of ground, it has an exceptionally strong and sound constitution. It has an intelligent and gentle nature and is noted for its docility and sense.

HEIGHT
To mature at Stallions 15.3 hh to 16.3 hh approx.
Mares 15.1 hh to 16.1 hh approx

BONE
Good, strong, clean bone.

HEAD
Good, bold eyes, set well apart, long, well set ears, wide of forehead. Head should be generous and pleasant, not coarse or hatchet-headed, though a slight Roman nose is permissible. The jawbones should have enough room to take the gullet and allow ease of breathing.

SHOULDERS NECK AND FRONT
Shoulders should be clean-cut and not loaded, wither well defined, not coarse - the neck set in high and carried proudly.
The chest should not be too broad and beefy.
The forearms should be long and muscular, not caught in at the elbows.
The knee large and generous, set near the ground; the cannon bone straight and short, with plenty of flat, clean bone, never back of the knee (calf kneed), i.e. not sloping forward from the knee to fetlock.
The bone must not be round and coarse.
The legs should be clean and hard, with a little hair permissible at the back of the fetlock, as a necessary protection; the pasterns strong and in proportion, not short and upright, nor too long and weak.
The hoof should be generous and sound, not boxy or contracted and there should be plenty of room at the heel.

BACK, HINDQUARTERS, BODY & HIND LEGS
The back to be powerful, the girth very deep, the loins must not be weak but the mares must have enough room to carry a foal. The croup to buttocks to be long and sloping, not short and rounded or flat-topped; hips not wide and plain; thighs strong and powerful and at least as wide from the back view as the hips; the second thighs long and well developed.
The hocks near the ground and generous, points not too close together or wide apart but straight, they should not be out behind the horse but should be in line from the back of the quarters to the heel to the ground, they should not be over bent or in any way weak.
The cannon bone, etc, as for the foreleg, short and strong.

ACTION
Smooth and free but without exaggeration and not heavy or ponderous.
Walk and trot to be straight and true with good flexion of the hocks and freedom of the shoulders.

COLOUR
Any strong whole colour, including greys.

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