Horse Sport Ireland (HSI) is pleased to announce the publication of the 2024 Irish Draught Genetic Diversity Report, prepared by HSI geneticist Dr. Jennifer Doyle. This report offers an in-depth analysis of the genetic diversity of the Irish Draught horse breed from the comprehensive data available in the studbook database. The Irish Draught horse is a designated rare breed under the Department of Agriculture, Food, and the Marine where breed preservation and improvement towards the breeder defined breed standard is at the core of HSI’s breeding program for the studbook. In 2024, HSI updated the studbook rules to enable certain mares, who have been deemed as being descendants from rare or threatened bloodlines, to automatically attain Class 1 upon presentation for linear profiling at an inspection. To attain an automatic Class 1 in 2024, the mare must have a mean kinship less than 1%, a Thoroughbred blood percentage less than […]
