Given the current uncertainties associated with standing Sport Horse stallions it is not surprising that there should be a drop-off in numbers. What is surprising is the degree to which those numbers have plummeted over the last 10 years. A comparison of the most recent catalogue, Approved Irish Sport Horse Stallions 2018 with the 2009 edition indicates that listings have fallen by almost 50%.

This applies to all categories standing in Ireland for service in the Sport Horse sector, be it Thoroughbred, Irish Sport Horse, Irish Draught or foreign bred.

The overall number is down from 435 in 2009 to 238 this year. Thoroughbreds have dropped from 116 to just 54. Cost, the concentration of speed in this sector and a fall-off in coverings contribute to this decrease.

Irish Draughts have fallen from 108 in 2009 to 53 today. The most interesting comparison comes in the Irish Sport Horse section, showing a drop from 58 to 32. However, it is not all bad news.

What is encouraging is that more than half of them have the Traditional Irish Horse (TIH) suffix after their name. And of this TIH cohort, no fewer than 18 of them trace back to Cruising, Clover Hill or the King of Diamonds.

Foreign sires

It is also very interesting to see that the number of foreign-bred sires standing in Ireland is also down from 58 in 2009 to 36. The availability of quick delivery fresh or frozen semen from abroad in part accounts for this. The creation of some state-of-the-art veterinary clinics, that are expert in this service, also has a bearing on this decrease.

And this brings us to a look at the listings under two headings – 1) High performance stallions standing abroad and approved through AI, and 2) Recognised foreign bred stallions.

The total of these two groupings is considerably down from 95 in 2009 to the current 58. In this category, quality does seem to have replaced quantity. Among those listed as available through AI are some hugely successful performance sires like Cardento, Diamant de Semilly, Cornet Obolensky, Kannan, Luidam, Numero Uno Plot Blue etc.

Among some important upgrades in this book is the addition of linear profiles, particularly for Irish based sires who have gone through the HSI Stallion Inspection process.

Also for the first time, all stallions are listed in alphabetical order. It is a good useful book that looks to performance and the provision of easily accessible information for our breeders. Copies have been mailed to Irish Horse Co. Op. Members and are available from Horse Sport Ireland at 045 850850.