The Irish Draught has been bred since its origins to be a light farm horse that was also a riding horse. This history hints that there are distinctions between Irish "Draught" and heavy "draft". In an example of form following function, the Irish Draught horse has been bred to have a longer and more sloping "riding horse" shoulder for improved length of stride and athleticism, and a well defined wither resulting in a good saddle position. These attributes, in addition to a strong thigh, natural jumping ability, flat bone and lack of heavy feathering, distinguish the Irish Draught from the heavy draft breeds such as the Shire, Percheron, and Clydesdale that have been bred primarily to pull heavy loads.

The relationship of depth of body to length of leg is 50:50 in the correctly proportioned Irish Draught horse

Correctly conformed Irish Draught horses have depth of body, from top of withers to sternum, that is equal to leg length...indeed they should stand over a shorter leg, and more ground, than the typical warmblood sport horse, which is leggier and shorter coupled by comparison. While this may present a different visual than sport horse consumers are accustomed to seeing, these are nonetheless important attributes that make an Irish Draught look like an Irish Draught. This construction, along with the powerful complex of loin, hip, thigh and gaskin, is what gives the Irish Draught horse the strength to gallop and jump over varied terrain and the soundness to continue doing it for years.

It is this breed-specific conformation, along with substantial bone and a willing temperament, that sport horse breeders are utilizing when they employ the purebred Irish Draught as the foundation for breeding the crossbred Irish Draught Sport Horse, or "IDSH". International Three Day Event and Show Jumping riders choose the IDSH as their mount of choice time and time again as it is this potent combination of purebred Irish Draught crossed on the Thoroughbred that has proven so successful at the elite levels of jumping sport.

In recent years, it has become fashionable to breed the purebred Irish Draught lighter and leggier in an effort to "skip" a generation or generations; in essence to achieve a marketable sport horse without crossbreeding. Like most areas of equestrian life, shortcuts only hurt in the end. Not only has this practice been unsuccessful as a breeding method compared to crossbreeding with its attendant hybrid vigor, but it also poses a very real threat to the foundation of the Irish Draught breed by adulterating and weakening the very attributes that breeders of international-quality sport horses seek, thereby diminishing the "well" to dip back into to renew strength, bone, vigor and temperament when the sport horse population becomes too physically and genetically frail or temperamentally unsound.

The Irish small farmer molded the Irish Draught, bred from the hobbies and native ponies of Ireland with their admixture of Thoroughbred, Iberian and Anglo-Norman blood, into a thrifty and versatile family work horse, with the athleticism and endurance to stay all day in the hunt field, and a natural "nick" when bred to the Thoroughbred to produce an incredibly talented sport horse. It is our goal here at the Lionwood Stud to honor the Irish farmer/breeder by maintaining the essential phenotype and vigor of the breed: the strength and substance, the powerful jump and movement, the unflappable temperament and "let's go do it" attitude the purebred Irish Draught embodies. Although we hope Irish Draught breeding, and therefore sport horse breeding, never reaches this point, we will be here if ever the well runs dry.

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