My late DH could do this all day long…. We were looking at a race horse he got on at the farm where the owner lived. The woman who owned the farm with her husband rode w Robert Dover. Her husband did the race horses. She looked at her husband and said “that horse looks better than my dressage horse does w Robert”.
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An old horse trader long ago told me he never will lie about a horse.
So many buyers lie to themselves about what they know and assume.
If someone asks, he will tell them, but if they don’t ask, he is not guilty for their assumptions.
He also said, if he tells someone that is too much horse for you, they take it as a dare. 
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Yes to all of this…it’s likely just going to take more of a “restart” than you’d envisioned. An acquaintence bought a young import–major selling point was that he was “handled easily by a 70 year old man!” We pieced together later that I happened to know this man. He grew up (in Ireland) very poor, handling some incredibly rank (and/or feral) horses from childhood. He then worked at some very well known stud farms before becoming a farrier. He could handle anything and make it look easy. Even in his 70’s he had incredible timing and a 100% no nonsense air about him that horses seemed to universally respect. It was incredible to watch, but the fact he could handle this horse with ease did not mean he was in any way ammy friendly. He got there…but it took years.
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I’ve owned an Irish Draught mare for almost 9 years now. (She wasn’t imported, so nothing about her can be attributed to having been raised and backed in Ireland). I don’t have a ton of experience with other draft breeds, so I’ll make no comparisons there.
But I did own a TB mare for 16 years. I don’t think there is as much of a difference in temperament as the uninitiated might expect.
The ID has as much spook in her as did the TB, although she spooks at different things. The TB was a nervy basket case about snow sliding off the roof of the indoor; the ID can feel me react (the TB trained me well!) and looks at me like, “What’s your problem, lady?”
Both horses were/are incredibly smart and could read humans’ intentions in an instant. The ID really likes people, though, while the TB saw humans (including me) as useful idiots.
The ID reliably walks up to me in the field, while the TB occasionally thought it was fun to play a game of catch.
The ID is as sensitive to aids as the TB ever was, and both had/have a strong work ethic.
To the OP: I hope that your boy calms down and gentles with consistent and kind treatment. And I’ll echo what some others said, Don’t baby the horse and put him to work, even if it’s consistent ground work for now. (Jec Ballou’s 55 Corrective Exercises for horses is a terrific resource). Set boundaries and try to keep your emotions level.
Sorry for the novel! Good luck!
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Don’t kiss the Blarney Stone! Rumor has it the neighborhood boys sneak in and pee on it. 
And OP, in addition to more work, boundaries, etc, have you had his vision checked?
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That was my thought. These TIH/Irish Draught horses. I love my TIH, but they are not what i consider “draught brain.” More like, sees ghost , ends up on the other side of the farm. Wicked smart and a lot of self-preservation. But, I’m not putting my Mom on mine.
Amazing to hold on to, to gallop across the country. But key word *hold on.
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This thread has certainly been enlightening to me! I was considering breeding my TB mare to an ID for her next foal for a more ammy friendly creature, and now I may reconsider 
She had a 1/2 Connemara foal in 2023 who is wicked athletic and good brained, but soooo cheeky. Good to know the IDs are basically the same but in a larger package!
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I owned an imported ID for 3 years and in my experience, he was generally unflappable but definitely had an Irish attitude. I bought him because he basically unspookable and baseline relaxed, but he lacked serious work ethic. Ended up being the type that had have everything be ‘his idea’. Nonetheless, he was a great teacher at the lower levels because of his relaxed attitude, but it was very difficult to push him beyond his comfort zone. While I personally didn’t import him, he was always extremely personable on the ground but came very unbalanced and lackadaisical undersaddle.
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If you’ve ridden tb’s that jigged and never settled down… 
I’ve only been around a few Irish Draughts, they were steady, strong rides but they would walk all over you, physically, without a qualm. And the mare was hot, hot, hot. I didn’t like riding her in and around jumps. Sure are gorgeous horses though.
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IME the British Riding Ponies also are like that, not for little kids to hug or braid flowers in their forelock. Ready to go to work for you but when work is done, so are they and its beat it kid.
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I’m not directing this at the OP, it’s just a thought in general. For riders that are looking for an all around horse to use on trail rides, lower level dressage or hunters. I wish they would look at Quarterhorses. There are many really good horses out there. I’ve seen some nice ones in WY and MT.
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If I wanted an ammy friendly Irish I’d look into Steeped in Luck, Touch of the Blues, or Bridon Belfry. No idea of availability and I may be dated in these suggestions as they’re based on horses I rode 10+ years ago, but these horses tended to smooth out some rough mares that I knew.
I like what I’m seeing from Epona’s Amhran Mo Chroi, but I have zero personal experience with him. He’s just been on my radar for a few years if I ever got the right mare. He’s a nice mover for an RID.
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I agree! I adopted a QH when she was 26 as a companion, but boy, I bet she was a TON of fun when she was younger! Super smart, really nimble, obviously ridiculously well-trained, and a people pleaser. With the right touch of attitude for me, but most are way quieter than she is. 
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My mare is a Touch of the Blues offspring. I’d be surprised if he’s still alive, though.
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OP, I feel for you, I hope you can get this turned around. My suspicion would be that someone/s handled him really poorly during his transport and he’s now stuck in Fight mode. My suggestion is to find someone really good at working with quirky youngsters who will help you lay down the rules without being rough.
This thread is bringing back memories I bought a beautiful 4yo Irish x TB mare many years ago, though she was local, not imported. She’d been broken in by a +70yo man who lived on a hillside (ie no arena and no real flat area) and he’d done a super job of the basics.
She was bold, opinionated and sharp. If pressured her go-to response was Fight.
Her behaviour deteriorated pretty quickly once I bought her. She would kick out at having her back feet picked out (or anything else she didn’t like), rear and buck when going to/from her paddock and was reactive to ride. The day she came at me with her teeth bared when I was attempting to load her in a trailer I realised I was well out of my depth and getting deeper. Fortunately I was able to get some really good help – on the ground with a young horse specialist who was experimenting with clicker training, and under saddle with a verrrrry experienced jumper trainer.
All her outsized responses boiled down to the fact that she didn’t trust me to keep her safe – and I didn’t trust her either. The clicker training was amazing – I could see the almost instant transformation when she realised SHE could train ME and that my requests made sense to her. Under saddle she needed to get to work and have a job – and I was not allowed to overreact to things.
Above all I had to tell her how amazing she was when she did the right thing and any corrections had to be fair.
The first 6 months were a huge learning curve for us both – it really was about building the trust. I often rode with a finger under the neck strap as she could leap up become a dolphin with little warning. Her first ever dressage show I had to warm up by trotting up and down the back driveway as she was completely undone by the warmup. The second cross country schooling session she was good for 10min then some ponies splashed through the water jump and she lost it. I had to trot her for 20min straight before her brains returned to her body – but then she was quite willing to give everything a go.
After a year together we’d done so much – miles of trail riding alone and with others and she’d turned into a reasonable field hunter (she did have a big personal bubble). She was a pleasure to handle, self-loaded and travelled well. Pretty much never unplaced at any competition – we did a few dressage and jumping shows and a few baby events. My friend bought her off me - she had to go through some of the same building trust stuff too but not to the same extent.
She’s now retired and has had some stunning foals for my friend. She was always very sharp and tough horse – well over a decade later if I bought a young horse like her now she would destroy my confidence in about 10 seconds.
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Don’t know that any real “abuse’ is involved here. Sounds like owner sent this Green horse to dealer yard to be sold and OP communicated with an honest enough agent who may or may not have spent enough time with the horse to really know him. Some of those yards are better than others and God knows what kind of care and riding, if any, he got. Even if it was a reputable one, it’s not a particularly friendly home. Breeder may not know either and can only speak to how he was when he left.
It is alot to ask of a young horse and sometimes they are quiet because they are simply scared and do not feel safe even if nobody has actually treated them badly.
Give him time but he needs to get to work here. They feel more secure when in a set routine with regular work. If OP is not comfortable getting going here, hire somebody else but getting with it should eliminate some of these issues along with consistent repetition and routine over time.
Patience and get him to work.
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My locally bred lovely ISH mare (she’s my avatar) is a sweet and willing as they come, but if you decide to pick a fight with her, pack a lunch, 'cause it’s gonna take all day. She has opinions.
I pick my battles carefully, and only the ones I’m sure I can win.
She does have a tiny spook in her, but it’s literally one 180 and a stop. I can still sit that, so no problemo.
I think the biggest difference between an RID or ISH and a TB is that you can wear the former two out or down, but you can never wear a TB out or down. A good TB will literally run itself to death for you, with a few exceptions, an RID or ISH will stop when they get tired. My ISH mare will not only stop, she’ll look back at me as if to say “Bish, how 'bought you get off?”
Back to the OP: assume your horse 1.) doesn’t know anything and 2.) has been traumatized by whatever happened in quarantine and transport. Start from minus zero. You’ll have a lovely horse, just not as soon as you had hoped.
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This horse’s RID grand sire “Scrapman” was shown in hand at Dublin and I must say was one of the best behaved stallions in the ring. Hopefully that attitude will show its face once I can put him to work! Of course now that the ground is thawing he went and tore up a foot last week. I’ll catch a break one of these days luckily I’m in no rush with no deadlines to get him anywhere fast
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Thankyou, I’ve never been one to throw treats at them all day but it’s truly gotten us further than anything else. When I’m too firm with him he shuts down for days. I could barely touch his face or attach a leadrope for the first couple weeks now I can scratch his face all over. Just sitting and giving him the occasional cookie has been what’s worked so far. I’m definitely wearing the snack b**** badge but if it lets me get near him I’ll take it for now!
He has really sweet moments but yes I’ll have to restart as if he knows nothing sadly. He’s quite lovely under saddle, I keep replaying videos to push myself through the frustration!
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At a show in the hands of an experienced, likely professional, handler and in a regular program, bet he was well behaved. It was also likely not Scrapman’s first time off the farm
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