We purchased a 3 year old gelding in January. It’s sire is an Irish Draught Horse, imported from Ireland and the dam is an Oldenburg. I have the Stallion Covering certificate from the breeder and it says Irish Draught Horse Society at the top. But I was told I should register him as an Irish Sport Horse instead of an Irish Draught. I am getting so confused as to the difference and how to get him registered as a Sport Horse. Can someone please dumb it down for me and tell me what I need to do? Any help would be greatly appreciated!
An Irish Draught is a purebred horse. Registered as such. An Irish Sport Horse (yours) is sired by or out of a Registered Irish Draught who has been approved for breeding. Your horse can’t be registered Irish Draught because he is a cross with an Oldenburg. An ISH can be as little as 1/8 Irish Draught, the other parent can be any breed, but for registry one of the parents MUST be an approved breeding horse.
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Just an FYI, there is no real reason to register him other than being able to put a bumper sticker on your trailer (Registered Irish Sport Horse). We breed Oldenburgs and while it is sad…no one really cares about registries except other breeders. We do it to add to the weanlings resume, and if it is a filly, for future breeding purposes. If your horse is a gelding, there isn’t really a reason to do it. Maybe if you plan on selling him later it will look better in the sales add, but that’s really the only reason to do it. You can still call him an Irish Sport because he is. 
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Not true. Register your horse, because it is INVALUABLE for being able to prove the horse you may one day have to sell is what you say he is, and not some PMU mystery. This makes a huge difference in not only price, but also the safety of this horse in the long run.
I don’t know any horseman who thinks that registration is not important.
Do terrible things happen to registered horses? Sure. But less so than the all the random grade crosses floating around.
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While registering a horse can result in a record being developed and having a microchip put in, you can get your own microchip. If I were not a breeder and was looking at a gelded prospect for a hunter, I wouldn’t care if it were registerd.so long as I knew the breeding. If registered they get “papers” so that would be proof that you are talking about, but if the horse is talented its talented. I am not against registering…we register all of ours. I am just saying that if he is already three and you don’t plan on selling and the fact that he is a gelding, there isn’t really a need.
As for safety, we have all seen the stories about grand prix horses and such winding up in slaughter so it doesn’t really help with that. Any registered horse can wind up here and they do a lot. My point is just that the OP doesn’t really need to register if she doesn’t feel like messing with it. She does have the stallion cert so there is some proof.
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Yeah, OP, please register your horse since you thankfully have that option.
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Beyond just proving you breed X mare to Y stallion, papers with a respected registry are also pretty infallible proof of age. In my own market I know of one “teeth specialist” that ages down horses through nefarious means. He got caught because the breeder randomly ended up a judge in an age restricted class the horse was entered in. I’m not saying that this is never a problem with a horse that’s got a permanent record, but it certainly makes it harder to cheat.
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I think this debate is better answered with - why not register the horse?
Is there any harm in registering the horse?
If registering is a financial hardship for you then I get skipping it.
Otherwise I just can not actually see a down side.
Maybe the next owner will not care about papers. Maybe the papers will never be needed. But then, maybe you will miss out on a sale because someone is looking for a specific breed and your horse having never been registered does not come up when they search.
I just see more positive ‘what ifs’ than I see negative ‘what ifs’ to registering if it is an option.
I own three registered horses. All three are with a registry that there is a slim to no chance I will ever show under the registry at a breed show, but I still feel better knowing their papers are current.
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Yes, I definitely want to register him but I want to do it correctly. So where do I start? That is really the information I am looking for, not whether or not I should register him.
The easiest thing to do is to call the registry. I don’t deal with the Irish Sport Horse world, but I am sure they would be able to answer all of your questions quickly and easily.
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I’m in ireland and an familiar with hsi registration. You can’t register your horse with hsi in ireland. As the foal wasn’t born in ireland and both parents need to be hsi registered. So technically not an ish. To be draught reg it must be pure draught. You may be able to register with aes worth contacting them.
But we aren’t in Ireland, and we have an Irish Draught registry in North America that includes registration for crosses.
Although inspectors come from Ireland to approve purebred breeding stock
WHICH HORSES ARE INSPECTED AND WHY? Stallions and mares are inspected by a panel of inspectors from Ireland to make sure that they have excellent conformation, movement and temperament so that the quality of breeding horses remains high. Geldings may also be inspected. Purebreds can receive Registered Irish Draught status. Part-breds become Registered Irish Draught Sport Horses.
And specifically regarding the Irish sport horse in North America,
http://www.irishdraught.com/aboutsh/
"The Irish Sport Horse is recognized by the Irish Horse Board, as an animal of ANY breeding, which MAY OR MAY NOT have Irish Draught blood in its pedigree.
For example, an ArabxTB, TBxConnemara, Pure TB or RIDxTB may all be classified as an Irish Sport Horse. But in North America, only the cross with RID blood is classified as an Irish Draught Sport Horse."
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Ish was mentioned so thought poster meant the register in ireland. Thanks ladyj79 looks like the us register is different and that’s who the poster needs to contact about what they need to do to register.
Because we shorthand crossbreds as Irish Sport Horses, hence ISH. Not to be confused with…ISH :lol::lol::lol:
It’s not any different from any other registry that has a North American counterpart.
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You should be able to register him as an Irish Draught Sport Horse. If you want to enter him at one of the Irish Draught horse shows, you will need those papers. I have a wonderful Irish Draught, but he was already registered when I bought him ten years ago at age 4. My daughters have Irish Draught Sport Horses, who are terrific horses. Look at the website for the Irish Draught registry. If you can’t figure out how to do the registration, call them or talk with one of your local breeders.
Also IDHS(NA) has annual sport awards that only registered horses are eligible for which might interest future potential owners.
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The info is on this page, OP: http://www.irishdraught.com/registration/
That page lists the requirements for registration with the North American IDHS. It also gives links to the needed forms and to the member services coordinator, should you have questions about what to do or how to fill the forms out.
Thank you to everyone who replied! I will be registering him through the IDHS as an Irish Draught Sport Horse. That was my original plan anyway. Thanks again!
