Drop in number of Irish foals being bred
Irish breeders seem to have taken on board the warnings about overbreeding, according to figures released by Horse Sport Ireland (HSI).
There has been a 40% decrease in the number of foals being registered with HSI over the past 5 years.
The previous situation had created a huge welfare issue and left many horses worthless.
“There continues to be strong demand for potential international horses and there is a market for quality well-produced horses for competitive amateurs,” said HSI’s Professor Patrick Wall.
“We are in a global competition for customers and there is no market for badly produced or poor stock.”
The decrease in numbers is being mirrored in Britain. The British Horseracing Authority announced earlier this year there were around 2/3rds as many horses being registered for racing as there were 5 years ago (news, 7 February).
Goresbridge Horse Sales in Co Kilkenny is still attracting large numbers coming through the sales — it has had almost 2,000 entries for next month’s sport horse sale. But owner Martin Donohoe believes standards have improved.
Never miss out on the latest happenings in the equestrian world
“All the people who didn’t know enough about breeding have now left the industry and the weaker mares have been culled,” he told H&H. “People are breeding what the market wants and going back to the traditionally bred horse without Continental blood.”
This news story was first published in Horse & Hound magazine (22 August, 2013)
Stay in touch with all the news in the run-up to and throughout the major shows and events during 2026 and beyond with a Horse & Hound subscription. Subscribe today for all you need to know ahead of these major events, plus online reports on the action as it happens from our expert team of reporters and in-depth analysis in our special commemorative magazines. Have a subscription already? Set up your unlimited website access now
Sophia Heath joined Horse & Hound in July 2013 having previously worked for the Daily Telegraph's Olympics website, CNN International and Omnisport. A Durham graduate with a Masters in journalism from City University, Sophia has evented, showjumped and hunted. Sophia left Horse & Hound in early 2015 to join an international boating website.