Madam,

I am writing as an Irish Draught breeder to express my deep alarm at the direction Horse Sport Ireland (HSI) has taken with its latest round of price increases for passports and registrations.

The Irish Draught is not just another breed; it is a rare native horse with a fragile genetic base and a central place in Ireland’s rural heritage. Yet the body entrusted with its studbook has placed ever higher charges on the very people trying to keep that breed alive. For Irish Draught breeders, there is no alternative outlet in this country, if we want our foals and mares recognised, we must go through HSI and pay whatever is demanded. That is a captive market in all but name, and I believe it is an entirely inappropriate way to treat a rare breed.

In the space of a few short years, the cost of basic services such as full registration, naming and change of ownership has risen to a level that many small breeders can simply no longer absorb. When each foal carries hundreds of euros in paperwork before it is even weaned, the margins on which family farms operate vanish. The outcome is predictable: coverings are deferred, mare numbers are reduced, and foals are either not bred at all or left unregistered. For a rare breed, that is not a minor inconvenience, it is a direct threat to its long-term survival.

What makes the situation even more troubling is the fact that, despite well-publicised problems with passport delays and online system issues, HSI has once again been awarded the studbook contract. Many of us are struggling to understand how. It raises a legitimate question: on what basis did HSI secure the tender, and what information about breeder charges were presented in its bid?

For those of us on the ground, it feels as though when costs within HSI rise, the solution seems to be to increase fees rather than to get a grip on internal efficiencies. The risk is that the Irish Draught becomes a luxury breed that only a handful can afford to register, rather than a living, working horse in the hands of ordinary farmers.

I believe the Minister for Agriculture now needs to intervene. There must be transparency about the pricing structure that underpinned the successful tender, and there must be meaningful safeguards to ensure that a publicly supported body cannot continue to place disproportionate financial pressure on breeders of a rare native breed. If that does not happen, the damage to the Irish Draught may not be reversible.

Yours sincerely

Linda O’Byrne

Kildare