These show that 5,160 foals were registered in 2013, of which a quarter were by non-approved sires and that a further 1,219 foals, with unknown or partial pedigrees, were issued with so-called ‘white passports’.

Continental sires remain the most popular covering choice, producing 33.6% (or 1,736 foals) of the registered crop last year. These were followed by Irish Sport Horse (30.2%) thoroughbred (16.1%) and Irish Draught (15.1%). While the continental, sport horse and Irish Draught figures either remained static or showed a small decrease on the 2012 figures of 33.6%, 31.5 and 17.4% respectively, thoroughbred sires were the only group to experience an upswing in support and contributed 16.1% of last year’s foal crop, up from 13.6% in 2012.