IHB breed incentives criticised
With increased availability of European stallions to Irish breeders in recent years, use of thoroughbreds waned. Now, the Irish Horse Board aims to address this trend by encouraging owners of top-class thoroughbred stallions to put them forward for use in the sport horse industry, and by subsidising the cost to mare owners of using these elite thoroughbred stallions. But these incentive schemes are taking the sport horse industry backwards, and will hinder its re-development, warns stud owner Tom Meagher.
“The Horse Board say that, by using thoroughbreds, you can end up with the desired product, but I believe only portions of thoroughbred blood are required. Thoroughbreds need to be used proportionately,” said the owner of Kedrah House Stud in Tipperary. “These incentives will give a disproportionate number of mares to thoroughbreds. This will adversely affect the number of mares going to non-thoroughbred stallions of equal merit, for example, Cruising, those with Cavalier bloodlines, and my own Lux Z and Ricardo Z. Basically, the Horse Board is being over-simplistic with our breeding programme.”
Mr Meagher says a serious flaw in the Horse Board schemes is that thoroughbreds approved for use as sires will not have to pass a vet check.
“Currently, all approved stallions in the Horse Board register have passed a comprehensive veterinary assessment. Under the new scheme, this will not apply and it seems the Horse Board is disregarding its own high standards.”
Mr Meagher feels the IHB should continue to identify top-class stock by rewarding success in the competition arena.
“In terms of thoroughbred breeding, we are the kings, but in this case, breeding has evolved and is dictated by what is winning, not what is decided at a meeting. The Horse Board must be publicly applauded for the money they have put into the horse industry in last couple of years. They have mimicked racing by increasing prize funds in competitions, which encourages owners to hold onto horses and gets breeders talking and breeding along Horse Board lines.
“Unfortunately, now, their schemes are changing the focus and are shifting the weight towards thoroughbreds, which is prejudiced against European and sport horse stallions. The IHB is distorting the industry, when market forces should dictate.”
Mr Meagher’s European stallions, Lux Z and Ricardo Z, are at the top of the popularity list for mare owners in the IHB’s approved stallions register. As Continental sires, they are at a disadvantage compared to their Irish equivalents in the IHB’s genetic evaluation system, which determines a stallion’s ability to produce top-class progeny. Genetic evaluation is based on the stallions’ and its relatives’ and offspring’s competition results. Unfortunately, this can only be applied to results achieved in Ireland — a serious flaw, according to Tom Meagher.
“It would be perfect if the IHB used the whole spectrum, but they are drawing a line down the middle and only using data from one side,” said the Tipperary vet.
He said Lux Z has top performing progeny on five continents and won two of the mega-rich Pulsar Crown competitions — Valkenswaard and Cannes — and Ricardo’s sire was a full brother to Ratina Z, the winner of two Olympic medals and a World Cup title. None of this was included when determining the pair’s genetic index, he said.
According to Mr Meagher, the IHB is doing breeders a disservice by not explaining the deficiencies of the genetic index system.
“Genetic indexing gives a totally distorted figure. Ricardo Z is one of the most used stallions in Ireland, but his genetic index would not register. Lux Z does not rate either in terms of genetic evaluation, even though he jumped in the Olympics and won over €1 million, making him one of the most successful stallions in the world.”
Ireland’s eventing horses have topped the world studbook rankings for 11 straight years. But Irish show jumping horses have slumped to 11th in the rankings.
But the trend is in the right direction, says Mr Meagher. “For the past five years, we have been unable to field a full Irish team with Irish horses, but that is because there was no breeding programme 10 to 14 years ago. The breeding programme in the last five or six years is going in the right direction and the consensus is that the industry is changing for the good. Cavalier, a European stallion, was hugely influential here before he died and his impact is only now being felt. The Horse Board is ignoring this. Undoubtedly, the Horse Board should be commended for its incentives, but let them give it across the board to good stallions, regardless of whether they are thoroughbreds, Europeans or sport horses,” said Mr Meagher.
