Promoting growth of the Irish equine industry in the global market: a case study
Published: July 2, 2007
By: MICHAEL WHITE (Courtesy of Alltech Inc.)
Teagasc, the Agriculture and Food Development Authority, is the national body in Ireland providing integrated research, advisory and training services to the agriculture and food industry and rural communities. Teagasc programmes focus on the development and dissemination of the technologies that are essential in building a more competitive, innovative and environmentally sustainable agriculture and food sector in Ireland.
Teagasc aims to improve the productive capacity of the industry through the provision of high quality training and advisory services. Teagasc advice concentrates on the different aspects of equine production including stallion and mare selection, nutrition, grassland management, stud management and facilities. Economic and marketing advice is also provided.
Teagasc also provides a number of training courses for new entrants covering the range of management and business skills required by young people entering the industry. A wide range of shorter and more focused courses is provided to update the skills of existing producers. The courses are run at both county level and at the major equine facilities at Kildalton Agricultural College in Co. Kilkenny.
The programme objective is to make breeders and producers aware of the best breeding and management skills/practices to produce horses with the conformation, movement, temperament and athletic ability to meet market demands. The programme activities designed to achieve this include dissemination of information and best management practices through:
• Farm visits
• Seminars
• Discussion groups
• Monitor farms
• Equine events and trips
• Newsletters
• Local press and radio
• Short courses
• Client website
• Joint programmes with the equine industry
Monitoring and programme evaluation
PERFORMANCE AND EFFECTIVENESS INDICATORS
The advisory activities delivered are monitored using the client management system for advisory visits and all other group and media-related activities.
Training activities are monitored using the web-based adult training database. All courses offered and all applicants must be entered in the database.
The extent to which the Equine Programme is contributing to the achievement of producer objectives will be assessed by monitoring performance of Monitor Farms and discussion group participants. In addition, the number of clients using the programme will serve as a strong indication of the programme’s value to the industry.
Producing horses for the future: the challenge
Producing horses for markets that have become increasingly more sophisticated over the past 10 to 20 years is the difficult objective facing Irish horse producers. We must examine what our competitors are doing, either do what they are doing but do it better or devise alternative ways of producing horses that will once again bring Ireland to the top of the equestrian world. To achieve this, four areas are identified that must form a package and work together. This package is called the BEST horse: Breeding, Efficiency, Sales and Training.
BREEDING
Before breeding horses we must identify exactly what the customer requires. The customers vary from international competition riders to the weekend leisure rider. The international rider requires a horse with exceptional athletic ability, whereas the leisure rider wants a good-looking, quiet, well-trained animal with average ability. Therefore we must select breeding stock that is suitable for the target markets.
EFFICIENCY
Increasing the return on investment is the aim of every horse breeder and producer. Getting more foals from good mares during their reproductive life can be achieved by attention to detail, especially during the breeding season. Ensuring the mare is in good nutritional status and health and is free of uterine infections will improve the conception rate. Producing horses for the future is a challenge facing us all. If Ireland is to remain one of the leading horse producing nations of the world then we must be producing the BEST horses.
SALES
Breeding and training on their own will not sell horses. We must market them successfully, by adopting the following strategies.
Promoting successes
Courage, stamina, galloping ability and jumping qualities are indispensable in eventing. Irish horses have these qualities in abundance, and we must highlight this. We have been number one in the world for eventing in recent years. Five of the top ten eventing stallion sires either stood in Ireland or were bred in Ireland. We must tie our breeding programmes to those horses and market them on that basis.
Public sales
Many countries, for example Germany, the Netherlands and France produce very glossy, high quality, full-colour sales catalogues. Videos are produced. At elite sales venues, public viewing demonstrations are given of all the sale horses on more than one occasion prior to the sale.
Technology
We are in the computer era. The horse and our equine businesses must go with it. We must use all horse competition rankings and analyses of every situation to our maximum advantage. The use of the internet and websites for marketing and sales is increasing across the globe.
Producer/trainer groups
Breeders and/or trainers must focus on common goals by working together in the promotion, training and sale of horses, guaranteeing their training, ability and soundness. The ‘Irish Horse’ is a brand name known and in demand throughout the world. We must continue to build on that established name.
TRAINING
Having bred the horse, the next stop is to train it properly. The basic training of all young horses must be geared toward producing a riding horse. A horse that cannot be ridden is useless in the marketplace. Training goals must focus on customer demands.
The customer, especially in the European market, wants a well-trained horse, i.e. a horse that is balanced going forward in the correct outline at walk, trot and canter and will stop and turn in response to simple aids that are deliberately and clearly given.
Training programmes must be adaptable; as every horse does not learn at the same rate. The basic training of horses must be standardised so that all horses can be ridden on the flat by any rider.
The Irish Draught Horse: a rare breed
ROOTS, BACKGROUND AND VERSATILITY
Ireland’s soil, climate and culture make it the most horse-friendly place on earth. The Irish Draught Horse has benefited from this environment for longer than any other type of horse, and over the centuries has evolved into Ireland’s unique contribution to the equine world.
While having the strength and placid temperament of the working horse, the Irish Draught Horse does not fit the usual application of that word to the equine. Rather as it evolved on both the small and large farms of the Irish countryside, it has been imbued with the qualities of a riding and sporting horse as well. In more recent centuries, when crossed with the thoroughbred, the Irish Draught Horse has been the basic ingredient of the famous Irish Charger of warfare, of the hunter and eventually of the ideal show jumping and competition Irish Sport Horse.
STUDBOOK BACKGROUND
The studbook is maintained on behalf of the society by the Irish Horse Board and the Northern Ireland Horse Board. All animals are inspected for entry into the studbook, mares at two years of age and stallions at a minimum of three years. A performance-testing programme for stallions is part of the approval procedure in place.
The Irish Draught Horse Society currently has 22 branches across Ireland, and is now international with affiliated groups in Great Britain, New Zealand, the United States, Canada and Australia.
IN COMPETITION
Show jumping had its birth in Ireland and went on to become an international sport by the end of the 19th century; and the Irish Draught Horse has played a major role throughout the history of the sport. The even temperament, durability and athletic ability of the Irish Draught Horse, qualities upgraded by crossbreeding with the thoroughbred, has created a potent mix, which is well up to the demands of modern day show jumping.
THE IRISH DRAUGHT HORSE ON THE WORLD STAGE
Some recent examples of Irish Sport Horses sired by Registered Irish Draught stallions include Mill Pearl (ISH) for the United States Equestrian Team, Special Envoy (ISH) for Brazil, the stallion Cruising (ISH) and Ireland’s resurgent side that won three major Nation’s Cup events in 1995: Aachen, Kerrygold Dublin and Calgary. Also in 1995, there was the unique double at the Royal International at Hickstead when Marion Hughes won the Queens Cup on Flo Jo (ISH) by Clover Hill (RID) and Robert Splaine took the King’s Cup on Heather Blaze (ISH) by Diamond Lad (RID).
Conclusion: keeping the industry focused
Quality breeding is still the key to success. Progeny testing is the best guide to the breeding value of a stallion, but as the number of foals produced increases, prospective buyers become more selective. Breeders must ensure that their horses fall into categories that buyers demand; and that progeny are up to the mark in terms of pedigree and conformation.
Establishing the breeding value of the mare is very important. Would you be better off in the long run putting a saddle rather than a stallion on your mare this year? A mare that has performed in competition successfully is more valuable for breeding purposes. Established pedigrees are a vital element of success.
The Teagasc Equine Programme is in place to help owners and breeders achieve their goals by keeping them focused on a practical game plan:
• A vision of the end product
• Parent selection
• Successful foal production
• Young horse management
• Young horse marketing
• Pre-competition training
• The successful competitor
Author: MICHAEL WHITE
Teagasc, The Agriculture and Food Development Authority, Castle Meadows, Thurles, Co. Tipperary, Ireland
Teagasc aims to improve the productive capacity of the industry through the provision of high quality training and advisory services. Teagasc advice concentrates on the different aspects of equine production including stallion and mare selection, nutrition, grassland management, stud management and facilities. Economic and marketing advice is also provided.
Teagasc also provides a number of training courses for new entrants covering the range of management and business skills required by young people entering the industry. A wide range of shorter and more focused courses is provided to update the skills of existing producers. The courses are run at both county level and at the major equine facilities at Kildalton Agricultural College in Co. Kilkenny.
The programme objective is to make breeders and producers aware of the best breeding and management skills/practices to produce horses with the conformation, movement, temperament and athletic ability to meet market demands. The programme activities designed to achieve this include dissemination of information and best management practices through:
• Farm visits
• Seminars
• Discussion groups
• Monitor farms
• Equine events and trips
• Newsletters
• Local press and radio
• Short courses
• Client website
• Joint programmes with the equine industry
Monitoring and programme evaluation
PERFORMANCE AND EFFECTIVENESS INDICATORS
The advisory activities delivered are monitored using the client management system for advisory visits and all other group and media-related activities.
Training activities are monitored using the web-based adult training database. All courses offered and all applicants must be entered in the database.
The extent to which the Equine Programme is contributing to the achievement of producer objectives will be assessed by monitoring performance of Monitor Farms and discussion group participants. In addition, the number of clients using the programme will serve as a strong indication of the programme’s value to the industry.
Producing horses for the future: the challenge
Producing horses for markets that have become increasingly more sophisticated over the past 10 to 20 years is the difficult objective facing Irish horse producers. We must examine what our competitors are doing, either do what they are doing but do it better or devise alternative ways of producing horses that will once again bring Ireland to the top of the equestrian world. To achieve this, four areas are identified that must form a package and work together. This package is called the BEST horse: Breeding, Efficiency, Sales and Training.
BREEDING
Before breeding horses we must identify exactly what the customer requires. The customers vary from international competition riders to the weekend leisure rider. The international rider requires a horse with exceptional athletic ability, whereas the leisure rider wants a good-looking, quiet, well-trained animal with average ability. Therefore we must select breeding stock that is suitable for the target markets.
EFFICIENCY
Increasing the return on investment is the aim of every horse breeder and producer. Getting more foals from good mares during their reproductive life can be achieved by attention to detail, especially during the breeding season. Ensuring the mare is in good nutritional status and health and is free of uterine infections will improve the conception rate. Producing horses for the future is a challenge facing us all. If Ireland is to remain one of the leading horse producing nations of the world then we must be producing the BEST horses.
SALES
Breeding and training on their own will not sell horses. We must market them successfully, by adopting the following strategies.
Promoting successes
Courage, stamina, galloping ability and jumping qualities are indispensable in eventing. Irish horses have these qualities in abundance, and we must highlight this. We have been number one in the world for eventing in recent years. Five of the top ten eventing stallion sires either stood in Ireland or were bred in Ireland. We must tie our breeding programmes to those horses and market them on that basis.
Public sales
Many countries, for example Germany, the Netherlands and France produce very glossy, high quality, full-colour sales catalogues. Videos are produced. At elite sales venues, public viewing demonstrations are given of all the sale horses on more than one occasion prior to the sale.
Technology
We are in the computer era. The horse and our equine businesses must go with it. We must use all horse competition rankings and analyses of every situation to our maximum advantage. The use of the internet and websites for marketing and sales is increasing across the globe.
Producer/trainer groups
Breeders and/or trainers must focus on common goals by working together in the promotion, training and sale of horses, guaranteeing their training, ability and soundness. The ‘Irish Horse’ is a brand name known and in demand throughout the world. We must continue to build on that established name.
TRAINING
Having bred the horse, the next stop is to train it properly. The basic training of all young horses must be geared toward producing a riding horse. A horse that cannot be ridden is useless in the marketplace. Training goals must focus on customer demands.
The customer, especially in the European market, wants a well-trained horse, i.e. a horse that is balanced going forward in the correct outline at walk, trot and canter and will stop and turn in response to simple aids that are deliberately and clearly given.
Training programmes must be adaptable; as every horse does not learn at the same rate. The basic training of horses must be standardised so that all horses can be ridden on the flat by any rider.
The Irish Draught Horse: a rare breed
ROOTS, BACKGROUND AND VERSATILITY
Ireland’s soil, climate and culture make it the most horse-friendly place on earth. The Irish Draught Horse has benefited from this environment for longer than any other type of horse, and over the centuries has evolved into Ireland’s unique contribution to the equine world.
While having the strength and placid temperament of the working horse, the Irish Draught Horse does not fit the usual application of that word to the equine. Rather as it evolved on both the small and large farms of the Irish countryside, it has been imbued with the qualities of a riding and sporting horse as well. In more recent centuries, when crossed with the thoroughbred, the Irish Draught Horse has been the basic ingredient of the famous Irish Charger of warfare, of the hunter and eventually of the ideal show jumping and competition Irish Sport Horse.
STUDBOOK BACKGROUND
The studbook is maintained on behalf of the society by the Irish Horse Board and the Northern Ireland Horse Board. All animals are inspected for entry into the studbook, mares at two years of age and stallions at a minimum of three years. A performance-testing programme for stallions is part of the approval procedure in place.
The Irish Draught Horse Society currently has 22 branches across Ireland, and is now international with affiliated groups in Great Britain, New Zealand, the United States, Canada and Australia.
IN COMPETITION
Show jumping had its birth in Ireland and went on to become an international sport by the end of the 19th century; and the Irish Draught Horse has played a major role throughout the history of the sport. The even temperament, durability and athletic ability of the Irish Draught Horse, qualities upgraded by crossbreeding with the thoroughbred, has created a potent mix, which is well up to the demands of modern day show jumping.
THE IRISH DRAUGHT HORSE ON THE WORLD STAGE
Some recent examples of Irish Sport Horses sired by Registered Irish Draught stallions include Mill Pearl (ISH) for the United States Equestrian Team, Special Envoy (ISH) for Brazil, the stallion Cruising (ISH) and Ireland’s resurgent side that won three major Nation’s Cup events in 1995: Aachen, Kerrygold Dublin and Calgary. Also in 1995, there was the unique double at the Royal International at Hickstead when Marion Hughes won the Queens Cup on Flo Jo (ISH) by Clover Hill (RID) and Robert Splaine took the King’s Cup on Heather Blaze (ISH) by Diamond Lad (RID).
Conclusion: keeping the industry focused
Quality breeding is still the key to success. Progeny testing is the best guide to the breeding value of a stallion, but as the number of foals produced increases, prospective buyers become more selective. Breeders must ensure that their horses fall into categories that buyers demand; and that progeny are up to the mark in terms of pedigree and conformation.
Establishing the breeding value of the mare is very important. Would you be better off in the long run putting a saddle rather than a stallion on your mare this year? A mare that has performed in competition successfully is more valuable for breeding purposes. Established pedigrees are a vital element of success.
The Teagasc Equine Programme is in place to help owners and breeders achieve their goals by keeping them focused on a practical game plan:
• A vision of the end product
• Parent selection
• Successful foal production
• Young horse management
• Young horse marketing
• Pre-competition training
• The successful competitor
Author: MICHAEL WHITE
Teagasc, The Agriculture and Food Development Authority, Castle Meadows, Thurles, Co. Tipperary, Ireland
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