IN 2015, the then Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) Simon Coveney implemented ‘Reaching New Heights 2015-2025’. In my opinion this was an impressive and inspiring ‘blueprint’ plan for the equestrian sector but maybe as an industry we have lost track of the route plan that was laid out in this document. The ‘Reaching New Heights’ plan required strong leadership for its implementation, clear and concise lobbying of government, and the age old story of sufficient money to make it all happen.
What is Linear Scoring?
The strategic plan at the Irish Horse Centre (IHC) defines linear scoring as:
The assessment of eventing- and show jumping-bred horses for the biomechanical performance traits which are of economic importance to equine farmers (breeders and producers), that meet the top-level market and sport demands of top WBFSH studbook rankings.
Biomechanics as defined by Horse Sport Ireland is the science of movement of a living body, including how muscles, bones, tendons, and ligaments work together to produce movement. Many national equestrian federations around the world are now looking more closely at equine and rider biomechanics and its link to performance.
Why use Linear Scoring?
Reaching New Heights Recommendation R1.5 suggests that: breeding organisations should be required to ensure that their breeding programmes are appropriate to the marketplace. Within the Irish Horse Centre linear scoring is a key component and measuring tool for its ‘clear and transparent’ evaluation of horses.
How should linear scoring be applied?
With a significant increase in foal numbers turning out to selection days for the Breeders Select Foal Sale Ireland (Edition one established in 2018) Mayo Roscommon Breeders’ Group and IHC collaborated with breeder and producer John Kerr of Hawkfield Stables in 2021, to design an online linear grading system for foals and young horses.
In-house administration
The grading system aims to facilitate efficient processing of linear data gleaned from selection days and to give clear and transparent feedback to breeders and producers. The system also aimed to reduce in-house administration within MRBG/IHC which is operated on a voluntary basis.
Collaboration and calibration of the system and its inspectors is ongoing with the HSI Genetic Team which has on overall aim to standardise an industry-wide linear scoring template to provide qualitative and quantitative genomic data for the achievement of ‘Reaching New Heights’ Key Recommendation 1 - Improving Herd Quality aims to improve breeding structures to allow Ireland to produce horses which are recognised in the top of the WBFSH rankings.
Knowledge Transfer National Event.
Linear Scoring - What, Why, How?
The Mayo Roscommon Breeders’ Group invites the industry to Glenamaddy Equestrian Centre next Friday, June 21st, at 6.30 pm, as they aim to give insights to the foal and young horse selection process via linear scoring and gain feedback from industry.
This is a practical event with real-time evaluation and feedback on foals and young horses. which the group believe is a system which can help move towards a more vibrant equine farming economy.
THERE will be a demonstartion at the linear scoring event entitled, Foundation Training in Foals and Young Horses
As discussed above, equine biomechanics is an increasingly popular topic covered by National Governing Bodies (NGBs) worldwide. I aim to present a demonstration after the Knowledge Transfer event on young horse training. A somewhat forgotten topic by NGBs, I will give insights into how the horse learns to follow clear instructions from breeders and producers, to improve foundation training in potential high performance athletes through the training of clear responses in the horse. These responses allow biomechanical performance traits to function more effectively and aid foundation training which would in turn further a horse’s future career and therefore add value to market demands.
On the topic of equine learning, it would have been my intention to have included such education for breeders and producers under the current National KT Programme being run by DAFM and funded by the Common Agricultural Policy 2023-27.
However, both my own and national leadership failed to lobby intensely enough to build a national horse breeding and production syllabus for breeders and producers. Such a programme could have been incorporated into what should have been a National Equine Specific KT programme similar to ‘Reaching New Heights’ Recommendation 2.2 (to develop a single progressive accredited education system) - a National Equestrian Education Pathway (NEEP) - a single system under the Department of Education) which could have encompassed rural biodiversity and equine farming’s carbon footprint contribution in Ireland (Central Statistics Office states approx. 12.2% of the total agricultural land area is used for equine breeding and production). This debate is for highlighting in another article!