IRISH Draught breeders say they are losing vital sales and worry about possible indiscriminate breeding that may arise from passports being issued without classification recorded.

The Irish Field has been told by numerous breeders that since the July launch of Horse Source, Horse Sport Ireland’s new online passporting system, Irish Draught passports have been going out with no classification - something they feel will damage the breed and their businesses.

The Irish Draught Horse Breeders’ Association (IDHBA) confirmed this was the case, but said they understood the matter was on the cusp of being resolved.

“We confirmed that on the new passports there wasn’t a classification and the full names weren’t being printed or abbreviated names were being printed,” said IDHBA National Chairperson Robert Draper.“I wrote to HSI about it on October 11th, as have many of our members and, while I am awaiting a formal response, I hear that a resolution on it is close. This may, however, involve those with passports issued sending them back to be amended.”

One Roscommon breeder, who spoke to us under the agreement of anonymity, said she was “blue in the face” with frustration over the issue.

“I’ve missed sales for my Draughts because of this - people in England will not accept an animal without classification, as they cannot show them unless they are Class 1 or 2,” she said.

“Now I’m faced with keeping them over the winter at huge cost and there is no market for yearlings, so it will be a long expensive journey.

“There is also the issue down the track with breeding from these animals - if you don’t know the classification, you don’t know the quality or any problems you might be breeding in, so it not only devalues the good ones, but could introduce problems back into the herd. It also affects whether you can even bring your animal for inspection, if the parentage isn’t classified.

“Sending them back in to get fixed then costs us more, so we are paying for a service that just isn’t there. I’m at the stage now I don’t even want to chase it up on phone or email, in case that delays things even further. To think that Thoroughbred passports get done in two weeks and then we have this saga still ongoing, its outrageous.”

The Irish Field is awaiting a response from Horse Sport Ireland and will include this in a later edition.