The Irish Draught Horse 3

The  Irish Draught Horses of St Mullins No 21

The Irish canal transport system depended on the Irish Draught horse to pull large loads of merchandise all across the country. The term “work horse” really did apply to these lad’s with their calm and reliable nature they just plodded along taking on all kinds of tasks. Most small farms had their draught horse as he was a jack of all trades. He pulled the plough through the fields and the hay cocks into the hay barn at harvest. Pulling was his task in life the cart with the family to mass on Sunday and dad to the pub of an evening. They provided manure to help the potatoes grow as that was the stable diet of the Irish peasant and most of the Irish were peasants with the English being the ruling class. 

 In St Mullins and all along the inland water ways he was the king of transport the lad that everyone relied from 1760 on until the arrival of the Bolinder diesel engine 1920 he was the power of river transport.

The Draught horses had their own station and forge in St Mullins and plenty to eat in the surrounding fields they pulled the barges as far as Graiguenamanagh. When there wasn’t a barge coming the other way, they were walked back at a leisurely pace by some young fellow who wasn’t at school. What a wonderful pace of life, a time to dream. 

The Steam tug usually towed three wooden barges up from the port of  Newross to St Mullins and depending on the load one or two horses were hitched up for the tow .There is a wonderful clip from Pathe News on Utube called “Turf cutting Ireland “that shows how the horse leans on the rope attached to the barge and once it’s on the move there is little strain. They also worked the mill farm and provided transport to the nearest village and town making deliveries of flour and feed for farm animals. On one of the uprights in the Mullicháin Café we have saved one of the horse shoes which was found when the Old forge was being renovated and a Mighty foot he had.

Irish Draught Horses were bred as a working horse on Irish farms they were economical, surviving on grass and gorse, and on any boiled turnips, oats and bran left over from cattle feed. Due to the small size of farm holdings in Ireland at the time most farmers could not afford to keep more than one horse and as a result Irish breeder developed an adaptable draught horse capable of carrying out all of the work on the farm as well as being used for riding, hunting and driving. Consequently, the breed developed to be extremely versatile and intelligent with an excellent temperament and willing nature. The breed originated from the Irish Hobby horse, a small ambling horse with many similarities to the primitive Garrano and Sorraia horses of Northern Spain and Portugal. The Irish domesticated the horse as far back as 2000 BC so the archaeologists tell us and sure who are we “mere mortals” to argue.

Their use in the Great War by the British military led to large losses, eight million horses, donkeys and mules died between 1914-1918 and many were Irish. The British made compulsory purchases of Irish draught horse taking so many as to nearly wipe out the breed. The mechanization of the 20th century saw a decline in draught horse’s traditional use as farm and carriage horses and where nearly every farm had its own horse now it is the exception.

I can remember on my uncles Jonnies farm in Ballyknockane near Clonmel sitting on top of the hay cock as it was pulled by Paddy that was their horse across 3 fields to the hay barn where a gang of men forked all the hay up by hand. That was the time when farm workers moved from farm to farm taking in the harvest and sitting down at lunch time to big plates of spuds and hairy bacon. Getting up on Paddy’s back was a great treat for city kids you could fit a gang of kids on his back it was so wide and riding off for miles to the Anner river that’s in Co Tipperary for a swim, no parental supervision great days and still alive to tell the tale  

Mr Steins swept the roads delivered coal to our door and manure for my dad’s roses and spuds. His horse just made his way down the road when Mr Steins gave a whistle, he moved another six feet and when he reached the village of Clondalkin the horse ambled across the road to the horse trough for a drink and when he was ready ambled back into position no traffic to worry about and of course horses had the right of way then.

Would love to a see a revival of the Draught Horse on the farms.