By Horse Sport Ireland / HSI
Graphics: HSI
As part of an ongoing research project into the genetics of linear profiling, Horse Sport Ireland, on behalf of the Irish Sport Horse studbook, completes additional linear profiling of Irish Sport Horses each year outside of the studbook inspection process.
As part of an ongoing research project into the genetics of linear profiling, Horse Sport Ireland, on behalf of the Irish Sport Horse studbook, complete additional linear profiling of Irish Sport Horses each year outside of the studbook inspection process.
These additional linear profiles are added to the already existing database of profiles collected at both studbook inspections and other events throughout the years. The addition of linear profiles on high performance horses to the routinely collected profiles on the breeding population is important to building a robust base population for genetic and genomic analysis and will improve the accuracy of future analysis and heritability research.
The 2025 linear profiling project was conducted over four days at four different events across two disciplines.
A total of 125 animals were profiled; this included 59 mares and 66 stallions/geldings.
The report below outlines what linear profiling is and the preliminary analysis of the traits scored.
Introduction
Linear profiles have been routinely collected on Irish Sport Horses (ISH) at studbook inspections since 2010. In order to increase the numbers of linear profiles collected on the ISH, Horse Sport Ireland (HSI) seek funding from the Department of Agriculture, Food, and the Marine (DAFM) under the Equine Technical Support Scheme to complete additional profiling
The objective of this project is to collect linear profiles of Irish Sport Horses at various DAFM supported events that are delivered by HSI throughout the year. These linear profiles are added to the already existing database collected at inspections and other events. It is important to obtain linear profiles of both high-performance horses, as well as the breeding population, in order to build a robust base population for genetic and genomic analysis.
What is linear profiling?
Linear profiling is used to assess conformation, movement and athleticism in horses. A linear profile is a descriptive method of assessing a horse and indicates where a horse lies between the biological extremes for any given trait. For example, the trait ‘Stance of Forelegs’ describes where a horse lies in relation to the two extremes for that trait, i.e. between obviously ‘Back at Knee’ and obviously ‘Over at Knee’. At ISH studbook inspections, a linear profile is produced for each horse, which outlines the horse’s strengths and weaknesses. This information is provided to the breeder and retained by the studbook for research purposes...
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