The Irish Hobby is an extinct breed of horse

Horse

The horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is a single-hooved mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...

 native to the British Isles

British Isles

The British Isles are a group of islands off the northwest coast of continental Europe that include the islands of Great Britain and Ireland and over six thousand smaller isles. There are two sovereign states located on the islands: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and...

 that developed prior to the 13th Century. The breed provided foundation bloodlines for several modern horse breeds, including breeds as diverse as the Connemara pony

Connemara pony

The Connemara pony is a pony breed originating in Ireland. They are known for their athleticism, versatility and good disposition. The breed makes excellent show ponies.-History:...

 and the Irish Draught

Irish Draught

The Irish Draught horse is the national horse breed of Ireland which developed primarily for farm use. Today, they are especially popular for crossing with Thoroughbreds and warmbloods, producing the popular Irish Sport Horses which excel at the highest levels of eventing and show jumping.-...

.
Mares

Mare (horse)

A mare is an adult female horse or other equine.In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse age three and younger. However, in Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more than four years old; in harness racing a mare is a...

 of Irish Hobby breeding may have been among the native horse breeds of the British Isles that provided foundation stock for the Thoroughbred

Thoroughbred

The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...

. There is ample evidence that the Irish Hobby was imported into and used in England and Scotland for various activities, including racing, "...they be so light and swift."

This quick and agile horse was also popular for skirmishing, and was often ridden by light cavalry

Light cavalry

Light cavalry refers to lightly armed and lightly armored troops mounted on horses, as opposed to heavy cavalry, where the riders are heavily armored...

 known as Hobelar

Hobelar

Hobelars were a type of light cavalry, or mounted infantry, during the Middle Ages, used for skirmishing. They originated in 13th century Ireland, and generally rode hobbies, a type of light and agile horse.-Origins:...

s. Hobbies were used successfully by both sides during the Wars of Scottish Independence

Wars of Scottish Independence

The Wars of Scottish Independence were a series of military campaigns fought between the independent Kingdom of Scotland and the Kingdom of England in the late 13th and early 14th centuries....

, with Edward I of England

Edward I of England

Edward I , also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England from 1272 to 1307. The first son of Henry III, Edward was involved early in the political intrigues of his father's reign, which included an outright rebellion by the English barons...

 trying to gain advantage by preventing Irish exports of the horses to Scotland. Robert Bruce

Robert I of Scotland

Robert I , popularly known as Robert the Bruce , was King of Scots from March 25, 1306, until his death in 1329.His paternal ancestors were of Scoto-Norman heritage , and...

 employed the hobby for his guerrilla warfare

Guerrilla warfare

Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare and refers to conflicts in which a small group of combatants including, but not limited to, armed civilians use military tactics, such as ambushes, sabotage, raids, the element of surprise, and extraordinary mobility to harass a larger and...

 and mounted raids, covering 60 to 70 mi (96.6 to 112.7 km) a day.

The breed is the origin of the term hobby horse

Hobby horse (disambiguation)

Hobby horse may refer to:* A hobby horse, a costume or character involved in traditional customs such as the morris dance and mummers' play* Hobby horse , a toy horse, consisting of a model of a horse's head attached to a stick...

.

See also

• A bit too far:Ireland's Transylvanian link in the Later Iron Age (article concerning an Irish-Dacian horsebit c. 1st/2nd-century AD), Barry Raftery
  Barry Raftery
  Barry Raftery was an Irish archaeologist and Celtic scholar known for his work on the Iron Age in Ireland. He was recognised as Ireland's leading scholar on the archaeology of later prehistoric societies and was appointed to the chair of Celtic archaeology at University College Dublin in 1996...
  
  , in Seanchas:Studies in Early and Medieval Irish Archaeology, History and Literature in Honour of Francis John Byrne
  Francis John Byrne
  Francis John Byrne is an Irish historian.Born in Shanghai where his father, a Dundalk man, captained a ship on the Yellow River, Byrne was evacuated with his mother to Australia on the outbreak of World War II...
  
  , ed. Alfred P. Smyth, pp.1 -11. Four Courts Press
  Four Courts Press
  Four Courts Press is an Irish academic publishing house.It was founded in 1970 by Michael Adams, a managing director at the Irish Academic Press and a member of Opus Dei. Its early publications were primarily theological, notably the English translation of the Navarre Bible...
  
  , Dublin, 2000.