The Society was formed as the breed Society for the Irish Draught horse. The main aims of the Society are:

• To preserve, promote, and improve the Irish Draught horse in accordance with the characteristics of its breed as set out in the breed standard, to compile, keep, maintain, edit, issue, and publish a stud book of Irish Draught horses, to encourage and support all those interested in the preservation and promotion of the Irish Draught horse.
• To purchase, import, breed, hire or otherwise acquire and hold, resell, let out on hire or otherwise deal in Irish Draught horses.
• To compile or obtain by purchase or other means from any person or persons, as may be thought fit, records and other statistics and information of or relating to any Irish Draught horses or part bred Irish Draught horses and to sell, dispose of, publish, circulate to Members or others and otherwise deal with or make use of any such to promote the objects of the Society.
• To prepare and issue by way of sale or otherwise and on such terms or conditions as may be thought fit to Members and others certificates of entries made in the stud book and also certificates of the Society of records of performance and other records and statistics relating to any Irish Draught horses or part bred Irish Draught horses based on any records or statistics or information obtained or compiled by the Society.
• To set up and maintain a breed standard definition and description of the Irish Draught horse, and to update and publish the breed standard from time to time, as the Council shall deem fit.
• To set up and appoint a panel of approved Irish Draught horse judges for their knowledge of the Irish Draught horse and its breed standard definition and description, and to amend the panel by the addition or deletion thereto, and that any such appointments and amendments to the panel shall only be made from time to time by the Council, to publish and otherwise make available a list of the panel of judges, to determine the manner in which Irish Draught horse judges are appointed to judge in Irish Draught horse classes at all the agricultural shows, competitions and inspections for stud book purposes.
• To carry out inspections or classifications of Irish Draught horse stock in conformity with the breed standard definition and description, for the purpose of division into classes according to their merits in the main section of the stud book and for no other purpose.
• To organise sales and events for the breed, to encourage the breeding and the production of the Irish Draught horses.