hump day haflingers and history

When some one says Haflinger, what is the first thing you think of?

Fat?

Lazy?

Pushy?

Stubborn?

Baby Belgians?

I admit, when I first met Mia, I did not think highly of her. But after my first true interaction with her (one that did not include yelling at her to stop banging on her stall for food), I fell in love. She gave me everything she had, all she wanted was a carrot in return. Or an apple. Or a treat that was given to another horse five stalls down. So, maybe some Haflinger stereotypes are true. . .

Well, I am doing a series of posts that dispel the general stereotype of the Haflinger. The Haflinger is quite possibly the most versatile horse there is and I am in no way biased. . .okay, maybe a little.

The Haflinger can do everything from farm work to eventing. And not only can they do these things, but they can be successful at it. Not very many horses can make that claim. For instance, you will be hard pressed to find a Belgian that can plow land then go on a fox hunt. Or you won't really find a team of Thoroughbreds pulling a carriage through a city. Anything is possible though. . .

So I contacted a bunch of amazing people with Haflingers that do a bunch of different things. I will be presenting them weekly on the blog, in no particular order. I hope it will be fun and enjoyable to read for everyone!

And if you have a Haflinger and would like to be featured, send me an email! I will be glad to write about what you and your Haflinger are up to.

G

For a little history lesson on Haflingers: 

• The original sire of the Haflinger horse is the half-Arabcalled 249 Folie, born in 1874. There are seven lines of Haflingers that can be traced back to him: A-line, B-line, M-line, L-line, S-line, ST-line, and W-line. I am having a hell of a time finding information on the mare lines. 
• Colts are named with a first letter after the sire, fillies with the first name after the dam. Except in France where foals are named by a letter that is designated for that year and Italy where colts use the letter from the sire and fillies a letter that is designated for the year.
• The Haflingers were selectively bred for their easy-going temperaments and ability to be handled by every member of the family.
• Haflingers first came to America in 1960. Their stud book was closed in in the late 1940's so no new blood could be introduced into their line. 
• A Haflinger is a small horse breed. They range from about 13.2 hands to 14.3 hands. Yet. . . they have the biggest personality of all the breeds (in my humble opinion)!
• They are war veterans! The Haflingers fought in World War I and World War II. They were used as pack horses on the front lines. After WWI, the breed was almost wiped out because of the changing borders.
• Haflingers are named from the village of Hafling, Austria, which is where the breed originally started. That area is now part of Italy. 

Happy New Year!

haflingers are like oxymorons

They are two different things at the very same time. 

• A Halfinger approaches food like they have never eaten before, with such hunger and vigor. They could eat a whole bale of hay and still be searching for more food! Yet. . . they are such easy keepers and do not need a lot of food to survive. The reason that they are easy keepers is that they were born from the mountains of Tyrol in Austria (which is now a part if Italy). The food was sparse, so only horses that could thrive on small amounts lived and were bred. I know Shyloh wishes she had the metabolism of  Mocha, the TB a few stalls down! To watch her eat is to think she has not had any food for a week!

As a side line, the original Halfinger sire is called 249 Folie, born in 1874. There are seven lines of Haflingers that can be traced back to him: A-line, B-line, M-line, L-line, S-line, ST-line, and W-line. 

• The Haflingers were selectively bred for their easy-going temperaments and ability to be handled by every member of the family. Yet . . .when they get something stuck in their minds, such as what they do or do NOT want to do, their stubbornness is unparalleled! So far, Shyloh has taken in stride the move to this barn and then the move to a stall inside. She is also not complaining about being stuck inside for a little over a week due to dangerously muddy conditions and flooded pastures. But, when I was riding her yesterday, she thought she was done and was doing everything in her power to turn and take me to her stall! Little did I know that Shy can side pass and turn on her fore front without any cues!

Another history lesson. . .Haflingers first came to America in 1960. Their stud book was closed in in the late 1940's so no new blood could be introduced into their line. 

• Haflingers generally have a willingness to work and please their person attitude. They can perform in all disciplines in the horse world: dressage, jumping, driving, western, trail riding, therapeutic riding, vaulting, and endurance. Yet. . . they will make YOU work for their trust! Since I have started riding Shy, she has been an absolute gem! Her attention to me when I am on her is amazing and she really seems to take her job seriously. But the work I have to put into just getting on her is something else. Every time we line up at the mounting block, I lift my leg up on the first step and she swings her rear end away. I get down, walk around, and tap her back. No problem. Her front feet are planted, she is not going anywhere, just making me work for her. This is repeated 5-10 times, until she finally decides that she is done, I've done enough work, and just stands there for me to get on her. Then our little rides have been great!  

Yesterday, Kathy asked to ride Shy. I do not think that Shy was ready to let someone ride her just yet, because her mounting block behaviors were different than with me, she actually propelled herself forward! And Shy really likes Kathy! Kathy handles her well on the ground and Shy responds well to her. We tried a few times, but eventually we listened to Shy tell us she was not ready for someone else to ride her, and she let me get back on her. But Shy has no problem following Kathy around the arena while I was on her back! She was obviously looking for Kathy to give her treats. 

• A Haflinger is a small horse breed. They range from about 13.2 hands to 14.3 hands. Yet. . . they have the biggest personality of all the breeds (in my humble opinion)! I swear, Shyloh does some stuff on purpose to either crack me up (think her signature face) or frustrate the heck out of me (think "catch me of you can"). Even her sassy attitude speaks magnitudes about her personality! And watching her with other horses is always fun. She interacts so well with them. For the most part, Shy will just go with the flow of whatever the other horse wants to do, but if another horse pisses her off, she is sure to let them know with a little buck!

More Haflinger info. . .they are war veterans! The Haflingers fought in World War I and World War II. They were used as pack horses on the front lines. After WWI, the breed was almost wiped out because of the changing borders. These "war" horses are the most gentle horses with the kindest eyes you will ever see, another irony!

• The Haflingers are incredibly intelligent, sometimes too smart for their own good! It is also this intelligence that makes them very curious to learn about their surroundings and apply their knowledge. They will watch every move you make. Yet. . .you can ask them to do something you know that they know, and if they do not feel like it, they will look at you like you are absolutely crazy! Shyloh makes a "thinking" noise, which I have also come to call the "you want me to do what?" noise! 

I may be slightly partial to the awesomeness that is Haflingers! I hope you enjoyed the little bit of Haflinger history that I have gathered in my perusing on the interweb!

Shyloh wanted out the door!