Haflingers - wanting to understand more

[Bluey]

I met a young trainer friend in the feed store long ago.
She had an arm in a sling.
I asked what happened, she said this client of hers that was a horse trader had bought this nice little horse at a sale.
The seller was an Amish family and all kids were riding and driving that horse all over, seemed dead broke.
The trader asked her to try him out, drive him and see what they had.

She then asked me, have you seen Haflingers?
My answer was, yes, is your sling courtesy of said Haflinger running off with you?
She said, how do you know? and we both laughed.

Seems she had hitched horse, went out in an open field to try “dead broke” horse, horse was going fine.
Then horse started to trot faster and faster and she could not stop or turn it, came to a fence horse turned and trainer fell off and dislocated shoulder.
Horse kept trotting and tried to cross a little creek and cart got stuck there.
Horse and cart were ok, by then horse trader caught up with them.

I told her, he was probably dead broke, just needed to have people that understood Haflingers could not be taken for granted.
They demand attention and have minds of their own you needed to consider when working with them more than with most other, nicely compliant breeds.

At that time, the talk they heard was that Amish were saying Haflingers were the new high demand breed and were producing many of them for that market.

[endlessclimb]

@Bluey

I met a young trainer friend in the feed store long ago.
She had an arm in a sling.
I asked what happened, she said this client of hers that was a horse trader had bought this nice little horse at a sale.
The seller was an Amish family and all kids were riding and driving that horse all over, seemed dead broke.
The trader asked her to try him out, drive him and see what they had.

She then asked me, have you seen Haflingers?
My answer was, yes, is your sling courtesy of said Haflinger running off with you?
She said, how do you know? and we both laughed.

Seems she had hitched horse, went out in an open field to try “dead broke” horse, horse was going fine.
Then horse started to trot faster and faster and she could not stop or turn it, came to a fence horse turned and trainer fell off and dislocated shoulder.
Horse kept trotting and tried to cross a little creek and cart got stuck there.
Horse and cart were ok, by then horse trader caught up with them.

I told her, he was probably dead broke, just needed to have people that understood Haflingers could not be taken for granted.
They demand attention and have minds of their own you needed to consider when working with them more than with most other, nicely compliant breeds.

At that time, the talk they heard was that Amish were saying Haflingers were the new high demand breed and were producing many of them for that market.

I have a barn acquaintance with the exact same “got run away with by a haflinger in a hitch” story.

I guess they’re not exactly flighty, but it certainly doesn’t sound like a breed I want to own, personally. I prefer the thoroughbred “thinking” type sensitive ride over the “if you don’t ask right I’m going to be a total bulldog” response.

[Ceffyl_Dwr]

Cuteness and height can be very appealing to novice riders, but bulldozers and inexperience are a bad combination.

[prunebey]

I’ve personally known three purebred Haflingers and the two I spent the most time around were pretty different in a lot of ways.

Gelding was a more old school pony type and was Amish trained to drive and ride. He was an absolute dream to drive. Wasn’t the most refined horse under saddle, but he was extremely safe and I don’t think he ever spooked at anything in his entire life. This was helpful the times I had to jump on him bareback with just a halter to ride him back from his pasture escapes lol. His flaw was that he was a repeat fence/gate/etc. destroyer if he wanted something on the other side and could be pushy/bullheaded on the ground. Aside from his destructive nature I truly loved this pony and would’ve rode him into battle any day.

Mare was much more refined and “modern”. She was small-horse sized and came straight from a Haflinger breeder with Haffie sporthorse type breeding. I don’t remember her being especially spooky but definitely more aware of her surroundings and a bit ADD at times. She wasn’t really destructive like the gelding but would escape her pasture routinely if the fence wasn’t electrified. She was really nice to handle on the ground and much more reactive (in a good way) than the gelding. She wasn’t nearly as steady as the gelding, and I wouldn’t have put a complete beginner on her, but she was young at the time.

Like most breeds I do think it depends on how they’re bred and handled. These two had very different backgrounds and it definitely showed. I’ve never been around a spooky one though and the ones I’ve personally worked with and seen at local shows have all seemed very steady and workmanlike when doing their jobs. Wouldn’t own one if I didn’t have very sturdy fencing/gates/stalls though lol.

[jvanrens]

@endlessclimb

One of the haffies I met was at a top-notch dressage barn, so it really wasn’t rider skill or handling.

That said, it sounds like I’ve just had the bad luck of meeting poor examples of them.

One of the worst behaved 3 year olds I’ve seen was a WBxTB from a highly rated dressage farm in these parts. They were very good with most horses, not so much with youngsters. My now ex SO had him turned around quickly when he realized he couldn’t snowplow over everyone.

[endlessclimb]

@jvanrens

One of the worst behaved 3 year olds I’ve seen was a WBxTB from a highly rated dressage farm in these parts. They were very good with most horses, not so much with youngsters. My now ex SO had him turned around quickly when he realized he couldn’t snowplow over everyone.

These guys are not in that category. They start 8+ horses a year there, and have a big breeding program. They used to stand a few stallions, but have gotten away from that. Very good horsemen all around.

[jvanrens]

@endlessclimb

These guys are not in that category. They start 8+ horses a year there, and have a big breeding program. They used to stand a few stallions, but have gotten away from that. Very good horsemen all around.

Definitely a different type of farm then. The farm this one came from had a lot of luck with bringing up competition riders. The owner of this 3YO was a top young rider at one point. I don’t think they raised a lot of foals though. This one was a sweetie when he realized what was acceptable behavior and what wasn’t. 😉 Didn’t take much either.

[CWNSF]

We lost our haffie almost a year ago.

We loved him. He was an older (bought him at 19, lived to 22 but would’ve lived forever had his lameness been manageable to at least a posture sound level) and truly a special pony. He was bombproof- had been a therapy horse for years but would totally change depending on who was riding him. My brother (who doesn’t ride) could hop on him bareback in a halter and cruise around the fields without worry. I’d get on him and he’d up his game.

He was pushy on the ground. He tested (and broke) fences all over New England but after him I would get another in a heartbeat. Great size, funny personality, but I get how it could be an acquired taste

[Donkaloosa]

I have a chunky 14.1 hand Haffie gelding, cute as a bug, awesome trail horse, broke to drive single and double, not at all spooky. However, he will not canter under saddle! I think he spent too much time driving and is convinced that he can’t canter under tack — and I’ve heard of another Haffie that is the same way. I’d happily have another Haffie!

[walktrot]

Bluey, I spent a winter reading horse-for-sale ads in my friend the BO’s kitchen the winter of 2000-2001. I was naive but she taught me the code language used in horse ads. Anything that is “broke to death” or “ridden by kids, bombproof” is not appropriately trained for adult riders. I don’t know about you, but I don’t bounce so good when I land. Haflingers are closer to the ground compared to my big Paint gelding, but that’s about the only advantage.

[twinmommy]

I’m just catching up on COTH and happened upon this post. I thought I’d give my $0.02 as I own a Haflinger. This is the first Haflinger I’ve had, I’ve always had QHs, TBs and WBs before him. Yes, they have a reputation as being stubborn and pushy. They are super smart little horses! They need boundaries and consistency. Many are escape artists - mine will jump out of his paddock if he knows food is involved, and will sneak under his stall guard. They will literally eat anything and are obsessed with food.

My gelding is amazing on the ground and under saddle, but I have spent a LOT of time on groundwork and basics. I’ve not seen a spooky Haflinger. He is an amazing, unflappable trail horse and goes anywhere you ask, at any speed you ask. He is SO cute and very sweet, and he loves everyone. He does tricks too!!

I am a huge Haflinger lover, but I will admit, they aren’t for everyone.