I agree 100%! Yes they are very smart and very food motivated. Ours learned how to open the chickens’ coop to reach and eat their straw bedding
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There is only one L in Haflinger.
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Haha too funny!
Noted, 
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D’OH! {headsmack}
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I’ve owned a Haflinger for 15.5 years. I’d never seen or ridden one before I went to try my boy out and he turned out to be my soul pony.
I know people say they’re stubborn, but I think it’s more a factor of their intelligence rather than just being a butthead. They need to be challenged, they need to be kept active. They’re incredibly food-orientated and if someone can figure out how to work with that, they’re golden.
I can ride my gelding all over the property I board at with a sidepull. Just pack some treats and he’s an angel.
Their attitudes and personalities are going to depend a lot on the stallion lines you choose. The “modern” sporty types ("A, N, St, S lines) are generally more spicy and flashy than the M line (mine is M-line, with some sprinkling of the modern lines in his pedigree) which I think is more of a cob type. B and W lines seem to be a bit more drafty like, and I’ve never really seen any of them before.
I wouldn’t get a Haflinger then. I think they’re great horses, and they’re amazing and I never want to ride anything other than a Haflinger again, but they’re not the kind of horse you can put in a pasture or a corral and let them sit for very long. My gelding is almost 25 (which shocks a lot of people because a - he doesn’t look it and b - he doesn’t act like it) and he needs to be out moving and grooving almost every day (even if he’s just walking around on the trails). And I think the idea that they’re laid back, chill lazy critters is a fallacy. My boy might stand there, hipshot, for 20 minutes if I’m talking to someone, but pick up those reins and he’s ready and rarin to go. Haflingers absolutely need jobs and it really helps if they’re an only horse.
Which is the major reason why I haven’t gotten him a new buddy since I lost my Morgan/QH mare last December. I did borrow a friend’s mini/Shetland for a while, but he got annoyed by the little beast and is much happier alone. That’s kind of a plus if you find the right Haffie. They’re really food-focused that if you feed 'em, they don’t care about company. (But we do visit other horses on the ranch so he’s not starved for horse interaction, he just cares more about his gazillion food enrichment toys)
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I would say the same sentiments apply to Fjords in my experience as well. If I don’t keep things fresh, Charlie is far less inclined to be an active and willing participant. He also doesn’t see the point in an empty ring. His training moves much faster when there is an application to a movement; as such, Working Equitation has been a great way to apply dressage to something more practical. Last week for example we did everything from trails, driving a couple times, a training ride, a groundwork/trick day and a rest day. If I try and ride him in the indoor day after day or drill anything really, he gets bored pretty quick. He’s not bad or anything, but his heart isn’t in it.
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Agree with this. Do you like to try to out-think Houdini? Because that has been my experience with haflingers. You will put them somewhere and if they think they want to be somewhere else…good luck. Your fences do not stand a chance. My experience is also that they believe they are smarter than you (and this is not always an incorrect belief on their part).
My sample size is small but I will also say be thoughtful about dietary considerations. Two of the three I knew very well were air ferns and eventually were diagnosed with cushing’s. One foundered as a result and required a very, very good farrier to keep him comfortable.
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I had one a few years ago. Best little guy ever. My friend rode him thru 1st;even, winning everything in sight. But he wasn’t really built to go any further. She bought him from me and ended up selling to a young gal in AZ. She rode him pretty successfully too. He’s now a w/t lesson pony, I think. Always a barn favorite
Headstrong, but wanted to please. Never an issue with fences. Had to watch food intake. Could sit and was the same horse even after weeks.
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I’ve ridden a few of a breeder’s Haflingers and she also has some very sporty Haffie-GRP crosses. Most she has broke to drive before riding I believe. This breeder has had at least 3 show recognized dressage at the upper levels - PSG/I1 and for sure one at GP. Three of them are 17 years or older and still working at the upper levels. They all jump as well and the ones I’ve seen are very good, safe jumpers. The are nicely off the leg and nice in the bridle but that’s also a testament to the training.
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I will agree that good, early training makes all the difference with this breed. If you don’t keep one step ahead of them and they figure out that they are stronger than you, they never forget that lesson.
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Pretty horses so too often treated like a toy. They are work horses and need to be given a variety of tasks and kept busy. Not my favorite breed: it was a Haffie that last put me into the hospital emergency room.
From personal experience, the Fjords I’ve ridden have been nice people with a laid back view of life. Welsh cobs have a lot of brains and personality. Work with them they are treasures but if you are unfair to them they resent it. A good one will turn a good to anything and enjoy it.
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