never understood why people buy a certain breed of horse and then decide to
"change it" to suit what they choose to do with it..."modern"
haflingers...to me look more and more like Arabs every day... there are a lot of people
who love our drafty wide loads!..."
.
Hello, Suzy -
My girl Ellie is also a drafty n' short Haffie (non-reg.) Her
photo here _rockymountaintrails.net/TrailBuddies_
(http://rockymountaintrails.net/TrailBuddies) (first on the left) shows her in top shape, on our
ride to the top of the Continental Divide. You can see there - short,
round, very drafty old-style Haffie. (The photo to the right, she's actually
standing on a slope and shadowed, it was taken on the same trip - doesn't
really show her conformation well.)
I don't have anything against the modern Haffie - and understand
their place in the show ring & breeder's needs.
For my personal like in build type ... what I wanted was a short,
muscled trail buddy ... the shorter the better! At the same time, didn't
want to break my mount's back, LOL! I am a hair under 5' tall, but not,
welllllllll, skinny ;-) So, the two breeds that really filled that
description (short and drafty) were the Haflinger and Fjord.
Fjords are gorgeous but also PRICEY!! Haflingers are beautiful
and more affordable.
I tried both types - and like with any breed of horse, one has to
hunt a bit before finding a good match (good for rider & for the horse.)
My Fjord trial ended up in two hospital trips, with permanent damage - not
because of breed but because of a nut-case horse ;-) My two Haflinger
trials, prior to Ellie, met the short n' drafty build, but were both barely
describeable as "half trained" and much hotter than my enjoyment-level.
(Who wants "hot" on the side of a cliff?????) ;-) Ellie is my third
Haffie trial - and it's a MATCH, halleluja!! :-) Short, drafty,
cold-blooded, and reliable. She's not a saint - has the same pony-tude (attitude)
of any "pony" breed .... but she is still a relaxing fun ride that I can
trust in the Rockies when we're mountain riding. Dispite no registration
papers - she's my riding partner till one of us can not physically do it
anymore. (I have scoliosis & arthritis, with limited years before I can no
longer ride.)
Just wanted to chime in - I'm in the same boat - LOVE the
Haflinger breed for the classic old-style build! :-) When hunting for my
buddy, I passed up all other breeds - because I wanted a short draft .... no
Quarterhorses, no Arabs, no Icelandics .... wanted that little draft
partner! ;-)
.
Sher & Ellie in CO
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