That being said though; I have yet to see that the AHR (American Haflinger Registry) is promoting breeding of taller Haflingers. If you check the I&C scores (Inspection and Classification) you will see that no horse is above 60 inches - 15 hands. I do not see a big movement in the USA to breed for taller, more refined Haflingers.
Again, I would like to ask others...
What do YOU consider to be a "drafty" type?
and
What do YOU consider to be a "modern" type?
I think that we are not as far apart as we think we are when it comes to choosing camps. I am not so sure there really is a "drafty" vs. "modern" difference of Haflinger horse. Both of those terms can be in reality be fitting within the AHR breed standard.
The AHR breed standard is 54 to 60 inches. So 13.2 - 15 hands. Stallions would be expected to be taller than mares... so a stallion would be expected to be closer to the 15 hand measurement than to the 13.2 hand measurement.
Again, I am only going off of breeding trends in the USA. I do not see that the American Haflinger Registry is promoting breeding out "drafty" - whatever that means. To me "drafty" means short legged, stout and built like a small draft horse. Haflingers are NOT draft horses. Just take a look at the origin of the breed! NO DRAFT HORSES involved in the making of the breed. They are small warmbloods in my opinion.
Now, just so none of you get in a huff and think I am against draft breeds... you could not be more wrong. ;^) My main riding horse and first horse love in fact is a Belgian Draft/TB cross. Not registered, but loved just as much as the horses I have with papers.
Am I against pony breeds? Nope! We have had owned a Hackney pony, and a Connermara. We now own a Shetland cross with no papers, but seriously the most bombproof horse (well pony, she is 10 hands) that I have ever known. She is my granddaughter's pony.
Now, would I ever think of approaching any of the registries that my beloved cross horses are a part of in order to gain them a registered pedigree? NO way... I am happy with them just the way they are. Their value to me is in the horse that they are and their usefullness. I love them in spite of their unproven pedigrees/proof of bloodlines.
Since Haflingers are the only registered horses I own, then I pay the most attention to what is going on with our registry here where I live, in the USA. I will pay my dues to the organization (even though I am NOT a breeder) and help support the organization that does so much for the breed here in the USA. I am thankful for all of those who are involved in the running of the AHR, mostly of which is a volunteer organization. There are not many paid employees there, and the ones who are paid to man the office do a totally bang up job!!
That's all for now... off to clean stalls and paddocks. Woo-hoo! At least it is only raining here, and not frozen or snowing. I am thankful for that!!
Your Haffiefriend,
~Kiola~
Brier, WA
--- In haflingerfriends@yahoogroups.com, Emily Gibson <briarcroft@...> wrote:
>
> That's it, Kiola. Objective temperament evaluation has not been a priority
> in the Tirol during the 20+ years of breeding for one characteristic at a
> time (height, movement, neck length). Herr Schweisgut has admitted that
> when there is a specific priority to be changed in the breed, that the
> pairings are put together to change that one characteristic. So there was
> some unfortunate things happening as a result: loss of the rich chestnut
> coloring, loss of the heavy mane, loss of the substantial engine
> hindquarter, loss of the smaller refined head, and loss of the mellower
> temperament. It is not directly related to height but is part of the mix.
>
> I think the Tirolians are trying to be less specific in their breeding for
> certain characteristics now that they have achieved the height they wanted,
> and have longer necks and more warmblood type shoulder angle and movement.
>
> Emily
>
> On Mon, Jan 11, 2010 at 10:03 AM, kiolak <kiolak@...> wrote:
>
> >
> >
> > Help me out here Emily, what are you disagreeing with me about?
> >
> > I can only guess that you disagree and feel that a taller horse has a
> > hotter temperment
------------------------------------
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