Ok. So I was searching for haflinger forums on the off chance that I might find some more information on Westfalen Haflingers. No such luck but I came across a thread on the Horse and Hound forum about them. Someone was asking about them for her friend's begginer child and many of the members told her some stuff that would make most haffie owners annoyed to hear. Here's my opinion on some of the things mentioned.
"I would not think of them as being a child's or nervous rider's pony" This, I would say is true. They are very strong willed and need a rider who knows how to deal with strong personalities.
"Hafliners are like our strong natives and can easily carry 15 stone all day out hunting!!." Very true. I'm roughly 12 stone and Nell easily carries me for three hours without breaking a sweat. They're very hardy.
"The ones I've known have all been very bombproof, but also a bit stubborn and strong." Again, True, or at least of Nell. She's solid as a rock and willing to do whats asked of her but she knows what she wants and stops dead in the middle of the road if she doesn't get her own way.
"Majority have bad feet, a lot are awful on the ground, certainly not child friendly, and many are a pain in the ass to ride too." I could agree with the bad feet thing but Nell was neglected so it was probably malnutrition that caused brittle hooves. To our knowledge however, she's never been lame and she's as sure footed as they come. As for on the ground, yes they are strong and they know it. But it all comes down to how much groundwork has been done with them. Nell was very bolshy on the ground when we got her but now she's good as gold. She still has a few moments but never as bad as she was.
In a nutshell:
Are they good first ponies? No. Although there are a few, they are very strong willed so are more suited to riders who can deal with stubbornness.
Are they any good at competing? Yes, definitely. Haflingers are great to be shown in any discipline and excel in anything from halter through jumping to endurance or western.
Have they got good tempers? Yes, in general they are quite sweet and bond well with their rider. My Nell has a nasty bite though and bad habits are very difficult to get rid of in Haffies.
Do they have any breed related health problems? Not really although some have been known to have bad feet and as most haflingers are long in the back they can get tender in that area. Otherwise though, they are built like a brick outhouse and are tough as nails.
If you find the right haflinger for you, they promise many years of safe riding, comical moments and are probably the most quirkiest and fun horses you'll ever own or ride.
"I would not think of them as being a child's or nervous rider's pony" This, I would say is true. They are very strong willed and need a rider who knows how to deal with strong personalities.
"Hafliners are like our strong natives and can easily carry 15 stone all day out hunting!!." Very true. I'm roughly 12 stone and Nell easily carries me for three hours without breaking a sweat. They're very hardy.
"The ones I've known have all been very bombproof, but also a bit stubborn and strong." Again, True, or at least of Nell. She's solid as a rock and willing to do whats asked of her but she knows what she wants and stops dead in the middle of the road if she doesn't get her own way.
"Majority have bad feet, a lot are awful on the ground, certainly not child friendly, and many are a pain in the ass to ride too." I could agree with the bad feet thing but Nell was neglected so it was probably malnutrition that caused brittle hooves. To our knowledge however, she's never been lame and she's as sure footed as they come. As for on the ground, yes they are strong and they know it. But it all comes down to how much groundwork has been done with them. Nell was very bolshy on the ground when we got her but now she's good as gold. She still has a few moments but never as bad as she was.
In a nutshell:
Are they good first ponies? No. Although there are a few, they are very strong willed so are more suited to riders who can deal with stubbornness.
Are they any good at competing? Yes, definitely. Haflingers are great to be shown in any discipline and excel in anything from halter through jumping to endurance or western.
Have they got good tempers? Yes, in general they are quite sweet and bond well with their rider. My Nell has a nasty bite though and bad habits are very difficult to get rid of in Haffies.
Do they have any breed related health problems? Not really although some have been known to have bad feet and as most haflingers are long in the back they can get tender in that area. Otherwise though, they are built like a brick outhouse and are tough as nails.
If you find the right haflinger for you, they promise many years of safe riding, comical moments and are probably the most quirkiest and fun horses you'll ever own or ride.
Posts
5 comments:
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/haflingerfriends/
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/haflingerhorses/
lots of haflinger breeders and owners and a few importers on both lists. Good luck
have you called the AHR yet to find more info on her? I'm sure they will help you piece together the info you have and find out who she is. they can put it together by her brand and possibly her name may match up with a pedigree.
The brand she has should be very helpful.
American Haflinger Registry
1686 East Waterloo Road
Akron, OH 44306-4103
Phone: 330-784-0000
also have you asked the breeders/importers yet on the haflinger lists? good luck
okay, I think I found three haflingers named Nelly that I think were imported from germany.
here are their pedigrees. Maybe you can call the aHR and give them the reg. #s on them and ask them for their current or last known owners' information. if the horse was dumped though you may not have luck with that, but the AHR should have a picture of the horse and a drawing of the horses markings so they can hopefully match up the name and info with a physical description to help you find out who your beautiful girl is.
http://www.haflingerhorse.com/pedigree/PedigreeFind.php?horseid=1208936
http://www.haflingerhorse.com/pedigree/PedigreeFind.php?horseid=1208587
http://www.haflingerhorse.com/pedigree/PedigreeFind.php?horseid=1209362
There are the 3 that I found, if her registered name was Nelly or similar then it should be really easy! You can also find info on the foals she has had as well if they are registered which I imagine they would be since she was imported.
Hope this helps you or at least gives you ideas on how to track her info. The AHR ladies are extremly helpful, don't hessitate to call them!
okay- one more reply...in doing more searching I think that those 3 horses I posted actually weren't imported, but are still in Germany. I could be wrong either way, I just checked the reg. # up to the reg# of another imported horse and noticed the the imported ones have a new number after the parenthesis. So As far as the registered horses whose names start with n-e-l it looks like there is only one and that one is a 1979 model so that wouldn't work. If this is the case with the reg. # then I would have to guess that the name Nelly she picked up along the way and was not her reg. name. If you post her pics and info to the haflinger lists maybe someone will recognise her or put you in contact with someone who imports. Looks like her name won't be of any help.
To be honest the only info we have on her is that she came from the westfalen area of Germany and has been in Cornwall for the past two years.
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