Haflinger

The Haflinger is a small, close-coupled horse that came out of the Tyrol, the mountain country shared between Austria and northern Italy. Chestnut is the only colour the breed comes in. The body runs anywhere from a light gold to a deep liver shade, and the mane and tail are always pale flaxen against it, so a Haflinger is hard to mistake for anything else.

Height sits between roughly 13.2 and 15 hands, so the breed straddles the line between pony and horse, and an Irish reader can picture something around Connemara height, or a shade over it. Small as it is, the Haflinger carries an adult without bother and will pull a trap or a cart. That build comes from generations of work on steep alpine ground, where a horse needed to be sure-footed and able to keep going all day, and speed counted for little.

The breed has a name for being quiet, friendly and good-natured. Haflingers are ridden in dressage, taken out hacking and trekking, driven, used for vaulting and put to light work about the farm. Riding centres and therapeutic riding groups keep them because they are so steady.

Who the Haflinger suits

This is a horse for the owner who wants one animal to do a bit of everything. The quiet nature and handy size suit first-time owners, younger riders and families, and plenty of experienced people keep Haflingers for driving and for dressage at competitive level. They last well, too: a properly looked-after Haflinger is often still in work in its twenties.

The breed is called after Hafling, a village in the South Tyrol. That district belonged to Austria-Hungary at the time and now lies inside northern Italy. Horses of this stamp had worked the steep alpine valleys for generations, carrying goods and people along narrow mountain tracks where a bigger horse would have been more hindrance than help.

The modern Haflinger goes back to one stallion, 249 Folie, foaled in 1874. Folie was got by a half-Arabian stallion out of a local Tyrolean mare, and every Haflinger alive today descends from him through seven recognised stallion lines.

Proper records and organised selection date from the early twentieth century. The Arabian blood still shows in the fine head and the free way of going; the mountain mares put in the bone, the hardiness and the level head.

Over the twentieth century the breed moved out beyond the Alps, first through Austria and Italy and then on to Germany, Britain, North America and further afield. Breeding stayed tightly controlled the whole way, with the chestnut coat, the flaxen mane and tail and the quiet working nature kept as fixed points.

A Haflinger is balanced and compact, with a deep chest, a sloping shoulder and a strong back. The head is fine, often with a slight dish to the profile that recalls the Arabian in the pedigree, and it sits on a well-arched neck. The legs are short in proportion to the body, but there is plenty of bone under the horse and the feet are hard, which is what you want on rough ground.

The horse moves freely and with a spring in the step; the walk is markedly active and the trot covers ground. Taken as a whole, it is a small horse put together for stamina and pulling rather than for height or speed.

Coat and colours

Colour is the one thing that never varies. The body can be anything from a pale gold not far off palomino, through bright chestnut, to a dark liver chestnut that is nearly brown, yet the mane and tail are always pale, somewhere between white and light flaxen. Breed rules keep white markings to a minimum: a small marking on the face passes, but large white patches, or white on the legs above the knee or hock, will cost the horse at inspection. Mane and tail are normally long and full.

The Haflinger is known for a level, willing temperament. Most of them are friendly with people, put up with handling well and are slow to spook, which is why the breed turns up so often in riding schools, therapeutic riding and family yards. Meet one for the first time and it is more likely to be nosy than nervous.

In company the breed is sociable and settles into a herd without much fuss. Haflingers are clever and can be confident enough to have their own ideas, so the handling needs to be consistent. A bored or under-worked Haflinger will chance its arm now and again, but the breed comes right with clear, fair routines. Energy is middling: there is stamina enough for a long day's work, and the horse still stays manageable for a less experienced rider.

The Haflinger is a hardy breed and takes cold, wet and changeable weather in its stride, which is the alpine background showing through and stands it in good stead through an Irish winter. Day-to-day care is straightforward enough, but the breed puts on condition very easily, so keeping an eye on the weight is a regular part of managing one.

Grooming

• Brush the body a few times a week to lift dirt and loose hair, and more often when the coat is coming out in spring and autumn.
• Comb through the long mane and tail regularly so they do not knot, with a detangler if it is needed.
• Pick out the feet every day and check for stones, cracks or any sign of thrush, which is a constant risk on wet ground.
• Wash the horse only when there is a need; too much bathing strips the natural oils out of the coat.

Exercise

• Turn the horse out daily in a paddock or field so it can move about freely.
• Ride or drive it several times a week to keep it fit and stop it getting bored.
• Mix the work between ridden schooling, driving and groundwork so the horse stays interested.
• Bring the workload back up gradually after any time off.

Environment

Haflingers do best with shelter and grass to go at rather than being kept in a stable all day. Cold does not bother them, but they want shade and fresh water in warm weather. Because they hold condition so readily, the rich grass of an Irish summer may have to be rationed, either with a grazing muzzle or by cutting back the hours of turnout.

The Haflinger is a good doer, which is to say it holds its weight on very little. Good-quality forage, whether grass, hay or haylage, should make up the bulk of what it eats. A great many Haflingers need nothing beyond forage and a vitamin and mineral balancer, and hard feed is rarely called for unless the horse is in heavy work or a mare is in the later stages of pregnancy. Overfeeding is a far more common problem with this breed than underfeeding.

Treats and supplements

A bit of carrot or apple now and again does no harm, so long as it stays occasional, given how readily this breed puts on weight. Salt should be there for the horse to take as it likes. Most Haflingers on decent forage want little else beyond a balancer to cover any gaps in vitamins and minerals. Clean, fresh water must be available at all times.

Haflingers are generally healthy and hardy, and a well-kept one commonly lives 25 to 30 years. The thrifty metabolism cuts both ways. It keeps the horse in good order on very little feed, and it also leaves the breed prone to putting on weight and to everything that follows from that. Most of the health management, in practice, comes down to keeping the horse at a sensible weight.

Preventive care

• Keep the horse at a healthy condition score with measured feeding and regular exercise.
• Keep up a vaccination programme suited to the area.
• Worm on the basis of faecal egg counts rather than by the calendar.
• Have the farrier every six to eight weeks and the teeth examined at least once a year.
• Arrange a veterinary check every year, and more often for the older horse.

The Haflinger picks things up quickly and works well with people, so it is a fair prospect for a range of disciplines. The breed can have a mind of its own, and handlers get the best out of it with clear, consistent aids and a calm, patient manner. Repetition and routine help. Steady nerves are part of the breed, so a Haflinger will normally take new places, traffic on the road and unfamiliar jobs in its stride.

Basics

1. Begin with groundwork: leading, standing quietly and yielding to pressure.
2. Build trust through regular handling and grooming before any ridden or driven work goes on.
3. Introduce tack and harness a piece at a time and let the horse get used to each item.
4. Teach one new thing at a time and make sure it is established before moving on.
5. Keep sessions short and finish on a good note so the horse stays willing.

Haflinger breeding runs to strict standards laid down by the breed studbooks so that the chestnut coat, the flaxen mane and tail and the quiet temperament stay constant. Stock put forward for breeding is inspected for conformation and movement before it is registered. Mares are old enough to breed from at around three, although many breeders hold off until the mare has finished growing.

Gestation runs about eleven months and normally gives a single foal. Foals are usually born a darker shade and lighten up as they grow. The breed is slow to mature, and young horses are generally not backed until they are about three so the skeleton has time to develop. Foals are weaned at around six months and, where it can be managed, reared in groups, which suits the sociable, easygoing nature of the breed.