Haflingers at dealers yards

I have just read the breed standard and they sound great.
Who cares if they are used for meat, so are any type of horses if the market is there.
All breeds have bad examples and good examples. I think you are all being a bit rough on the poor old Haflinger
 
Its not that they are used for meat- its that they are of such a low breed standard that they are not registered by the Austrian Halfinger society so are imported over here where people will pay good money for a pretty colour and a pretty face. Like much of what we get over here that is imported and a cheap price we simply get the cast offs from a massive European market.
 
We have 2 Haffy's at the yard I'm at now, both are children's ponies and both seem to be well manner, friendly well rounded trustable ponies. Next we'll be saying nobody should get a Staffy because 'they're aggressive dogs'! Bloody stereotyping, you'd all jump down someone's throat if someone said all TBs are bloody lunatics and can't be trusted.
 
A few years ago I was looking for a new horse. There was a dealer who had a couple of haffys for sale. He said he imported them as yearlings/two year olds then sold them on and admitted that they were 'cull' stock (as in didn't meet the breed standard). He said that good types that had the brand and met the standards were mostly kept in Austria.
 
All Haflingers imported into the UK are registered with the KVTH, I know some end up with the wrong passport, but they are registered and you can contact the KVTH to get their proper papers.

My haffie is the complete opposite of your Snow_Pony, she is very sweet and loving, she's not been nasty once in the 5 months we've had her, she is strong in the way that she could pull a tree but not when she's being led, she stops when she gets ahead of you.....she's incredibly intelligent and has amazing gaits, I can't wait to ride her.
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I used to own a Haffie too and I joined the Haffie Society so thought peeps might be interested in a little history to put things into perspective. Haffies were very popular in the war as a pack animal as they are biddable, sturdy, sure footed and long-lived. As pack animals, the smaller ones were more sought after so in the 50s, smaller Haffies were the norm. After the war, the same characteristics that made them good as pack animals were recognised to make them good riding horses too. Gradually, the height has increased and now you find them in all horsey spheres. I went to the annual Haflinger Society Show a year or two ago and there were Haffies jumping, showing, doing dressage and dressage to music, everything. Also there were Haffies being tits and stroppy gits in other words, they are just horses. One thing to note: the RDA had an event there that any rider could enter. It was a specially set up course full of hazards such as road signs, tarps to walk over, bunting, umbrellas, dogs etc. A horse that could complete the course with no bad manners or heart attacks would have potentially developed into an RDA-type horse. Haffies are known for their unflappable nature (though any horse can NOT conform to a breed expectation lol!). Well, there were experienced Haffies, stallion Haffies, novice Haffies and young Haffies being long reined round the course and without exception, all completed it. It was an eye opener.

A pure bred Haffie will have the eidelweiss emblem stamped on his body and they are very handsome animals (if you like that sort of thing).

Inevitably, there will be a zillion non-pure neds out there that either have enough Haffie in them to look like Haffies, or just happen to look like Haffies anyway, that end up as meat. There's plenty of other neds that end up as meat that might have started out as something else.

Flyingnugget, if you have a registered brood mare, she'll have the edelweiss mark on her and will have good breeding and so demand a higher price than the poor meat market neds. Enjoy her and her history. x
 
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Bloody stereotyping, you'd all jump down someone's throat if someone said all TBs are bloody lunatics and can't be trusted.

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not me, TB's are bloody lunatics!!

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Thanks for all the information.

The haffie I have is branded with the Westphalian brand and has papers. I suspect she was bred for showing, but her conformation (toe-in) would have made her unsuitable. Her passport shows her broodmare grading - so I don't think she was bred for meat.

I really enjoy having her - although she can be a bit opinionated!!

I have noticed that many more are for sale now, at fairly low prices - so was wondering where they would have originated from.
 
The stereotyping of Haflingers on this forum really annoys me. When we started looking for a ride and drive to share between OH and I to compete at Horse Driving Trials and dressage we never intended to end up with a haflinger (incidentally imported from germany by ourselves, directly from the breeder) but we did. he's the nicest natured horse I have ever worked with- enough forwardness/ athleticism and bravery and good paces for what we want with the best temperament on top. He won his first ever event by a huge margin. He's from the Edelhaflinger studbook- those bred for a more "sporty" type and with a higher percentage of araber blood. So NO they are not all bred for meat and they are NOT all horribly tempered/ badly put together. In fact the majority aren't! Just like All TB's aren't mad, all cobs aren't placid etc
 
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