Haflinger Ancient – Austria – Common

125 HafLINGER ANCIENt – AUSTRIA – COMMON height the chest, with exceptionally with seven of his sons founding Haflinger lines. It was from 13.3–14.3 h.h. strong limbs and feet. Folie that the Haflinger derives its distinctive coloring, appearance color which ranges from chestnut to golden chestnut or palomino, A high-quality head that Varying shades of chestnut reflects its Arabian heritage, with flaxen mane and tail. though during the early years of the breed’s development with a well-proportioned and aptitude other colors such as black did occur, as did the occasional well-set neck. Back is muscular Riding, light draft, packing, dark dorsal stripe. White markings should not be present on and the croup strong and dressage, jumping, competitive sloping. Deep and wide through horse sports, cavalry the legs, but horses can have a white star, snip, blaze, or stripe on the face. These horses were extremely popular in the beautiful and distinctive haflinger developed in the Tirol for their versatility and were highly sought after by ancient times in the picturesque southern Austrian Tirol, local farmers for use in agriculture and the timber industry, specifically around the village of Hafling. This mountainous for packing, and for riding, and were particularly famed for area has a long tradition of horses and is home also to the their sure-footedness, able to traverse their mountainous Noriker horse, which developed slightly to the east. and often treacherous habitat with ease and speed. The Tirolese valleys saw a heavy passage of people and Systematic, organized breeding of the Haflinger truly cultures through the centuries. The descendants of the began in 1921 with the formation of the North Tirolean Ostrogoths brought their small Oriental horses to the area Horse Breeders’ Cooperative. The Haflinger had suffered in the sixth century, and the horses are thought to have during World War I when many of the horses were drafted benefited from the introduction of a stallion brought to the into military use and other valuable breeding stock was area from the kingdom of Burgundy in the fourteenth lost after the Treaty of Saint Germain, signed in 1919, century, but more than these early influences, it was the which resulted in South Tirol—including Hafling, where geography of the area that truly shaped the small horses. many of the best brood mares were—coming under Italian Away from the passes and valleys, the mountainous areas authority. The cooperative established the first studbook provided an isolated habitat in which the horses developed. for the breed in 1926, and consistent selective breeding They are hardy and tough, able to thrive in the extreme with emphasis on quality resulted in its continued cold and to live on sparse rations, while the thin mountain improvement. Added to this, at the end of the 1920s, one air contributed to the Haflinger’s developing a strong heart hundred high-quality Haflinger mares from South Tirol and lungs. Even today young stock is still reared on the were purchased and distributed among the North Tirol Alpine pastures at high altitude, which perpetuates the breeders and those of Upper Austria and Styria. breed’s desirable qualities. The Haflinger stock that remained in South Tirol and is The Haflinger’s character was cemented in the nineteenth found throughout the Italian Alps and Apennines is known century, primarily through Arabian blood. In 1874, Josef as the Avelignese. There is some debate over whether the Folie bred the Oriental stallion 133 El Bedavi XXII to a local Haflinger and Avelignese are the same breed. What is mare, which resulted in an exquisite colt foal later named clear, however, is that these two horses share extremely 249 Folie. The foal was a brilliant golden chestnut with a similar ancestral roots and bear a striking physical flaxen mane and tail and described as being the best similarity to each other. The Avelignese is generally bred to combination of solid native stock with Arabian features. be slightly larger and more draft-like than the Haflinger Folie became the foundation sire of the modern Haflinger, and is still widely used for light agricultural work. sublime power.

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