? about Haflingers

Lothiriel

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Which would be better: Haflinger gelding, Haflinger/Saddlebred cross gelding, or Haflinger mule?

Jobs would be general hauling/pulling, plowing, and occasional riding, living on 3 acres, with a cow/calf pair. We have found all 3 of those on Craigslist, but are unsure which would be better suited for us.

The Haflinger cross gelding (2 years) is green broke, hasn't been trained with pulling/driving/etc. The Haflinger mule (5 years) has been trained to ride/drive. The Haflinger gelding (9 years) has been trained to ride/drive as well.

Any opinions?
 

Dreaming Of Goats

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The best for your personal situation is the haflinger mule IMO, however I just couldn't see him being that pretty... So I would probably go with the pure haflinger because he's also older and probably better trained.
 

Lothiriel

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Thanks! The "funny" thing is the only person who has responded about them is the one with the pure gelding. We are going out tomorrow morning to look at him and get a little further in our decision.

I've been doing research about what to look for -- read the American Haflinger Registry page on breed standards and a couple other sites. I'll let you all know how things go!
 

Dreaming Of Goats

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Lothiriel said:
Thanks! The "funny" thing is the only person who has responded about them is the one with the pure gelding. We are going out tomorrow morning to look at him and get a little further in our decision.

I've been doing research about what to look for -- read the American Haflinger Registry page on breed standards and a couple other sites. I'll let you all know how things go!
Awesome! My friend owns a little haffy mare that she uses for english pleasure and jumping. They're really cute :)
 

DKRabbitry

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IMO, any of them could work for what you want. Question is, which one do you click with and are you able to handle the easiest? The 2 year old should have more time to mature physically before putting it to strenuous work like pulling. Sure you can start training it, but horses don't fully develop untill more towards 4 years. I wouldn't put anything to heavy work untill then personally. Also, throwing Saddlebred in there could make the horse more narrow and dainty and not quite as able for heavy pulling as the purebred or the mule.4

The mule will probably be more sure-footed, but they think a bit different than horses from my understanding. I have never worked with one, or even a donkey, but I hear it is just different. Some folks don't like it, others love it. A personal preference thing. Same goes for it being "pretty". I have seen some pretty attractive mules in my day, and some pretty ugly horses. Just depends on the individual and personal preference.

As far as age making it calmer or better trained, that is also a coin toss. I have ridden 20 year old horses that are harder to handle than some 4 year olds, just depends on the individual, how they were trained, and how often they are worked. If it were me, I would go check out all your options and pick the one that fits you and what you want the best. Don't be affraid to pass up on something if there is any doubt it is what you are looking for. A lot less headache in the long run.

Do let us know how the test-run goes :)
 

Lothiriel

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Ok.... Is it enough to say.... :love

This boy, Andy is beautiful! We don't know a lot about horses, but it is very obvious that he's very healthy and has been well cared for. Shiny smooth coat, not too short or too long, clear bright eyes and no discharges. I saw his teeth, but I know nothing about horse teeth, and we didn't think to ask about dental care. He's not that much taller at the withers than our cow -- the thing to get used to is his neck and head... Cows are short necked... :p So his size was not intimidating. From what I could tell (remember, 1 year of riding experience when I was 7...) he had very nice conformation, good hooves, nicely formed legs, not fat, well muscled. He was super friendly and very sweet, his owner said he's a big baby. Not to mention the price.... The man is asking $650 for him. He's 9 years old, trained for riding, driving and pulling.

We have a friend who's had horses for 19 years, so we are going out again on Saturday with her, and see what she says. She was looking at his pictures and said that from what they showed he's a really good horse.

Here are the pictures I got. I couldn't get one that showed his back legs while he was standing straight... But I think they were pretty good -- I don't think he was standing under and they weren't out behind him. (It was cold!!!)

What do you all think? (For perspective, my dad is 6', my sister is 5'7", and I'm 5'2".)

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Forefeet:
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Hindfeet (when he was younger he got cut on wire and that's the lump in his white hoof. He doesn't limp or favor that foot though):
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Karma

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I think he looks nice. I really like Halfingers and he seems like a good size to do what you want. Did you ride him yet? I'd make sure you do that before buying. I'd want to see him in harness as well since that sounds like your main purpose. I'd also ask if you can watch him being tacked, I like to do it so I can see their manners standing while tied and make sure they are not fighting taking the bit. I also lift all their feet and make sure they will do that easily.

The old leg injury makes me nervous, I know you say he doesn't favor it, but leg injuries can be odd like that not showing up until after being worked. I've seen too many horses off the track with leg injuries who appeared fine until ridden or worked. I'd probably take a vet out and have it looked over. The cost of a purchase exam is annoying I know but when you factor in the amount of feed you'd be using to keep a lame horse, vet bills, or corrective shoeing, it definitely becomes worth the cost to be certain.
 

Lothiriel

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Excellent points, Karma. We are going to try riding on Saturday -- I don't know if the owner has any tack other than a halter (definitely no traces), so if he doesn't have a saddle we're going to try bareback. (It shouldn't be too hard to stay on his back... right?? :hide) Our friend is bringing her lunge line to try him out with that. She did say that horses don't forget much, so if he's been in harness with all the traces and lines he would remember when he gets put back in. We did lift his forefeet and he was good about it -- didn't do the back feet, but our friend told us those are really important since they're harder. We'll have to do that Saturday.

We were just talking about taking a vet out actually. That's part of my mom's concern: We don't want a horse that can't earn his keep, especially with the amount of $$ this whole thing is going to cost. That and she seems to think we will all get tired of him eventually and not want him. Not gonna happen. My sister and I have a serious mind set about animals we get. We choose to get it, we keep it until it dies or needs to be put down. (Unless the animal in question is a pig or beef steer.)
 

Horsiezz

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I would go with that gelding.. he looks like hes in great working condition and the price is VERY good! I honestly wouldnt worry much about the scars... Ive run into tons of horses with scars just like that, that are worked just as hard as other horses and havent been lame a day in their life. Theres a 16 year old Quarab at my barn that has an old scar from wire in the same spot as this haffie and it doesnt bother him a bit, as well as a few other horses at my barn that have it. Its merely cosmetic but if you're really concerned then get a vet out! I wouldnt think he would be lame after working when this happened when he was younger and hes already well trained to ride/drive/pull etc. but you never know for sure... and people lie! So make sure you ride him before purchasing.

I just saw a ride/drive haflinger gelding that looked just like this gelding go for $875 at an auction last week! Snatch that boy up because they are very much wanted in my area of Ohio... And hes already trained and ready to do the job! You want to go with a horse that already knows what hes doing since you don't know much about horses.

Best of luck to you on your search... haflingers are a very nice breed!
 

Lothiriel

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Thought I'd update...

Last week we went back to look at the gelding and just check things over once more. A good horse-knowledgable friend went with my sister and I so that we could see what she thought and learn some helpful know-hows ourselves.

Her opinion: Andy (the Haflinger gelding) is a very friendly, gentle, eager-to-please boy. However, he needs ALOT of training, as he knows basically nothing and has no manners, since he's been running wild with very little human interaction for 2 years. She said seeing as we know very little about training and need to be trained ourselves it probably would be wisest not to go with this horse who has no training at all.

She checked his teeth to confirm his age and turns out he is 6, not 9. Lois, (our friend) asked if the man had papers for the gelding. He does. The horse was sold at an auction in '09. Therefore, since he was only 3 when he was sold, he possibly had only a smattering of training, if any.

Training and age aside, Lois was/is mainly concerned over his left hind hoof. This is the one with the lumpy scar on the pastern. Every time she slid her hand down to lift his hoof he'd whip it up close to his belly and then slowly lower it. He seemed very sensitive. Lois said there could be two possibilities: 1) there is a real problem and the vet needs to examine or 2) he has a trust/fear issue with this hoof due to the injury. Either way, the only way to find the answer is to have the vet out.

Lois also pointed out that his shoulders are too straight - a problem which would make riding him very painful - and that his back legs were toed-in. Not too much, just enough to notice.

So it was good to have another person out there with us. My sister and I learned things we wouldn't have known otherwise, which will prove helpful in other horses we might look at. Yes, I must admit that I do feel bad about not getting Andy because he is so sweet and gentle and beautiful; but there are the issues of his foot, shoulder and training to consider as well. I don't want to end up with a lame horse, or a horse that will founder in several years when I want to work him. As for the training, I must admit part of me wonders how hard can it be to train a horse. But none of us have any experience with it, so I'd rather be safe than sorry as the old saying goes. And when I don't know what I'm doing it's better to have some experience under my belt beforehand, and continue searching than make a mistake now and regret it.

Speaking of getting some training myself in this area, we found a local farm about 20 minutes away that uses teams of draft horses for all the farmwork - plowing, haying, etc. So we called the owners to ask some questions and after talking to them they offered to teach us how to harness, hitch and drive either a double or single team, as well as learn how to care for them, plow, etc. They also said that if we're really interested and serious about it they'd help us locate an already trained draft animal. So we went out there on Wednesday and harnessed up one of their Percherons, and then unharnessed. It was one of the most amazing experiences ever! We are both thrilled! They invited us to come back any time and help with their field work when the ground is ready, and they'll teach us to drive then.

So the search continues, for a Haflinger, draft pony, mule, or even (everyone in the house is secretly hoping for) a Gypsy Vanner.
 
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