Haflinger

The HAFLINGER of the southern Austrian Tyrol, and the Avelignese, and the AVELIGNESE is its Italian counterpart, are among the world's most attractive ponies. Although they are considered to be coldbloods, they have a strong basis of eastern blood, both breeds sharing common ancestry in the Arab foundation stallion, El Bedavi. It is also possible that their distant ancestors, horses the East Goths left behind in the Tyrolese valleys, were influenced by eastern stock. Another suggestion is that there may be a connection with an even more ancient European type or even to the old-time Alpine Heavy Horse.

HAFLINGER
The home of the breed is the village of Hafling in the Etschlander Mountains, and the principal stud is in Jenesien. Austria lost the district of Hafling after the First World War, and the breed was re-organized in the Austrian Tyrol; it was kept intact by some outcrosses to Hucul, Bosnian, and Konik ponies (see pp.194-95), and to smaller Noriker horses

There is a biblical quality about the close-knit family founded by its prepotent patriarch, El Bedavi. The stallion was imported from Arabia by an Austrian commission in the 19th century. Four of the breed's five principal bloodlines can be traced to the sons, grandsons, and great-grandsons of his half-bred great-grandson, El Bedavi XXII, bred at the Austro-Hungarian stud at Radautz. The fifth line goes to 40 Willy, the great-grandson of Hafling, who was by 249 Folie, an El Bedavi XXII son. Such uniform ancestry, along with the mountain environment, has resulted in a fixed type of unmistakeable appearance.

The Haflinger is always palomino or chestnut in colour, with a flaxen mane and tail. It stands at up to 1.40 m (13.3 hh), and is strongly built, with well-made limbs, good, sloping shoulders, and the best of feet, although the back, as befits a pony msed for pack purposes, is rather long. An extremely sound pony, the Haflinger has an innate ability to work on the steep mountain slopes while maintaining its long-striding, exceptionally free action.

The mountain climate contributes to the hardiness of the breed, as does the practice of raising young stock on Alpine pastures (which is known as alpung ? "alping"), and the thinner air develops the heart and lungs. The ponies are not put to work until they are four, but it is not unknown for them to be still fit an active at 40 years of age. A docile, frugal breed, which thrives on sparse rations, the Haflinger has a great capacity for hard work under difficult mountain conditions. The breed is used for many agricultural purposes, in draught, and under pack. In modern times it has become popular in many parts of the world as a driving and riding pony, and is often used for work in forestry and woodland. There is a notable Haflinger stud in the UK, which was founded by the Duchess of Devonshire at Chatsworth, Derbyshire. A group of Haflingers were also exported to the Indian Army studs for the purpose of breeding pack animals for use in the mountainous terrain of Jammu and Kashmir. However, on the whole, they did not adapt well to the heat of the plains where the studs are sited.

AVELIGNESE
The Italian version of the Haflinger is the somewhat larger Avelignese, which measure up to 1.50 in (14.3 hh ). It has much the same background as the Haflinger, and the two breeds have a common ancestor in El Bedavi. Bred with great care, particularly in Bolzano and around Tuscany and Venetia, the Avelignese is another mountain horse that is used both in draught and under pack, and is invaluable on the farms where larger animals would have difficulty in working. However, unlike the Haflinger it does not bear the brand mark ofAustria's native flower, the edelweiss, with the letter "H" at its centre.