>>>>>> ah yes, marketspeak :)<<<<< >>Sounds similar to the icelandic marketspeak :) Lots of the same qualities are noted.
I've seen demos for lots of what I call "breeds du jour" as different breeds have become the "next new thing" in our area. Honestly, the marketspeak for MOST breeds sounds the same to me. (Just like all dog breeds are "intelligent, loving, gentle and great with kids", right?) I was VERY skeptical that Icelandic's would be different, but Sina and Anneliese (and her other horses) made a believer of me. :) Seriously, I'd been e-mailing Anneliese for a few months (after my injury) and had realized my recovery was going well, and had given up on pursuing buying one. I would have never made that fateful trip to KY, had she not sold two to the woman (now a great friend) who lives about 20 miles from me. We went to see her horses locally, and then even Cary wanted to go see more. >>> Both breeds, Icelandics and Haflingers, were brought to the US around the same period of time. Haflingers now have over 17,000 registered in the US and Icelandics have 1800 registered. So why the big difference in numbers? Haflingers have been noticeable in this area for maybe 10-15 years now. Every time I've seen Haflingers in demo, they've been shown as sane, versatile horses, doing some light dressage, jumping (low jumps - not show jumping 5-foot), driving, trail obstacles, you name it...just normal stuff that people I know like to do. I've never seen Haflingers shown zooming around a track like maniacs. There WAS a period where a few "imported" Austrian trainers were in the area, micromanaging the training of the breed, but honestly, I haven't heard of that lately. They seem to be integrated into the horse world here, at least as far as I can tell. That said, there are some fairly hot, not-so-sensible Haflingers in our area. My understanding is that the breed was virtually wiped out after WWII so cross-breeding was required. I believe that Arabs were used as part of the rebuilding. Now, of course, I don't think ALL Arabs are hot and crazy - we own a pretty sane one - but I suspect that's where some of the hotness may have come in. I'm not a Haflinger historian, though, so don't trust my word on this topic. :) Karen Thomas [EMAIL PROTECTED]
