Love At First Sight?!

Exactly 6 years ago, I saw Hafl for the first time. Back then, I had already bought an OTT Standardbred and was looking for my dream horse - I wanted to have a 2 year old Haflinger stallion. There were only two ads online - as there were no pictures attached, I wrote to both of them. One never wrote back (btw, I do not need a reply anymore). The other one wrote back pretty quickly and send me a picture on request. I still have the picture of this ugly 2 year old duckling. Why is it that 2 year olds look the worst?!

Red beauty?!

Despite his conformation looking a tid bit ugly, ok, let's face it REALLY ugly, I liked his face. So I made an appointment to meet him.

And I fell in love. Right away. There is even people saying: If you want a stable relationship, get a horse. 

That is true! Hafl has been there for me for the last six years, no matter what all the people around me did to me, for me or against me. He did never ask stupid questions and in exchange for treats he listens. And he is simply there, without demanding anything else than treats. There is only a few people in my life that have been so close for so long like he is. He stood by me through boyfriends and family dramas, work problems and the times when I felt worst (well, yeah, some of them were thanks to you, Hafl). And he shared with me some of the most beautiful moments of my life, riding along the beach, winning the first blue ribbon, a super fun hack with a 9km walk back home because I thought he was badly hurt.

Sure, we have our tough times, too, either when there are not enough treats or when he is asked to more than the minimum during a lesson. But still, he is never angry or mean. He is not a very extrovert person but so am I and he would never fall around my neck and hug me to death, but when he shows his affection, it is true and it is such a real feeling.  He taught me things that are even worth a separate blog post and he keeps me going, like to work, every single day. He introduced me to a brand new world and opened up so many new possibilities.

Would I have guessed that it ended up like this when I saw him six years ago? Probably not, but I am more than happy that it went that well - to many more years to come!