Behind the Barn Doors

I have been writing about our adventures for more than 1.5 years now. You have heard so much about us, our ups and downs, fun stories, even some videos. But who is Hafl?


Have you ever tried to analyze your horse's personality? That is not too easy as most of the time, we try to project human behavior on them. But still, every horse just like every human has its own personality and there are certain things about your horse that make him or her special. As for dogs, there is research that they look more and more like their owners over time. Tons of pictures on the internet prove that. Still, nothing is said on personality. With horses, look alikes might be less common, but I am a strong believer that there are certain personality similarities between horse and human. I often saw chicken-hearted people having chicken-hearted horses for example. Could it even be that horses and humans become similar over time personality wise?!

Hafl is definitely a strong character. He does not rely on others, he is even haüüy not having too much other horsey contact. He has very few friends, all the others he simply recognizes but at the same time ignores. He likes to be left on his own, maybe he is like me, a little over-thinker.

He is pretty self-confident but not a show off. Only in the ring, he looks taller than he is just because he knows how to present himself. He is pretty easy going, easy to handle and very well-behaved.

On the other hand, he totally is a clown. Whenever he has a chance to show all his tricks for treats, he will do it. No matter if that means that he has to kiss hundreds of kids to make them happy and give him all their treats.

He is rather quiet, seldom screaming for other horses but often times responding to my talking with a little nicker.

Hafl is a hard worker and he feels pretty quickly useless when not worked. He has a five days week and enjoys the time off as well as changing his daily routine to not get bored.

Unlike other Haflingers, he is not really stubborn or mean or whatever you might call it. But he wants clear aids to do what you want. He can do way more than he shows but he thinks the aids are not clear and he is not giving anything for free.

I am pretty sure that no other horse will teach me as much as he did (and still does).