Our niece has one....she loves to ride him
on trails, uphill, downhill, rough country....she says he's very
agile. He has taken to driving in just a few lessons. In the past, we
drove a bit, and our efforts to train certain individuals (Quarter Horses)
met with some untimely wrecks. Driving is far more dangerous, I believe,
than riding. There is nothing between you and Eternity but a few leather
straps, and the control over the horse, if he isn't enjoying what he is doing,
is tentative at best. It's remote control, so to speak, and not as direct
as if you are on his back.
Anyway, it sounds like Haflingers could
do just about anything you asked, providing you made adjustments for the muscle
structure and dense coat.
Haflingers are very versatile horses. You
can check Haflinger Friends a Yahoo group for more info. Several of my
friends have them as riding/dressage horses. There are different 'lines'
of them. Some more drafty than others.
