[ako]

It's settled... When age or fear or other event forces me off the big ones, I need a haffie or fjord so I can still have fun wandering the backwoods. I hope to be 80, roaming around at a brisk walk on a solid pony! Now that would be a life well lived! Something to look forward to in a few decades...

[saabski]

experience limited to one Haffie (free leased as a young guy for 2 years) and 2 Fjords (1 year each - both free leases on a Therapy horse 'break'. I have a friend with 10 Haffies and each is quite different - build, temperment, skill set - all varied from one individual to the next. That said, the Haffie was 14.3 and 1000 lbs of STUBBORN with the occasional bucking freakout. handsome as they get, but not a good match for me!
The fjords have been GREAT. 1/2 sibs, very smart, very forward when ridden by reasonably knowledgeable riders (kids or adults). Both do a bit of everything ridden (dressage, trails, jumping and the gelding did western pleasure even!)
there are some Fjords who are more 'make me' than others, but both of "mine" have been extremely willing. Add to that they are easy keepers and have great feet? Love 'em!

[saabski]

experience limited to one Haffie (free leased as a young guy for 2 years) and 2 Fjords (1 year each - both free leases on a Therapy horse 'break'.)

I have a friend with 10 Haffies and each is quite different - build, temperment, skill set - all varied from one individual to the next. That said, the Haffie was 14.3 and 1000 lbs of STUBBORN with the occasional bucking freakout. handsome as could be, but not a good match for me!

The fjords have been GREAT. 1/2 sibs, very smart, very forward when ridden by reasonably knowledgeable riders (kids or adults). Both do a bit of everything ridden (dressage, trails, jumping and the gelding did western pleasure even!). Neither is super drafty, but not super fine either. Mare is 13.3 and gelding is 14.3 - both weigh in at just about 1000 lbs. Comfortable gaits and not at all choppy or pony feeling.

there are some Fjords who are more 'make me' than others, but both of "mine" have been extremely willing. Add to that they are easy keepers and have great feet? Love 'em!

[tallyho392]

wow...........love all this input, thanks...........

i DO love my current hafie, lame though she is, so i guess i lean towards what is familiar to me ,since i have never been fortunate enough to encounter a fjord....they are not plentiful around here..and i must say, both of my grade hafie mares were extremely managable for me..........this could be because i had a saddlebred for many years, then an arab , and a morgan (still have).....?
so, guess i will have to locate some fjords within travel distance and see wht they may be like.............i too want to be the "old lady" still puttering about on her trusty steed, so i need to make a good choice

[hundredacres]

I have a small sample too: I own a Haflinger gelding and I have a friend who has one. What they share in common is that they are people oriented and smart, easily trained. And when they are done, they are done and their attitude goes downhill without notice, which is a trait I've never seen in any other horse (personally). I'm not sure if that's a breed trait or a coincidence.

I love looking at mine - he's so dang cute - but coincidentally he's 7 years old and has arthritis in his shoulder (odd because someone mentioned premature arthritis above), so he's a pasture pet. If I had little ones he could be lead line, but I don't .

I've always wanted a Fjord for an all around horse.

[Bookorama]

It's settled... I hope to be 80, roaming around at a brisk walk on a solid pony! Now that would be a life well lived! Something to look forward to in a few decades...

This.

[LilyandBaron]

I have two Haffies in my barn that I've gotten to ride, and we've had two Fjords in the barn before, and we are next door to a Fjord breeding farm (the babies are SOOOO cute!). This area (SW Ohio) had TONS of Haffies, and you see a LOT of them at the dressage shows. I'm used to greenies and OTTBs, so the Haffies are easy peasy. One in our barn is more drafty, and SUPER sweet. He will hug you with his neck, is just a baby doll! The other is more sporthorse/lighter, and totally calm but more pony-tude, for sure. The Fjords seemed more horse-like, and reading other comments, that seems consistent. But they are definitely smaller. I don't think you can really go wrong with a good individual from either breed if you want a reliable, fun horse/pony type to enjoy. I do prefer the look of the Fjords, though. And one of our Haffies has terrible skin problems in the summer. Both got more irritated by flies; not sure if that's a breed thing or not.

[spacytracy]

I have a haffie cross (qh) who displays more of the haffie traits. Tricky little bugger. However, he is so been there, done that, that I can feel comfortable putting him in ANY situation and he's fine. Stubborn at times. But he's my counterpart in terms of riding. I luff him. He's perfect for my needs.

I would get a fjord so I can do that cool heart thing in their mane.

[shiningwizard255]

Really like the look of Fjords but have no experience with them. I've never even seen one in person! But I LOVE haffies -- my favorite breed in fact -- and have worked with a few. Awesome critters. I worked for a therapeutic riding program and a haflinger pulling team of two was donated to us. They were SO willing to learn, and so fun to ride once we worked with them! My dream horse is my own haffie, so my vote is for them.