The Haflinger, also known as the Avelignese, is a breed of horse developed in Austria and northern Italy (namely Hafling in South Tyrol region) during the late 19th century.

Haflinger horses are relatively small, are always chestnut with flaxen mane and tail, have distinctive gaits described as energetic but smooth, and are well-muscled yet elegant.

Their current conformation and appearance are the result of infusions of bloodlines from Arabian and various European breeds into the original native Tyrolean ponies.

During World War II, breeders focused on horses that were shorter and more draft-like, favored by the military for use as packhorses.

[4] The height of the breed has increased since the end of World War II, when it stood an average of 13.3 hands (55 inches, 140 cm).

The legs are clean, with broad, flat knees and powerful hocks showing clear definition of tendons and ligaments.

Significant differences were found in some characteristics, including height and proportions; these have been used to help achieve breeding objectives, especially in Italy during the 1990s.

The first is that Haflingers descend from horses abandoned in the Tyrolean valleys in central Europe by East Goths fleeing from Byzantine troops after the fall of Conza in 555 AD.

These abandoned horses are believed to have been influenced by Oriental bloodlines and may help explain the Arabian physical characteristics seen in the Haflinger.

[19] The Arabian influence was strongly reinforced in the modern Haflinger by the introduction of the stallion El Bedavi,[15] imported to Austria in the 19th century.

[22] By the end of the 19th century Haflingers were common in both South and North Tyrol, and stud farms had been established in Styria, Salzburg and Lower Austria.

[23] In 1904, the Haflinger Breeders' Cooperative was founded in Mölten, in South Tyrol, with the aim of improving breeding procedures, encouraging pure-breeding and establishing a studbook and stallion registry.

Little effort at cooperation was made between breeders in North and South Tyrol, and in the 1920s a new Horse Breeders' Commission was established in Bolzano in Italy, which was given governmental authority to inspect state-owned breeding stallions, register privately owned stallions belonging to Commission members, and give prize money for horse show competition.

This single transaction represented one third of all registered mares in South Tyrol, and many others were sold through private treaty, leaving the two regions comparable in terms of breeding-stock populations.

In 1931, another breeders' cooperative was established in East Tyrol in Austria, and Haflinger breeding spread throughout the entire Tyrolean province.

[27] The Great Depression of the late 1920s and early 1930s dampened horse prices and had an unfavorable effect on Haflinger breeding, but from 1938 onwards markets improved as a result of the buildup for World War II.

All crossbred horses and colts not of breeding quality could be sold to the army, and higher subsidies were given by the government to Haflinger breeders.

[29] During World War II, Haflingers were bred to produce horses that were shorter and more draft-like for use as packhorses by the military.

Breeders continued to emphasize those features necessary for pack horses (the largest use by the military), but neglected other key Haflinger characteristics.

[30] Post-World War II Tyrol, including the breeding center at Zams, was under the control of American forces, who slaughtered many horses to provide meat for hospitals.

[5] At conferences in 1946 and 1947, the decision was made to breed Haflinger horses from pure bloodlines, creating a closed stud book with no new blood being introduced.

[33] In 1954, Yugoslavia and Italy purchased breeding stock from North Tyrol to establish their own Haflinger programs and in 1956 the German Democratic Republic followed suit.

[12] In 1965, the first international Haflinger show was held at Innsbruck, with horses from East and West Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, Switzerland and Austria participating.

A 2007 study found little inbreeding within the Italian Haflinger population as a whole, although certain less popular lines had a higher incidence due to the existence of fewer breeding stallions.

[44] In 2008, Prometea herself gave birth to the first offspring of an equine clone, a colt named Pegaso sired by a Haflinger stallion through artificial insemination.

[51] Today, the breed is used in many activities that include draft and pack work, light harness and combined driving, and many under-saddle events, including western-style horse-show classes, trail and endurance riding, dressage, show jumping, vaulting, and therapeutic riding programs.

[56] In Italy, where horse meat consumption is at the highest among all European Community members, Haflingers provide a large percentage of national production.

[41] A strict system of inspection, started in Austria, has evolved to ensure that only good-quality stock meeting high standards are used for breeding.

Colts must have a dam with a fully purebred pedigree, and are inspected based on hereditary reliability and likely breeding strength, as well as the other qualifications.

Each stallion's registration certification must show a fully purebred pedigree extending back four generations, and records of mares covered, percentages of pregnancies aborted, still-born and live-born, and numbers and genders of foals born.