The Haflinger is a horse breed developed in Austria and northern Italy during the late 19th century. Relatively small and chestnut in color, they were developed for use in mountainous terrain and are known for their hardiness. The breed traces its ancestry to the Middle Ages, and their current conformation and appearance come from infusions of bloodlines from Arabian and various European breeds into the original native Tyrolean ponies. All Haflingers can trace their lineage to a foundation sire born in 1874. The two World Wars and the Great Depression had a detrimental effect on the breed. In the postwar era the Haflinger was indiscriminately crossed with other breeds, but from 1946 breeders focused on producing purebred Haflingers. Interest in the breed increased in other countries, and numbers grew. In 2003 a Haflinger became the first horse to be cloned, resulting in a filly named Prometea. Haflingers have many uses, including light draft, harness work, and various under-saddle disciplines. They are also used by the Austrian and German armies in rough terrain. The World Haflinger Federation, a confederation of 22 national registries, controls breed standards.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haflinger

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1642:

A Dutch expedition led by Abel Tasman reached present-day Tasmania, Australia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abel_Tasman

1859:

On the Origin of Species by British naturalist Charles Darwin was first published, and sold out its initial print run on the first day. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_the_Origin_of_Species

1906:

A local newspaper accused members of two teams of conspiring to deliberately lose games, the first major scandal in American football. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canton_Bulldogs%E2%80%93Massillon_Tigers_betting_scandal

1962:

The influential television programme That Was the Week That Was, a significant element of the British satire boom, was first broadcast. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/That_Was_the_Week_That_Was

1974:

A group of paleoanthropologists discovered a 3.2-million-year- old skeleton of an Australopithecus afarensis in the Afar Depression in Ethiopia, nicknaming it "Lucy" (reconstruction pictured). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucy_(Australopithecus)

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

scriptorium: A room set aside for the copying, writing, or illuminating of manuscripts and records, especially such a room in a monastery. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/scriptorium

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

The safest way for a state is to lay down the rule that religion is comprised solely in the exercise of charity and justice, and that the rights of rulers in sacred, no less than in secular matters, should merely have to do with actions, but that every man should think what he likes and say what he thinks.   --Baruch Spinoza https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Baruch_Spinoza