Arabian horse
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Zobeyni, Arabian stallion, foaled 1844 |
The
Arabian horse is a breed of
horse with a reputation for intelligence, high spirit, and outstanding stamina. It is one of the oldest breeds, with ancestry dating to the ancient world.
Arabian bloodlines can be found in the ancestry of almost every modern breed of riding horse. Because of the genetic purity and prepotency of the desert-bred Arabian horse, it has played a part in the development of most recognized light horse breeds, including the
Andalusian,
Lusitano,
Thoroughbred,
American Quarter Horse,
Morgan,
American Saddlebred,
Appaloosa and many of the
Warmblood breeds such as the
Oldenburg and the
Trakehner. Arabian bloodlines have also influenced the development of the
Welsh Pony and the
Percheron draft horse.
Today, breeders cross Arabians on many other breeds to add refinement, endurance and soundness. These "Half-Arabians" can be registered in their own registry within the Arabian Horse Association, which includes a special section for
Anglo-Arabians, an Arabian-Thoroughbred cross. Some crosses originally registered only as Half-Arabians have become popular enough to have their own breed registry outside of the Arabian Horse Association, including the
National Show Horse, an Arabian-Saddlebred cross; the
Quarab (Arabian-Quarter Horse); the
Welara (Arabian-Welsh Pony); and the
Morab (Arabian-Morgan). In addition, there have been both Arabians and Half Arabians approved for registration by some of the
Warmblood registries. Half-Arabians of particular colors can also be double-registered in certain color breed registries, such as the
palomino and
pinto horse registries.
There is a current movement to develop yet another new breed of horse based on Arabian blood, called the "Renai" Horse (short for "Renaissance"). This is a cross of Arabian blood on Warmblood, Andalusian, Saddlebred, Dutch Harness, and other heavier breeds of sport or action-oriented horses.
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High tail carriage is characteristic of the Arabian horse |
With a distinctively chiseled head and high tail carriage, the Arabian is one of the most easily recognizable horse breeds in the world.
Conformation
Arabian horses have refined, wedge-shaped heads, with a broad forehead, large eyes, large nostrils and small, refined muzzles. Most display a distinctive profile that is concave, sometimes referred to as "dished." Many Arabians also have a slight bulge between their eyes, called the "jibbah" by the
Bedouin, that added additional sinus capacity to help the Arabian horse cope with its native dry desert climate.
High-quality Arabians also have an arched neck with a large, well-set windpipe set on a fine clean throatlatch, which helps the horse breathe easily and allows greater endurance. The refined structure of the poll and throatlatch was called the "mitbah" by the Bedouin, and in the best Arabians is long and somewhat straight, allowing flexibility in the bridle and ample room for the windpipe.
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This Arabian stallion exhibits the breed's "dish-faced" profile, arched neck and high-carried tail. foto: Hanka Čertík |
Another breed characteristic is a compact body with a short back. Many, though not all, Arabians have 5
lumbar vertebrae instead of the usual 6.
[ Edwards, Gladys Brown. The Arabian: War Horse to Show Horse. Arabian Horse Trust of America; 3rd rev. ed edition (1980).] Thus, in spite of their smaller size, Arabians can carry a heavy rider with ease. Other distinctive features are a relatively long, level croup and naturally high tail carriage.
Size
Arabians are not large horses. The breed standard as stated by the
United States Equestrian Federation describes the Arabians as standing between 14.1 and 15.1
hands tall, "with the occasional individual over or under."
[ United States Equestrian Federation ] Because many horse owners prefer larger animals, the Arabian has been bred for increased height, and many Arabians today are over 15 hands. However, they are always referred to as horses, not ponies, whatever their height.
Other characteristics
All Arabians, regardless of coat color, have black skin, except under some white markings. Black skin provided natural protection under the hot desert sun. They also are generally very sound horses, with dense, strong bone, sound feet, and good hoof walls.
Arabian horses are noted for endurance. Their free-flowing movement allows them to cover ground easily and conserve energy. The best animals have natural balance and impulsion, with nimbleness that allows them to make sudden moves at high speed. These qualities were originally essential in a desert warhorse, and today are seen in various competitive disciplines.
Temperament
For centuries, Arabian horses lived in the desert in close association with humans. Prized war
mares were sometimes kept in the family tent, along with small children. Because only horses with a naturally good disposition were allowed to breed on, Arabians today are one of the few breeds where the
United States Equestrian Federation allows children to exhibit stallions in show ring classes limited to riders under 18.
Most Arabians are intelligent, alert animals, attuned to their surroundings. They are sensitive, quick to learn and, when handled without abuse, willing to please humans. This is both a strength and weakness of the breed, requiring human handlers who understand the needs of the animal and do not resort to brutality or mindless repetition in training.
On the other hand, the Arabian is also classified as a "hot-blooded" breed, a category that includes refined, sprited horses bred for speed, such as the
Thoroughbred. Some people consider Arabians difficult to manage, but in many cases, poor behavior is the result of improper handling on the part of humans. When treated badly, Arabians can become excessively nervous or anxious, though seldom become vicious unless seriously spoiled or subjected to extreme abuse. Unfortunately, some fads and show ring practices that emphasize the flash and spirit of the Arabian horse over its disposition and soundness have increased the reputation of the Arabian as a high-strung animal, and thus given the breed a poor public image.
Colors
see also equine coat color genetics.The Arabian Horse Association recognizes purebred horses with the coat colors
bay,
gray,
chestnut, black and
roan.
Although many Arabians appear "white," this is the natural action of the
gray gene. Gray horses are born bay, black or chestnut, then get progressively lighter as they age, until their hair coat eventually turns pure white or becomes "flea-bitten." Their skin is black and remains so throughout their life. Therefore, all "white" Arabians are actually grays.
Black Arabians are somewhat rare. One reason is that the black gene is genetically suppressed by the more dominant
Agouti gene that creates the black points of a
bay horse. Some breeding farms now use
DNA testing to breed black Arabians.
Purebred Arabians never carry the
dun gene, nor the
cremello and perlino dilution genes found in many so-called "
creme" horses, nor do they carry the dominant "W" gene that produces a true
white horse. Thus, they also never any "lethal white" genes. (No living horse of any breed can be a true
Albino, it is a lethal gene.) Because they do not carry any dilution genes, purebred Arabians are also never
palomino or
buckskin. They also do not possess genes for any spotting patterns, such as
pinto or
appaloosa, with the exception of the
sabino gene (or gene-complex.) Therefore, people sometimes crossbreed to produce half-Arabians with spotted, dun or dilute colors.
While most breeders agree with the adage, "a good horse is never a bad color," scholars of the Arabian horse have heated debates over the cultural value the Bedouin placed upon various colors. For example, there is debate over whether the Bedouin considered black Arabians to be a bad omen or a rare treasure. Another debate surrounds white spotting patterns, which were thought by some to be a sign of "impure" blood. Until the development of DNA testing to verify parentage, an Arabian foal with blatant body spots or excessive white markings could not be registered. But it is now known that the Sabino color pattern does exist in purebred Arabians. (Sabino refers to "high white," small body spots, and possibly roaning over an underlying dark color, and should not be confused with a "
flea-bitten" gray, which is a gray horse whose white hair coat also contains small red flecks.) It is also said that a particular type of heavily flea-bitten
gray, known as a "bloody-shouldered" horse, was particularly prized by the Bedouin as a superior animal, particularly if a mare.
There is scientific debate over whether
roan Arabians actually exist. There are few Arabians registered as "roan," and fewer, if any, have been DNA tested for the roan gene. Some
geneticists suggest that roaning patterns on purebred Arabians are actually the action of the sabino or the
rabicano genes. Also, some people confuse a young grey horse with a roan because of the intermixed hair colors common to both. However, a roan does not change color with age, while a gray does.
Arabian horses are both honored and plagued by romantic legends. The most popular are those told about their origins.
One creation myth describes how prophet
Muhammad selected the foundation mares of the Arabian breed
["The Five Favourite horses of the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH)"]. It is said that after a long journey through the desert, Muhammad turned his herd of horses loose to race to an oasis for a desperately-needed drink of water. Before the herd reached the water, he blew his horn, summoning the animals to return to him. Only five mares responded. Because they possessed the loyalty and courage to turn away from the water and return to their master, these mares became favorites of
Muhammad and were called
Al Khamsa, meaning,
the five. Each of these five loyal mares was said to be the foundation for the five primary Bedouin bloodlines of the Arabian horse.
Another version attributes the story of the five loyal mares to King
Solomon.
Yet another creation myth puts the origin of the Arabian in the time of
Ishmael, the son of
Abraham. It is said the Angel
Jibril (also known as
Gabriel) descended from Heaven to Earth and awakened Ishmael when a "wind-spout" whirled toward him and scorched the sand with its feet. The Angel commanded the thundercloud to stop scattering dust and rain. The rain that gathered developed into a prancing, handsome creature that seemed to swallow up the ground. Hence, the Bedouins bestowed the name "Drinker of the Wind" to the first Arabian horse, whose name was
Kuhaylah.["The Legend of the Kuhaylan Strain," originally published in "The Kuhaylat," Volume 1, 1990] Another
Bedouin story declares that it was actually
Allah who created the Arabian horse from the south wind, saying, "I create thee, Oh Arabian. To thy forelock, I bind Victory in battle. On thy back, I set a rich spoil and a Treasure in thy loins. I establish thee as one of the Glories of the Earth... I give thee flight without wings." Other versions of the story claim
Allah said: "I call you Horse; I make you Arabian and I give you the chestnut color of the ant; I have hung happiness from the forelock which hangs between your eyes; you shall be the Lord of the other animals. Men shall follow you wherever you go; you shall be as good for flight as for pursuit; riches shall be on your back and fortune shall come through your meditation."
Arabians are one of the oldest breeds, if not
the oldest breed, in the world. Horses with
oriental characteristics similar to the modern Arabian
horse appeared in rock paintings and inscriptions in the
Arabian Peninsula as far back as 2,500 B.C.
[ "Preserving the Arabian Horse in its Ancestral Land" Saudi Arabia Magazine Spring, 1997] Likewise, horses with refined heads and high-carried tails were depicted in artwork throughout the
Ancient Near East.
Desert origins
There are different theories about where the wild ancestor of the Arabian horse originally lived. Some suggest the horse came from the area along the northern edge of the Fertile Crescent. Others argue for the southwestern corner of Arabia, where three now-dry riverbeds in this area suggest good natural pastures existed long ago.
["Arabian" Web Page, accessed May 15, 2006.]The Arabian prototype was originally tamed by the tribes of the Arabian peninsula known today as the
Bedouin, probably
domesticated ["Domestication" ] shortly after the Bedouin learned to use the
camel.
["Origin of the Arabian Horse." ] [Lumpkin, Susan "Camels: Of Service and Survival"Zoogoer September/October 1999.] Gladys Brown Edwards, a noted scholar of the Arabian horse, theorized that the Arabian came from a separate subspecies of horse,
Equus agillis.
However, other scholars believe that the "dry" oriental horse of the desert from which the modern Arabian developed was one of four basic subtypes of
Equus caballus that developed specific characteristics based on the environments in which they lived.
[Bennett, Deb. Conquerors: The Roots of New World Horsemanship. Amigo Publications Inc; 1st edition 1998. ISBN 0965853306] Other oriental-type breeds with similar physical characteristics include the
Barb of North Africa and the
Akhal-Teke of western Asia.
The desert environment produced a horse that had to cooperate with humans to survive. Weak individuals were weeded out of the breeding pool, and the animals that remained were honed by centuries of human warfare.
Likewise, humans needed horses: Arabians were bred by the nomadic
Bedouin people as a warhorse with speed, endurance, soundness, and intelligence. A good disposition was also critical; prized war mares were often brought inside family tents to prevent theft or for protection from predators. The desert horse needed to thrive on very little food, and possess anatomical traits to compensate for life in a dry climate with temperature extremes from day to night. Though appearance alone was not a survival factor, the Bedouin prized refinement and beauty in their horses and bred for it as well as for more practical features.
As the Arabian horse developed, the Bedouin began to carefully track the ancestry of each horse through an oral history tradition. The first written pedigrees in the middle east that specifically used the term "Arabian" date to 1330 A.D.
[ Lewis, Barbara S. "Egyptian Arabians: The Mystique Unfolded" The Pyramid Society, web page, accessed May 10, 2006] Horses of the purest blood were known as
Asil and crossbreeding with non-
Asil horses was forbidden.
Mares were the most valued, both for riding and breeding, and pedigree families were traced through the female line. The Bedouin did not believe in
gelding male horses, thus most
stallions were sold to city-dwellers.
Over time, the Bedouin developed several sub-types, or strains of Arabian horse, each with unique characteristics. According to the Arabian Horse Association, the five primary strains were known as the Keheilan, Seglawi, Abeyan, Hamdani and Hadban. There were also several lesser strains and sub-strains and some regional variations in names. Many Arabian horses were not only
Asil, of pure blood, but also bred to be pure in strain as well, with crossbreeding between strains discouraged, though not forbidden, by some tribes.
[Arabian Horse Association. "Horse of the Desert Bedouin". Retrieved April 25, 2006.]This complex web of bloodline and strain was an integral part of Bedouin culture. Tribes people knew the pedigrees and history of the best war mares as well as their own family or tribal history.
The Arabian horse in the ancient world
Fiery warhorses with dished faces and high-carried tails were popular artistic subjects in
Ancient Egypt and
Mesopotamia, often depicted pulling chariots in war or for hunting. Horses with oriental characteristics appear in artwork as far north as that of
Ancient Greece and the
Roman Empire.
Bucephalus, the high-spirited war horse of
Alexander the Great may have been an Arabian, though this claim is disputed.
Arabian horses in the Islamic world
Following the
Hegira or
Hijra in A.D. 622, the Arabian horse became intertwined with the history of
Islam. Around A.D. 630,
Muslim influence had begun to expand across the
Middle East and
North Africa. By 711, Muslim warriors had reached
Spain, and controlled most of the
Iberian peninsula by 720. The mounts of these Islamic invaders were of various oriental types, including Arabians and Barbs. The invaders' horses, crossed on heavier European breeds, created the
Andalusian and other Iberian horses. The
Conquistadors brought their Iberian horses, Arabians, and Barbs with them when they came to the "
New World" of the
Americas.
Muslim invaders reached as far north as
France, where they were stopped by
Charles Martel at the
Battle of Tours in 732. Arabian and other oriental horses captured in the wake of this defeat were crossed with local horses, adding agility to the heavier animals, and leading to the development of the
Percheron breed. The
Ottoman Empire rose in 1299, and came to control much of the
Middle East, though it never fully dominated the heart of the
Arabian Peninsula. Nonetheless, this
Turkish empire obtained many Arabian horses through trade and war, and through the Ottomans, many of these horses found their way to
Europe.
Arabian horses in Europe
Muslim invasions were not the only source of Arabians in Europe. During the
Crusades, beginning in 1095, European armies invaded
Palestine and many returned home with Arabian horses as spoils of war.
Beginning in the 15th century, the development of firearms made
Knights and the heavy, armored
war horses who carried them obsolete. Arabians were used to develop faster, agile cavalry horses that were used on battlefields into the 20th century.
One major infusion of Arabian horses into Europe occurred in 1522 when the
Ottoman Turks sent 300,000 horsemen into
Hungary. Many Turks were mounted on pure-blooded Arabians captured during raids into Arabia. By 1529, the Ottomans had reached
Vienna, where they were stopped by the Polish and Hungarian armies, who captured Arabians from the defeated Ottoman cavalry. These horses provided foundation stock for the major studs of eastern Europe.
[ Harrigan, Peter. "The Polish Quest For Arabian Horses" Saudi Aramco World November/December 2001] |
Eustachy Sanguszko (1768-1844), as painted by Juliusz Kossak |
The stamina and agility of horses with Arabian blood gave an enormous military advantage to any cavalry who possessed them. Thus, many European monarchs began to support large breeding establishments that crossed Arabians on local stock. One example was the Imperial Russian Stud of
Peter the Great, and another was Knyszyna, the royal stud of Polish king
Zygmunt II August.
Royal support led European horse breeders to seek out additional Arabian stock directly from the desert. Notable imports from Arabia included those of Prince Hieronymous
Sanguszko (1743-1812) of Poland. Count Alexey
Orlov of Russia also obtained many Arabians, including Smetanka, an Arabian stallion who was a foundation sire of the Orlov Trotter.
[ "History of the Russian Arabian", accessed May 9, 2006] Orlov also provided Arabian horses to
Catherine the Great, who in 1772 owned 12 pure Arabian stallions and 10 mares.
Many more Arabian breeding operations were established. The
Babolna Stud of Hungary was set up in 1789. By 1850, major Arabian studs included Weil in Germany; Antoniny, owned by the Polish Count
Potocki (who had married into the Sanguszko family), and Poland's first state-run Arabian stud farm,
Janow Podlaski, established by the decree of
Alexander I of Russia. Arabians were also introduced into European racehorse breeding, most notably via the
Darley Arabian,
Byerly Turk, and
Godolphin Arabian, the three foundation stallions of the modern
Thoroughbred breed, who were brought to England in the 1700s.
The rise of the modern Arabian
Perhaps the most famous of all Arabian breeding operations founded in Europe, with the most profound impact on the modern Arabian horse, was the
Crabbet Park Stud of England.
[ "Crabbet Arabians"]Wilfrid Scawen Blunt and
Lady Anne Blunt journeyed to
Egypt, the
Nejd, and throughout the Middle East starting in 1877, importing the best Arabians they could find to England. Lady Anne simultaneously maintained the Sheykh Obeyd stud farm in Egypt, exporting the best stock to Crabbet Park. Upon Lady Anne's death in 1917, the Blunt's daughter and heir, Judith,
Lady Wentworth, ran the Crabbet Stud, exporting Arabian horses worldwide. Upon Lady Wentworth's death in 1957, the stud passed to her manager, Cecil Covey, who ran Crabbet until 1971, when a freeway was cut through the property, forcing the sale of the land and dispersal of the horses.
Arabians in Modern Egypt
The government of
Egypt formed the Royal Agricultural Society in 1908.
["Egyptian Arabians"] Other than a group of horses purchased by Henry
Babson for importation to the United States in the 1930's, relatively few Egyptian-bred Arabian horses were exported until the overthrow of
King Farouk I in 1952. Then, in the 1950s and 1960s, more Arabian horses were exported, notably to the former
Soviet Union, then an ally of Egyptian president
Gamal Abdel Nasser. The Egyptians also sold some Arabian horses to breeders in Germany and the United States. Egyptian-bred Arabians were exported in increasing numbers to the west following the death of Nasser in 1970. Today, the designation "Straight Egyptian" is very popular with some Arabian breeders, and the distinct look of the Egyptian-bred Arabian is an
outcross used to add refinement in some breeding programs.
20th Century Warfare and its impact on the Arabian
Following the end of
World War I and the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, the historic European stud farms that survived the war re-established their breeding operations and added to their studs with new imports of desert-bred Arabian horses. Notable among these was the Janow Podlaski Stud of Poland, the Veruga Stud of Spain, and the Tersk Stud of the then-
Soviet Union.
World War II also had a devastating impact on horse breeding throughout Europe, though studs such as Crabbet Park and Janow Podlaski survived. In addition, both the Soviet Union (now
Russia) as well as the United States obtained valuable Arabian bloodlines as spoils of war, which they used to strengthened their breeding programs at the Soviet Union's Tersk Stud, and the Kellogg U.S. Army Remount station, the former
W.K. Kellogg Ranch in California.
In the postwar era, nations such as
Spain,
The Netherlands,
Sweden and
Germany developed or re-established many well-respected Arabian stud farms. Poland and Russia became particularly world-renowned for their quality Arabian horses, which were tested rigorously by racing and other performance standards.
Arabians in the Post-Cold War Era
While only a few Arabians were exported from behind the
Iron Curtain during the
Cold War, the horses who did come to the west caught the eye of breeders worldwide. Steadily improving relations between eastern Europe and the west led to increased imports of Polish and Russian-bred Arabian horses to western Europe and the United States in the 1970s and 1980s. The collapse of the former Soviet Union in 1989, greater political stability in Egypt, and the rise of the
European Union all contributed to an international trade in Arabian horses. The increased sophistication of organizations such as the World Arabian Horse Association (WAHO) created consistent standards for transferring the registration of Arabian horses between different nations. Thus today, it is much easier for Arabian horses to be traded all over the world.
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Coronado Sets out to the North. Frederic Remington, 1861-1909. |
The first horses in the American mainland since the end of the
Ice Age arrived with the Spanish
Conquistadors.
Hernán Cortés brought 16 Andalusian and Arabian horses with him to
Mexico in 1519. Others followed, such as
Francisco Vásquez de Coronado, who brought 250 horses to America in 1540. Many horses escaped, becoming the foundation stock of the
Mustang. American colonists from England also brought horses of Arabian breeding to the eastern seaboard, such as Nathaniel Harrison, who imported a horse of Arabian, Barb and Turkish ancestry to America in 1747.
[ Green, Betty Patchin and Susann Heidrich. "The Arabian Horse in America" Saudi Aramco World, March/April 1986.] |
Washington Taking Control of the American Army, at Cambridge, Mass. July 1775. Copy of lithograph by Currier & Ives, 1876. |
George Washington rode a gray horse during the
Revolutionary War that was a half-Arabian. The horse was sired by the stallion Ranger, also known as Lindsay's Arabian, said to have been obtained from the Sultan of Morocco. Other Presidents are linked to ownership of Arabian horses. In 1840, President
Martin Van Buren received two Arabians from the Sultan of Oman, and in 1877, President
Ulysses S. Grant obtained two Arabian stallions, Leopard and Linden Tree, as diplomatic gifts from the Sultan of Turkey.
A. Keene Richard was the first American to specifically breed Arabian horses. He traveled to the desert in 1853 and 1856 to obtain Arabians for breeding stock. Unfortunately, his horses were lost during the
Civil War and have no known descendants today.
Leopard is the only one of the early Arabian imports who left purebred descendants in America. Randolph Huntington imported the desert-bred Arabian mare *Naomi in 1888, and bred her to Leopard, producing Leopard's only purebred Arabian son, Anazeh. Anazeh sired eight purebred Arabian foals, and four of them still appear in pedigrees today.
[Bell, Becky. "Arabian Horse History", accessed May 15, 2006. ] Leopard is also considered a foundation sire in the
Appaloosa breed.
["History of the Spotted Horse." --Contains a discussion of Arabian influences on the Appaloosa Breed]In 1893, the
World Fair in
Chicago exhibited 45 Arabian horses, some of whom remained in the United States. Breeders in America became interested in these Arabians and traveled abroad to obtain more. As a result, the Arabian Horse Registry of America was established in 1908, recording 71 animals. By 1994, the number had reached half a million. There are now more Arabians registered in North America than in the rest of the world put together.
Major Arabian importations to the United States from the Middle East and from European studs were made by breeders such as
Homer Davenport and Peter Hingham of the Hingham Stock Farm, who purchased several stallions and mares directly from the Bedouin tribes and imported them to America in 1906; Spencer Borden of the Interlachen Stud, who made several importations between 1898 and 1911; and W.R. Brown of the Maynesboro Stud, who had a particular interest in the Arabian as a cavalry mount and imported many Arabians starting in 1918. Another wave of imports came in the 1920s and 30s when breeders such as
W.K. Kellogg, Henry Babson, Roger Selby, James Draper, and others imported Arabian bloodstock from Crabbet Park Stud in England, as well as from Poland, Spain and Egypt. Several Arabians, mostly of Polish breeding, were captured from
Nazi Germany and imported to the U.S.A. following
World War II. As the tensions of the
Cold War eased, more Arabians were imported to America from Poland. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, as political issues were resolved surrounding import regulations and the recognition of stud books, Arabian horses were also imported in greater numbers from Spain and Russia.
In the 1980s, popularity of the Arabian horse soared to unsustainable heights. Arabian horses became a popular status symbol for celebrities and other wealthy people, many of whom were inexperienced with horses and considered them "living art." Prices skyrocketed, especially in the United States, including a record-setting public auction price for a mare named NH Love Potion, who sold for $2.55 million in 1984, and the largest syndication in history for an Arabian stallion, *Padron, at $11,000,000. This led to over-breeding and
inbreeding of the Arabian, especially an ultra-refined type that sometimes was not even trained for riding. When tax laws related to the horse industry changed in 1986, drastically curtailing the ability of horse farms to be used as tax shelters, the Arabian market was particularly vulnerable due to over-saturation and artificially inflated prices, and thus the market collapsed, forcing many breeders into bankruptcy. The Arabian market recovered slowly, with modern breeders moving away from producing "living art" towards a quieter, athletic horse, producing horses suitable for amateur owners in many different riding disciplines.
The Arabian is among the top ten most popular
horse breeds in the world, found in nations including the
United States and
Canada, the
United Kingdom,
Australia, throughout
Europe and the
Middle East. Arabians today are also found in
South America where they have become particularly popular in rapidly-developing nations such as
Brazil.
Arabian horses are no longer classified by strain, but instead are informally classified by the nation of origin of famed horses in a given pedigree. Popular types of Arabians are labeled "Polish," "Spanish," "Crabbet," "Russian," "Egyptian" and "Domestic" (describing horses whose ancestors were imported to the United States prior to World War II, including those from programs such as Kellogg, Davenport, Maynesboro, Babson, Dickenson and Selby). In the USA, a specific mixture of Crabbet, Maynesboro and Kellogg bloodlines has acquired the copyrighted designation "CMK."
Each set of bloodlines has its own devoted followers, with the virtues of each hotly debated within the industry. Most debates are between those who value the Arabian most for its refined beauty and those who value the horse for its stamina and athleticism.
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A pure Polish Arabian gelding in dressage competition. |
"The Versatile Arabian" is a slogan of the breed. Arabians compete in many fields, including
Horse racing, the show ring disciplines of
Saddle Seat,
Western Pleasure, and
Hunt seat, as well as
Dressage,
Cutting,
Reining,
Endurance riding,
Show jumping,
Eventing, and many others. They also make reliable pleasure, trail, and working ranch horses for those who are not interested in competition.
Arabians dominate the
endurance sport because of their stamina, where they are the leading breed in competitions such as the
Tevis Cup that can cover up to 100 miles in a day.
"Sport Horse" events for Arabian horses have become popular in recent years, though Arabians have competed in this type of competition for a long time, especially in Europe. The Arabian Horse Association began hosting an Arabian and Half Arabian Sport Horse U.S. National Championship in 2003 that within two years grew to draw over 1900 entries competing in
Hunter,
Jumper, Sport Horse Under Saddle, Sport Horse In Hand,
Dressage, and
Driving competition.
Arabians have excelled in open events against other breeds. The most famous example was the Arabian mare Ronteza, who defeated 50 horses of all breeds to win the 1961 Reined Cow Horse championship at the Cow Palace in San Francisco, CA.
[Varian, Sheila (2006). Ronteza at the Cow Palace. Retrieved April 25, 2006.] The Arabian stallion Aaraf won an all-breed
cutting horse competition at the Quarter Horse Congress in the 1950s.
["America's First Lady of Arabs: Bazy Tankersley and the Horses of Al-Marah." Women and Horses, volume 1, issue 3, September 2005. pp. 21-25] At the
1936 Olympics, the French, with two Anglo-Arabians on their team, won the Silver team medal in Dressage.
Other activities
Arabians are involved in a wide variety of activities, including fairs, movies, parades, circuses and any other place where horses can be showcased.
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Rudolph Valentino and Jadaan. Publicity shot for The Son of the Sheik |
Arabians have been popular in movies, dating back to the silent film era when
Rudolph Valentino rode the Kellogg Arabian stallion Jadaan in 1926's
Son of the Sheik.
[ Roeder, Walter H. "Jadaan, The Sheik, and the Cereal Baron" Originally published in The Cal Poly Scholar, vol.1, (fall 1988) p.99-103 ] Other Arabian horse film stars include the stallion Cass Ole in
The Black Stallion. Arabian horses also appeared in
Lawrence of Arabia,
The 13th Warrior,
Hidalgo, and other films.
Arabians are sports mascots for football teams, seen on the field and sidelines engaging in crowd-pleasing activities. Traveler, the mascot for the
University of Southern California Trojans, is currently a purebred Arabian. Thunder, a purebred Arabian stallion, was mascot for the
Denver Broncos until his retirement in 2004.
Cal Poly Pomona's W.K. Kellogg Arabian Horse Center Equestrian Unit and many other Arabian organizations have made Arabian horses a regular sight at the annual
Tournament of Roses Parade held each New Year's day in Pasadena, California. Arabians also are used on search and rescue teams and occasionally for police work. Some Arabians are also used in the art of
Bloodless Bullfighting (Portuguese style) in the USA and Europe, in the Turkish equestrian sport of Cirit (pronounced Jee-rit), as well as being race horses, circus horses and show horses.
Controversies
Misunderstandings and myths plague the Arabian breed. Despite their natural athleticism, Arabians are not universally welcomed at some high-level all-breed competitions, even through many purebred Arabians are competitive against other breeds. There are many reasons for this. Some people believethat it is more difficult to train a hot-blooded horse. Many people also prefer larger horses over smaller ones. Some Arabian owners allow or even encourage their Arabians to misbehave, claiming (incorrectly) that the behavior is "natural spirit," but giving the breed a poor public image. Another pervasive myth is that the refinement of Arabians means they have weak or light bone, though the superiority of the breed in
endurance competition clearly demonstrates otherwise.
Another problem stems from the 1980s, when too many Arabians were bred for excessive refinement and quick money. Irresponsible practices produced a glut of poor-quality horses. Since that time, many breeders have returned to a focus on performance ability that may eventually improve the breed's reputation.
On the other hand, Arabians are also plagued by excessively positive, romantic myths that give them near-human powers, mystical abilities, telepathy, and athletic prowess beyond the known laws of physics. Though well-intentioned, such myths sometimes lead to people who know little about horses to purchase an Arabian and expecting them not to act like ordinary horses. Like any horse, Arabians have natural
horse behaviors and instincts, so people must never forget the basic rules of horse safety when handling them.
*
Arabian Horse Association Website.
* Archer, Rosemary, Colin Pearson and Cecil Covey.
The Crabbet Arabian Stud: Its History and Influence. Crabbet Organisation, 1978. ISBN 0906382130
* Budiansky, Stephen.
The Nature of Horses. Free Press, 1997. ISBN 0684827689
* Edwards, Gladys Brown.
The Arabian: War Horse to Show Horse. Arabian Horse Trust of America; 3rd rev. edition, 1980. ISBN 093827600X
*
World Arabian Horse Organization*
Arabian Horse Association*
History of the Arabian horse in the desert*
The W.K.Kellogg Arabian Horse Library*
Frequently asked questions about Arabian horses*
CMK Arabians - historical articles*
Arabian Experts, an online and print publication with helpful articles for the Arabian horse owner.*
AWhiteHorse, Family-Friendly Arabian Horse Discussion Forum, online since 1996*
ABlackHorse, Popular Arabian Horse Discussion Forum*
Free Online Arabian Horse Coloring Book*
Arabian horse used for Bloodless Bullfights*
"Horse of the Desert Bedouin"*
A History of the Australian Colonial Arabian*
Al Khamsa Organization
