Arabian horse
Encyclopedia
The Arabian or Arab horse ( ħisˤaːn ʕarabiː, DMG
ḥiṣān ʿarabī) is a breed
of horse
that originated on the Arabian Peninsula
. With a distinctive head shape and high tail carriage, the Arabian is one of the most easily recognizable horse breeds in the world. It is also one of the oldest breeds, with archaeological
evidence of horses that resemble modern Arabians dating back 4,500 years. Throughout history, Arabian horses spread around the world by both war and trade, used to improve other breeds by adding speed, refinement, endurance, and strong bone. Today, Arabian bloodlines are found in almost every modern breed of riding horse.
The Arabian developed in a desert
climate and was prized by the nomadic Bedouin
people, often being brought inside the family tent for shelter and protection from theft. Selective breeding
for traits including an ability to form a cooperative relationship with humans created a horse breed that is good-natured, quick to learn, and willing to please. The Arabian also developed the high spirit and alertness needed in a horse used for raiding and war. This combination of willingness and sensitivity requires modern Arabian horse owners to handle their horses with competence and respect.
The Arabian is a versatile breed. Arabians dominate the discipline of endurance riding
, and compete today in many other fields of equestrian
activity. They are one of the top ten most popular horse breeds in the world. They are now found worldwide, including the United States and Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, continental Europe, South America (especially Brazil), and its land of origin, the Middle East.
Arabian horses have refined, wedge-shaped heads, a broad forehead, large eyes, large nostrils, and small muzzles. Most display a distinctive concave or "dished" profile. Many Arabians also have a slight forehead bulge between their eyes, called the jibbah by the Bedouin
, that adds additional sinus capacity, believed to have helped the Arabian horse in its native dry desert climate. Another breed characteristic is an arched neck with a large, well-set windpipe set on a refined, clean throatlatch
. This structure of the poll
and throatlatch was called the mitbah or mitbeh by the Bedouin. In the best Arabians it is long, allowing flexibility in the bridle
and room for the windpipe.
Other distinctive features are a relatively long, level croup
, or top of the hindquarters, and naturally high tail carriage. The USEF breed standard requires Arabians have solid bone and standard correct equine conformation
. Well-bred Arabians have a deep, well-angled hip and well laid-back shoulder. Within the breed, there are variations. Some individuals have wider, more powerfully muscled hindquarters suitable for intense bursts of activity in events such as reining
, while others have longer, leaner muscling better suited for long stretches of flat work such as endurance riding
or horse racing
. Most have a compact body with a short back. Arabians usually have dense, strong bone, and good hoof
walls. They are especially noted for their endurance, and the superiority of the breed in Endurance riding
competition demonstrates that well-bred Arabians are strong, sound horses with superior stamina. At international FEI
-sponsored endurance events, Arabians and half-Arabians are the dominant performers in distance competition.
Some Arabians, though not all, have 5 lumbar
vertebrae instead of the usual 6, and 17 pairs of rib
s rather than 18. A quality Arabian has both a relatively horizontal croup and a properly angled pelvis
as well as good croup length and depth to the hip (determined by the length of the pelvis), that allows agility and impulsion. A misconception confuses the topline of the croup with the angle of the "hip" (the pelvis or ilium
), leading some to assert that Arabians have a flat pelvis angle and cannot use their hindquarters properly. However, the croup is formed by the sacral
vertebrae. The hip angle is determined by the attachment of the ilium
to the spine, the structure and length of the femur
, and other aspects of hindquarter anatomy, which is not correlated to the topline of the sacrum. Thus, the Arabian has conformation
typical of other horse breeds built for speed and distance, such as the Thoroughbred
, where the angle of the ilium is more oblique than that of the croup. Thus, the hip angle is not necessarily correlated to the topline of the croup. Horses bred to gallop need a good length of croup and good length of hip for proper attachment of muscles, and so unlike angle, length of hip and croup do go together as a rule.
, describes Arabians as standing between tall, "with the occasional individual over or under." Thus, all Arabians, regardless of height, are classified as "horses", even though is the traditional cutoff height between a horse
and a pony
. A common myth is that Arabians are not strong because they are relatively small and refined. However, the Arabian horse is noted for a greater density of bone than other breeds, short cannons
, sound feet, and a broad, short back, all of which give the breed physical strength comparable to many taller animals. Thus, even a smaller Arabian can carry a heavy rider. For tasks where the sheer weight of the horse matters, such as farm work done by a draft horse
, any lighter-weight horse is at a disadvantage. However, for most purposes, the Arabian is a strong and hardy light horse breed able to carry any type of rider in most equestrian
pursuits.
For centuries, Arabian horses lived in the desert in close association with humans. For shelter and protection from theft, prized war mares
were sometimes kept in their owner's tent, close to children and everyday family life. Only horses with a naturally good disposition were allowed to reproduce, with the result that Arabians today have a good temperament that, among other examples, makes them one of the few breeds where the United States Equestrian Federation
rules allow children to exhibit stallion
s in nearly all show ring classes, including those limited to riders under 18.
On the other hand, the Arabian is also classified as a "hot-blooded" breed, a category that includes other refined, spirited horses bred for speed, such as the Akhal-Teke
, the Barb
and the Thoroughbred
. Like other hot-bloods, Arabians' sensitivity and intelligence enable quick learning and greater communication with their riders; however, their intelligence also allows them to learn bad habits as quickly as good ones, and they do not tolerate inept or abusive training practices. Some sources claim that it is more difficult to train a "hot-blooded" horse. Though most Arabians have a natural tendency to cooperate with humans, when treated badly, like any horse, they can become excessively nervous or anxious, but seldom become vicious unless seriously spoiled or subjected to extreme abuse. At the other end of the spectrum, romantic myths are sometimes told about Arabian horses that give them near-divine characteristics.
horses with the coat colors bay, gray
, chestnut
, black
, and roan
. Bay, gray and chestnut are the most common, black is less common. The classic roan gene does not appear to exist in Arabians; rather, Arabians registered by breeders as "roan" are usually expressing rabicano
or, sometimes, sabino
patterns with roan features. All Arabians, no matter their coat color
, have black skin, except under white markings
. Black skin provided protection from the intense desert sun.
gene
, and virtually all "white" Arabians are actually grays. A specialized colorization seen in some older gray Arabians is the so-called "bloody-shoulder", which is a particular type of "flea-bitten" gray with localized aggregations of pigment on the shoulder.
There are a very few Arabians registered as "white", having a white coat, pink skin and dark eyes from birth. These animals are believed to manifest a new form of dominant white
, a result of a nonsense mutation
in DNA tracing to a single stallion foaled in 1996. This horse was originally thought to be a sabino, but actually was found to have a new form of dominant white mutation, now labeled W3. It is possible that white mutations have occurred in Arabians in the past or that mutations other than W3 exist but have not been verified by genetic testing.
, does exist in purebred Arabians. Sabino coloring is characterized by white markings
such as "high white" above the knees and hocks
, irregular spotting on the legs, belly and face, white markings that extend beyond the eyes or under the chin and jaw, and sometimes lacy or roaned edges.
The genetic mechanism that produces sabino patterning in Arabians is undetermined, and more than one gene may be involved. Studies at the University of California, Davis
indicate that Arabians do not appear to carry the autosomal
dominant gene "SB1" or sabino 1, that often produces bold spotting and some completely white
horses in other breeds. The inheritance patterns observed in sabino-like Arabians also do not follow the same mode of inheritance as sabino 1.
, and according to researcher D. Phillip Sponenberg, roaning in purebred Arabians is actually the action of rabicano
genetics. Unlike a genetic roan, rabicano is a partial roan-like pattern; the horse does not have intermingled white and solid hairs over the entire body, only on the midsection and flanks, the head and legs are solid-colored. Some people also confuse a young gray horse with a roan because of the intermixed hair colors common to both. However, a roan does not consistently lighten with age, while a gray does.
s. Therefore, purebreds cannot be colors such as dun
, cremello
, palomino
or buckskin
. However, there is pictorial evidence from pottery and tombs in Ancient Egypt
suggesting that spotting patterns may have existed on ancestral Arabian-type horses in antiquity. Nonetheless, purebred
Arabians today do not carry genes for pinto
or Appaloosa
spotting patterns, except for sabino
.
Spotting or excess white was believed by many breeders to be a mark of impurity until DNA
testing for verification of parentage became standard. For a time, horses with belly spots and other white markings deemed excessive were discouraged from registration and excess white was sometimes penalized in the show ring.
To produce horses with some Arabian characteristics but coat colors not found in purebreds, they have to be crossbred with other breeds. Though the purebred Arabian produces a limited range of potential colors, they do not appear to carry any color-based lethal disorders such as the frame overo
gene ("O") that can produce lethal white syndrome
(LWS). Because purebred Arabians cannot produce LWS foal
s, Arabian mares were used as a non-affected population in some of the studies seeking the gene that caused the condition in other breeds. Nonetheless, partbred Arabian offspring can, in some cases, carry these genes if the non-Arabian parent was a carrier.
conditions, which means that the flawed gene is not sex-linked and has to come from both parents for an affected foal to be born; the others currently lack sufficient research data to determine the precise mode of inheritance. Arabians are not the only breed of horse to have problems with inherited diseases; fatal or disabling genetic conditions also exist in many other breeds, including the American Quarter Horse
, American Paint Horse
, American Saddlebred
, Appaloosa
, Miniature horse
, and Belgian
.
Genetic diseases that can occur in purebred Arabians, or in partbreds with Arabian ancestry in both parents, are the following:
The Arabian Horse Association
in the United States has created a foundation that supports research efforts to uncover the roots of genetic diseases. The organization F.O.A.L. (Fight Off Arabian Lethals) is a clearinghouse for information on these conditions. Additional information is available from the World Arabian Horse Association
(WAHO).
Arabian horses are the topic of many myths and legends. One origin story tells how Muhammad
chose his foundation mares by a test of their courage and loyalty. While there are several variants on the tale, a common version states 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, Muhammad called for the horses to return to him. Only five mares responded. Because they faithfully returned to their master, though desperate with thirst, these mares became his favorites and were called Al Khamsa
, meaning, the five. These mares became the legendary founders of the five "strains" of the Arabian horse. Although the Al Khamsa are generally considered fictional horses of legend, some breeders today claim the modern Bedouin Arabian actually descended from these mares.
Another origin tale claims that King Solomon
was given a pure Arabian-type mare named Safanad ("the pure") by the Queen of Sheba. A different version says that Solomon gave a stallion, Zad el-Raheb or Zad-el-Rakib ("Gift to the Rider"), to the Banu Azd people when they came to pay tribute to the king. This legendary stallion was said to be faster than the zebra and the gazelle, and every hunt with him was successful, thus when he was put to stud, he became a founding sire of legend.
Yet another creation myth puts the origin of the Arabian in the time of Ishmael
, the son of Abraham
. In this story, the Angel Jibril
(also known as Gabriel
) descended from Heaven and awakened Ishmael with a "wind-spout" that whirled toward him. The Angel then commanded the thundercloud to stop scattering dust and rain, and so it gathered itself into a prancing, handsome creature - a horse - that seemed to swallow up the ground. Hence, the Bedouins bestowed the title "Drinker of the Wind" to the first Arabian horse.
Finally, a Bedouin
story states that Allah
created the Arabian horse from the four winds; spirit from the North, strength from the South, speed from the East, and intelligence from the West. While doing so, he exclaimed, "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 to the South Wind: "I want to make a creature out of you. Condense." Then from the material condensed from the wind, he made a kamayt-colored animal (a bay or burnt chestnut
) and 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; you shall fly without wings; riches shall be on your back and fortune shall come through your meditation."
or "Proto-Arabian" was a horse with oriental characteristics similar to the modern Arabian. Horses with these features appeared in rock paintings and inscriptions in the Arabian Peninsula
as far back as 2500 BC. In ancient history
throughout the Ancient Near East
, horses with refined heads and high-carried tails were depicted in artwork, particularly that of Ancient Egypt
in the 16th century BC.
Some scholars of the Arabian horse once theorized that the Arabian came from a separate subspecies of horse, known as equus caballus pumpelli. Other scholars, including Gladys Brown Edwards, a noted Arabian researcher, believe that the "dry" oriental horses of the desert, from which the modern Arabian developed, were more likely Equus ferus caballus with specific landrace
characteristics based on the environments in which they lived, rather than being a separate subspecies. Horses with similar, though not identical, physical characteristics include the Marwari horse
of India, the Barb
of North Africa, the Akhal-Teke
of western Asia and the now-extinct Turkoman Horse
.
There are different theories about where the ancestors of the Arabian originally lived. Most evidence suggests the proto-Arabian came from the area along the northern edge of the Fertile Crescent
. Another hypothesis suggests the southwestern corner of the Arabian peninsula, in modern-day Yemen
, where three now-dry riverbeds indicate good natural pastures existed long ago, perhaps as far back as the Ice Age
.
The proto-Arabian horse may have been domesticated
by the people of the Arabian peninsula
known today as the Bedouin
, some time after they learned to use the camel
, approximately 4,000–5,000 years ago. Other scholars, noting that horses were common in the Fertile Crescent but rare in the Arabian peninsula prior to the rise of Islam
, theorize that the breed as it is known today only developed in large numbers when the conversion of the Persians
to Islam in the 7th century brought knowledge of horse breeding and horsemanship to the Bedouin.
Regardless of origin, climate and culture ultimately created the Arabian. The desert environment required a domesticated horse to cooperate with humans to survive; humans were the only providers of food and water in certain areas, and even hardy Arabian horses needed far more water than camels in order to survive (most horses can only live about 72 hours without water). Where there was no pasture or water, the Bedouin fed their horses dates and camel's milk. The desert horse needed the ability to thrive on very little food, and to have anatomical traits to compensate for life in a dry climate with wide temperature extremes from day to night. Weak individuals were weeded out of the breeding pool, and the animals that remained were also honed by centuries of human warfare.
The Bedouin way of life depended on camels and horses: Arabians were bred to be war horses
with speed, endurance, soundness, and intelligence. Because many raids required stealth, mares were preferred over stallions as they were quieter, and therefore would not give away the position of the fighters. A good disposition was also critical; prized war mares were often brought inside family tents to prevent theft and for protection from weather and predators. Though appearance was not necessarily a survival factor, the Bedouin bred for refinement and beauty in their horses as well as for more practical features.
. 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, and considered stallions
too intractable to be good war horses, thus they kept very few colts
, selling most, and culling those of poor quality.
Over time, the Bedouin developed several sub-types or strains of Arabian horse, each with unique characteristics, and traced through the maternal line only. According to the Arabian Horse Association
, the five primary strains were known as the Keheilan, Seglawi, Abeyan, Hamdani and Hadban. Carl Raswan
, a promoter and writer about Arabian horses from the middle of the 20th century, held the belief that there were only three strains, Kehilan, Seglawi and Muniqi. Raswan felt that these strains represented body "types" of the breed, with the Kehilan being "masculine", the Seglawi being "feminine" and the Muniqi being "speedy". There were also lesser strains, sub-strains, and regional variations in strain names. Therefore, many Arabian horses were not only Asil, of pure blood, but also bred to be pure in strain, with crossbreeding between strains discouraged, though not forbidden, by some tribes. Purity of bloodline was very important to the Bedouin, and they also believed in telegony
, believing if a mare was ever bred to a stallion of "impure" blood, the mare herself and all future offspring would be "contaminated" by the stallion and hence no longer Asil.
This complex web of bloodline and strain was an integral part of Bedouin culture; they not only knew the pedigrees and history of their best war mares in detail, but also carefully tracked the breeding of their camels, Saluki
dogs, and their own family or tribal history. Eventually, written records began to be kept; the first written pedigrees in the Middle East that specifically used the term "Arabian" date to 1330 AD. As important as strain was to the Bedouin, modern studies of mitochondrial DNA
suggest that Arabian horses alive today with records stating descent from a given strain may not actually share a common maternal ancestry.
and Mesopotamia
, often depicted pulling chariots in war or for hunting. Horses with oriental characteristics appear in later artwork as far north as that of Ancient Greece
and the Roman Empire
. While this type of horse was not called an "Arabian" in the Ancient Near East
until later, (the word "Arabia" or "Arabaya" first appeared in writing in Ancient Persia, c. 500 BC) these proto-Arabians shared many characteristics with the modern Arabian, including speed, endurance, and refinement. For example, a horse skeleton unearthed in the Sinai peninsula, dated to 1700 BC and probably brought by the Hyksos
invaders, is considered the earliest physical evidence of the horse in Ancient Egypt
. This horse had a wedge-shaped head, large eye socket and small muzzle, all characteristics of the Arabian horse.
Following the Hijra
in AD 622 (also sometimes spelled Hegira), the Arabian horse spread across the known world of the time, and became recognized as a distinct, named breed. It played a significant role in the History of the Middle East
and of Islam. By AD 630, Muslim influence expanded across the Middle East and North Africa, by AD 711 Muslim warriors
had reached Spain, and they controlled most of the Iberian Peninsula
by 720. Their war horses were of various oriental types, including both Arabians and the Barb
horse of North Africa.
Arabian horses also spread to the rest of the world via the Ottoman Empire
, which rose in 1299. Though it never fully dominated the heart of the Arabian Peninsula
, this Turkish
empire obtained many Arabian horses through trade, diplomacy and war. The Ottomans encouraged formation of private stud farm
s in order to ensure a supply of calvalry horses, and Ottoman nobles, such as Muhammad Ali of Egypt
also collected pure, desert-bred Arabian horses.
El Naseri, or Al-Nasir Muhammad
, Sultan of Egypt
(1290–1342) imported and bred numerous Arabians in Egypt. A stud farm record was made of his purchases describing many of the horses as well as their abilities, and was deposited in his library, becoming a source for later study. Through the Ottomans, Arabian horses were often sold, traded, or given as diplomatic gifts to Europeans and, later, to Americans.
and the Arabian peninsula
as the source of their foundation bloodstock
. By the time that the Ottoman Empire
dominated Egypt, the political elites of the region still recognized the need for quality bloodstock for both war and for horse racing
, and some continued to return to the deserts to obtain pure-blooded Arabians. One of the most famous was Muhammad Ali of Egypt
, also known as Muhammad Ali Pasha, who established an extensive stud farm in the 19th century. After his death, some of his stock was bred on by Abbas I of Egypt
, also known as Abbas Pasha. However, after Abbas Pasha was assassinated in 1854, his heir, El Hami Pasha, sold most of his horses, often for crossbreeding, and gave away many others as diplomatic gifts. A remnant of the herd was obtained by Ali Pasha Sherif
, who then went back to the desert to bring in new bloodstock. At its peak, the stud of Ali Pasha Sherif had over 400 purebred Arabians. Unfortunately, an epidemic of African horse sickness
in the 1870s that killed thousands of horses throughout Egypt decimated much of his herd, wiping out several irreplaceable bloodlines. Late in his life, he sold several horses to Wilfred and Lady Anne Blunt
, who exported them to Crabbet Park Stud
in England. After his death, Lady Anne was also able to gather many remaining horses at her Sheykh Obeyd
stud.
Meanwhile, the passion brought by the Blunts to saving the pure horse of the desert helped Egyptian horse breeders to convince their government of the need to preserve the best of their own remaining pure Arabian bloodstock that descended from the horses collected over the previous century by Muhammad Ali Pasha, Abbas Pasha and Ali Pasha Sherif. The government of Egypt
formed the Royal Agricultural Society (RAS) in 1908, which is known today as the Egyptian Agricultural Organization (EAO).
RAS representatives traveled to England during the 1920s and purchased eighteen descendants of the original Blunt exports from Lady Wentworth at Crabbet Park, and returned these bloodlines to Egypt in order to restore bloodlines had been lost. Other than several horses purchased by Henry Babson
for importation to the United States in the 1930s, and one other small group exported to the USA in 1947, relatively few Egyptian-bred Arabian horses were exported until the overthrow of King Farouk I in 1952. Many of the private stud farms of the princes were then confiscated and the animals taken over by the EAO. In the 1960s and 1970s, as oil development brought more foreign investors to Egypt, some of whom were horse fanciers, Arabians were exported to Germany and to the United States, as well as to the former Soviet Union.Today, the designation "Straight Egyptian" or "Egyptian Arabian" is popular with some Arabian breeders, and the modern Egyptian-bred Arabian is an outcross
used to add refinement in some breeding programs.
s— beginning in 1095, European armies invaded Palestine and many knight
s returned home with Arabian horses as spoils of war. Later, as knights and the heavy, armored war horse
s who carried them became obsolete, Arabian horses and their descendants were used to develop faster, agile light cavalry
horses that were used in warfare into the 20th century.
Another major infusion of Arabian horses into Europe occurred when the Ottoman Turks
sent 300,000 horsemen into Hungary in 1522, many of whom were mounted on pure-blooded Arabians, captured during raids into Arabia. By 1529, the Ottomans reached Vienna
, where they were stopped by the Polish and Hungarian armies, who captured these horses from the defeated Ottoman cavalry
. Some of these animals provided foundation bloodstock
for the major studs of eastern Europe.
With the rise of light cavalry, the stamina and agility of horses with Arabian blood gave an enormous military advantage to any army who possessed them. As a result, many European monarchs began to support large breeding establishments that crossed Arabians on local stock, one example being Knyszyn
a, the royal stud of Polish king Zygmunt II August, and another the Imperial Russian Stud of Peter the Great.
European horse breeders also obtained Arabian stock directly from the desert or via trade with the Ottomans. In Russia, Count Alexey Orlov
obtained many Arabians, including Smetanka
, an Arabian stallion who became a foundation sire of the Orlov trotter
. Orlov then provided Arabian horses to Catherine the Great, who in 1772 owned 12 pure Arabian stallions and 10 mares. By 1889 two members of the Russian nobility, Count Stroganov and Prince Shcherbatov, established Arabian stud farm
s to meet the continued need to breed Arabians as a source of pure bloodstock.
In Poland, notable imports from Arabia included those of Prince Hieronymous Sanguszko
(1743–1812), who founded the Slawuta stud. Poland's first state-run Arabian stud farm, Janów Podlaski
, was established by the decree of Alexander I of Russia
in 1817, and by 1850, the great stud farms of Poland were well-established, including Antoniny, owned by the Polish Count Potocki
(who had married into the Sanguszko family); later notable as the farm that produced the stallion Skowronek
.
ns set up a royal stud in 1732, originally intended to provide horses for the royal stables, and other studs were established to breed animals for other uses, including mounts for the Prussian army. The foundation of these breeding programs was the crossing of Arabians on native horses; by 1873 some English observers felt that the Prussian calvalry mounts were superior in endurance to those of the British, and credited Arabian bloodlines for this superiority.
Other state studs included the Babolna Stud of Hungary, set up in 1789, and the Weil stud in Germany (now Weil-Marbach or the Marbach stud
), founded in 1817 by King William I of Württemberg
. King James I of England
imported the first Arabian stallion, the Markham Arabian, to England in 1616. Arabians were also introduced into European race horse breeding, especially in England via the Darley Arabian
, Byerly Turk
, and Godolphin Arabian
, the three foundation stallions of the modern Thoroughbred
breed, who were each brought to England during the 18th century. Other monarchs obtained Arabian horses, often as personal mounts. One of the most famous Arabian stallions in Europe was Marengo
, the war horse
ridden by Napoleon Bonaparte.
During the mid-19th century, the need for Arabian blood to improve the breeding stock for light cavalry horses in Europe resulted in more excursions to the Middle East. Queen Isabel II of Spain sent representatives to the desert to purchase Arabian horses and by 1847 had established a stud book; her successor, King Alfonso XII imported additional bloodstock from other European nations. By 1893, the state military stud farm, Yeguada Militar was established in Córdoba, Spain
for breeding both Arabian and Iberian horse
s. The military remained heavily involved in the importation and breeding of Arabians in Spain well into the early 20th century, and the Yeguada Militar is still in existence today.
This period also marked a phase of considerable travel to the Middle East
by European civilians and minor nobility, and in the process, some travelers noticed that the Arabian horse as a pure breed of horse was under threat due to modern forms of warfare, inbreeding
and other problems that were reducing the horse population of the Bedouin tribes at a rapid rate. By the late 19th century, the most farsighted began in earnest to collect the finest Arabian horses they could find in order to preserve the blood of the pure desert horse for future generations. The most famous example was Lady Anne Blunt
, the daughter of Ada Lovelace
and granddaughter of Lord Byron.
Perhaps the most famous of all Arabian breeding operations founded in Europe was the Crabbet Park Stud
of England, founded 1878. Starting in 1877, Wilfrid Scawen Blunt
and Lady Anne Blunt
made repeated journeys to the Middle East, including visits to the stud of Ali Pasha Sherif
in Egypt
and to Bedouin tribes in the Nejd
, bringing the best Arabians they could find to England. Lady Anne also purchased and maintained the Sheykh Obeyd
stud farm in Egypt
, near Cairo
. Upon Lady Anne's death in 1917, the Blunts' daughter, Judith, Lady Wentworth
, inherited the Wentworth title and Lady Anne's portion of the estate, and obtained the remainder of the Crabbet Stud following a protracted legal battle with her father, Wilfrid. Lady Wentworth expanded the stud, added new bloodstock, and exported 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 motorway was cut through the property, forcing the sale of the land and dispersal of the horses.
in continental Europe was Spain's Cristobal Colon de Aguilera, XV Duque de Veragua
, a direct descendant of Christopher Columbus
, who founded the Veragua Stud in the 1920s.
, on the site of the former Stroganov estate, which included Polish bloodstock as well as some importations from the Crabbet Stud in England. The programs that survived the war re-established their breeding operations and some added to their studs with new imports of desert-bred Arabian horses from the Middle East. Not all European studs recovered. The Weil stud of Germany, founded by King Wilhelm I, went into considerable decline; by the time the Weil herd was transferred to the Marbach State Stud
in 1932, only 17 purebred Arabians remained.
The Spanish Civil War
and World War II also had a devastating impact on horse breeding throughout Europe. The Veragua stud was destroyed, and its records lost, with the only survivors being the broodmares and the younger horses, who were rescued by Francisco Franco
. Crabbet Park
, Tersk
, and Janów Podlaski survived. Both the Soviet Union and the United States obtained valuable Arabian bloodlines as spoils of war, which they used to strengthen their breeding programs. The Soviets had taken steps to protect their breeding stock at Tersk Stud
, and by utilizing horses captured in Poland they were able to re-establish their breeding program soon after the end of World War II. The Americans brought Arabian horses captured in Europe to the United States, mostly to the Pomona U.S. Army Remount station, the former W.K. Kellogg
Ranch in California.
In the postwar era, Poland, Spain, and Germany developed or re-established many well-respected Arabian stud farms. The studs of Poland in particular were decimated by both the Nazis and the Soviets, but were able to reclaim some of their breeding stock and became particularly world-renowned for their quality Arabian horses, tested rigorously by racing and other performance standards. During the 1950s, the Russians also obtained additional horses from Egypt to augment their breeding programs.
during the Cold War
, those who did come to the west caught the eye of breeders worldwide. Improved international relations between eastern Europe and the west led to major 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 1991, greater political stability in Egypt, and the rise of the European Union
all increased international trade in Arabian horses. Organizations such as the World Arabian Horse Association
(WAHO) created consistent standards for transferring the registration of Arabian horses between different nations. Today, Arabian horses are traded all over the world.
arrived with the Spanish Conquistadors. Hernán Cortés
brought 16 horses of Andalusian
, Barb
, and Arabian ancestry to Mexico in 1519. Others followed, such as Francisco Vásquez de Coronado
, who brought 250 horses of similar breeding to America in 1540. More horses followed with each new arrival of Conquistadors, missionaries
, and settlers. Many horses escaped or were stolen, becoming the foundation stock of the American Mustang
.
One of George Washington
's primary mounts during the Revolutionary War was a gray half-Arabian horse named "Blueskin", 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 an Arabian stallion, Leopard, and a Barb
, Linden Tree, as gifts from the "Sultan of Turkey
." Leopard is the only stallion among the early imports who left known purebred descendants in America. In 1888 Randolph Huntington imported the desert-bred Arabian mare *Naomi, and bred her to Leopard, producing Leopard's only purebred Arabian son, Anazeh, who sired eight purebred Arabian foals, four of whom still appear in pedigrees today.
A. Keene Richard was the first American known to have specifically bred Arabian horses. He traveled to the desert in 1853 and 1856 to obtain breeding stock, which he crossed on Thoroughbreds, and also bred purebred Arabians. Unfortunately, his horses were lost during the Civil War
and have no known purebred Arabian descendants today.
In 1893, the Hamidie Society exhibited 45 Arabian horses from what today is Syria
at the World Fair
in Chicago
. Some remained in the United States and caught the interest of American breeders, who traveled abroad to obtain more. In 1908, the Arabian Horse Registry of America was established, recording 71 animals, and by 1994, the number had reached half a million. Today there are more Arabians registered in North America than in the rest of the world put together.
Major Arabian importations to the United States were made by breeders such as Homer Davenport
and Peter Bradley of the Hingham Stock Farm, who purchased several stallions and mares directly from the Bedouin in 1906. Spencer Borden of the Interlachen Stud made several importations between 1898 and 1911; and W.R. Brown of the Maynesboro Stud, interested in the Arabian as a cavalry mount, imported many Arabians over a period of years, 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. The breeding of Arabians was fostered by the U. S. Army Remount Service, which stood purebred stallions at public stud for a reduced rate.
Several Arabians, mostly of Polish breeding, were captured from Nazi Germany
and imported to the U.S.A. following World War II. In the late 1950s, a new round of importations came from the Crabbet Stud following the death of Lady Wentworth. As the tensions of the Cold War
eased, more Arabians were imported to America from Poland and Egypt
, and in the late 1970s, as political issues surrounding import regulations and the recognition of stud books were resolved, many Arabian horses were imported from Spain and Russia.
. Prices skyrocketed, especially in the United States, with 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. The potential for profit led to over-breeding of the Arabian. When the Tax Reform Act of 1986 closed the tax-sheltering "passive investment" loophole, limiting the use of horse farms as tax shelters, the Arabian market was particularly vulnerable due to over-saturation and artificially inflated prices, and it collapsed, forcing many breeders into bankruptcy and sending many purebred Arabians to slaughter
. Prices recovered slowly, with many breeders moving away from producing "living art" and towards a horse more suitable for amateur owners and many riding disciplines. By 2003, a survey found that 67% of purebred Arabian horses in America are owned for recreational riding purposes.
s" from Andalusia
, many Arabians also came from India. Based on records describing stallions "of Arabic and Persian blood", the first Arabian horses were probably imported to Australia in several groups between 1788 and 1802. About 1803, a merchant named Robert Campbell imported a bay Arabian stallion, Hector, from India; Hector was said to have been owned by Arthur Wellesley
, who later became known as the Duke of Wellington. In 1804 two additional Arabians, also from India, arrived in Tasmania
one of whom, White William, sired the first purebred Arabian foal born in Australia, a stallion named Derwent.
Throughout the 19th century, many more Arabians came to Australia, though most were used to produce crossbred horses and left no recorded purebred
descendants. The first significant imports to be permanently recorded with offspring still appearing in modern purebred Arabian pedigrees were those of James Boucaut, who in 1891 imported several Arabians from Wilfred
and Lady Anne Blunt
's Crabbet Arabian Stud
in England. Purebred Arabians were used to improve racehorses and some of them became quite famous as such; about 100 Arabian sires are included in the Australian Stud Book (for Thoroughbred
racehorses). The military was also involved in the promotion of breeding calvalry horses, especially around World War I. They were part of the foundation of several breeds considered uniquely Australian, including the Australian Pony
, the Waler and the Australian Stock Horse
.
, 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. 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; there are also a number of breeders who specialize in preservation breeding
of various bloodlines. Controversies exist over the relative "purity" of certain animals; breeders argue about the genetic "purity" of various pedigrees, discussing whether some horses descend from "impure" animals that cannot be traced to the desert Bedouin. The major factions are as follows:
Because of the genetic
strength of the desert-bred Arabian horse, Arabian bloodlines have played a part in the development of nearly every modern light horse breed, including the Thoroughbred
, Orlov Trotter
, Morgan
, American Saddlebred
, American Quarter Horse
, and Warmblood
breeds such as the Trakehner
. Arabian bloodlines have also influenced the development of the Welsh Pony
, the Australian Stock Horse
, Percheron
draft horse
, Appaloosa
, and the Colorado Ranger
Horse.
Today, people cross Arabians with other breeds to add refinement, endurance, agility and beauty. In the USA, Half-Arabians have their own registry within the Arabian Horse Association, which includes a special section for Anglo-Arabian
s (Arabian-Thoroughbred crosses). Some crosses originally registered only as Half-Arabians became popular enough to have their own breed registry, including the National Show Horse
(an Arabian-Saddlebred cross), the Quarab
(Arabian-Quarter Horse), the Pintabian
the Welara
(Arabian-Welsh Pony), and the Morab
(Arabian-Morgan). In addition, some Arabians and Half Arabians have been approved for breeding by some Warmblood
registries, particularly the Trakehner registry.
There is intense debate over the role the Arabian played in the development of other light horse breeds. Before DNA-based research developed, one hypothesis, based on body types and conformation, suggested the light, "dry", oriental horse
adapted to the desert climate had developed prior to domestication; DNA studies of multiple horse breeds now suggest that while domesticated horses arose from multiple mare lines, there is very little variability in the Y-chromosome between breeds. Following domestication of the horse
, due to the location of the Middle East as a crossroads of the ancient world, and relatively near the earliest locations of domestication, oriental horses spread throughout Europe and Asia both in ancient and modern times. There is little doubt that humans crossed "oriental" blood on that of other types to create light riding horses; the only actual questions are at what point the "oriental" prototype could be called an "Arabian", how much Arabian blood was mixed with local animals, and at what point in history.
For some breeds, such as the Thoroughbred
, Arabian influence of specific animals is documented in written stud books. For older breeds, dating the influx of Arabian ancestry is more difficult. For example, while outside cultures, and the horses they brought with them, influenced the predecessor to the Iberian horse
in both the time of Ancient Rome
and again with the Islamic invasions of the 8th century, it is difficult to trace precise details of the journeys taken by waves of conquerors and their horses as they traveled from the Middle East to North Africa and across Gibraltar to southern Europe. Mitochondrial DNA
studies of modern Andalusian horse
s of the Iberian peninsula
and Barb
horses of North Africa present convincing evidence that both breeds crossed the Strait of Gibraltar
and influenced one another. Though these studies did not compare Andalusian and Barb mtDNA to that of Arabian horses, there is evidence that horses resembling Arabians, whether before or after the breed was called an "Arabian", were part of this genetic mix. Arabians and Barbs, though probably related to one another, are quite different in appearance, and horses of both Arabian and Barb type were present in the Muslim
armies that occupied Europe. There is also historical documentation that Islamic invaders raised Arabian horses in Spain prior to the Reconquista
; the Spanish also documented imports of Arabian horses in 1847, 1884 and 1885 that were used to improve existing Spanish stock and revive declining equine populations.
fields, including horse racing
, the horse show
disciplines of saddle seat
, Western pleasure
, and hunt seat
, as well as dressage
, cutting
, reining
, endurance riding
, show jumping
, eventing
, youth events such as equitation
, and others. They are used as pleasure riding
, trail riding
, and working ranch
horses for those who are not interested in competition.
because of their stamina. They are the leading breed in competitions such as the Tevis Cup
that can cover up to 100 miles (160.9 km) in a day, and they participate in FEI
-sanctioned endurance events worldwide, including the World Equestrian Games
.
There is an extensive series of horse show
s in the United States and Canada for Arabian, Half-Arabian, and Anglo-Arabian
horses, sanctioned by the USEF
in conjunction with the Arabian Horse Association
. Classes offered include Western pleasure
, reining
, hunter type
and saddle seat
English pleasure
, and halter
, plus the very popular "Native" costume class. "Sport horse
" events for Arabian horses have become popular in North America, particularly after the Arabian Horse Association
began hosting a separate Arabian and Half Arabian Sport Horse National Championship in 2003 that by 2004 grew to draw 2000 entries. This competition draws Arabian and part-Arabian horses that perform in hunter
, jumper
, sport horse under saddle, sport horse in hand, dressage
, and combined driving
competition.
Other nations also sponsor major shows strictly for purebred and partbred Arabians, including Great Britain France, Spain, Poland, and the United Arab Emirates
.
Purebred Arabians have excelled in open events against other breeds. One of the most famous examples in the field of western riding
competition 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, California. Another Arabian competitive against all breeds was the stallion
Aaraf who won an all-breed cutting horse
competition at the Quarter Horse Congress in the 1950s. In show jumping
and show hunter
competition, a number of Arabians have competed successfully against other breeds in open competition, including the purebred gelding
Russian Roulette, who has won multiple jumping classes against horses of all breeds on the open circuit, and in eventing, a purebred Arabian competed on the Brazilian team at the 2004 Athens Olympics.
Part-Arabians have also appeared at open sport horse events and even Olympic
level competition. The Anglo-Arabian Linon was ridden to an Olympic silver medal for France in Dressage in 1928 and 1932, as well as a team gold in 1932, and another French Anglo-Arabian, Harpagon, was ridden to a team gold medal and an individual silver in dressage at the 1948 Olympics. At the 1952 Olympics
, the French rider Pierre d'Oriola won the Gold individual medal in show jumping
on the Anglo-Arabian Ali Baba. Another Anglo-Arabian, Tamarillo
, ridden by William Fox-Pitt
, represents the United Kingdom in FEI and Olympic competition, winning many awards, including first place at the 2004 Badminton Horse Trials
. More recently a gelding named Theodore O'Connor
, nicknamed "Teddy", a 14.1 (or 14.2, sources vary) hand pony
of Thoroughbred
, Arabian, and Shetland pony
breeding, won two gold medals at the 2007 Pan American Games
and was finished in the top six at the 2007 and 2008 Rolex Kentucky Three Day
CCI competition.
Arabians are involved in a wide variety of activities, including fairs, movies, parades, circuses and other places where horses are showcased. They 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, and have been seen in many other films, including The Black Stallion
featuring the stallion Cass Ole
, The Young Black Stallion
, which used over 40 Arabians during filming, as well as Hidalgo
and the 1959 version of Ben-Hur
.
Arabians are mascots for football teams, performing crowd-pleasing activities on the field and sidelines. One of the horses who serves as "Traveler"
, the mascot for the University of Southern California
Trojans, has been a purebred Arabian. "Thunder", a stage name
for the purebred Arabian stallion J B Kobask, was mascot for the Denver Broncos
from 1993 until his retirement in 2004, when the Arabian gelding Winter Solstyce took over as "Thunder II". Cal Poly Pomona's
W.K. Kellogg Arabian Horse Center Equestrian Unit has 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 used in polo
in the USA and Europe, in the Turkish equestrian sport of Cirit , as well as in circus
es, therapeutic horseback riding
programs, and on guest ranches.
Educational organizations and articles
DIN 31635
DIN 31635 is a Deutsches Institut für Normung standard for the transliteration of the Arabic alphabet adopted in 1982. It is based on the rules of the Deutsche Morgenländische Gesellschaft as modified by the International Orientalist Congress 1936 in Rome...
ḥiṣān ʿarabī) is a breed
Horse breed
Horse breed is a broad term with no clear consensus as to definition, but most commonly refers to selectively bred populations of domesticated horses, often with pedigrees recorded in a breed registry. However, the term is sometimes used in a very broad sense to define landrace animals, or...
of horse
Horse
The horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is a single-hooved mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...
that originated on the Arabian Peninsula
Arabian Peninsula
The Arabian Peninsula is a land mass situated north-east of Africa. Also known as Arabia or the Arabian subcontinent, it is the world's largest peninsula and covers 3,237,500 km2...
. With a distinctive head shape and high tail carriage, the Arabian is one of the most easily recognizable horse breeds in the world. It is also one of the oldest breeds, with archaeological
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
evidence of horses that resemble modern Arabians dating back 4,500 years. Throughout history, Arabian horses spread around the world by both war and trade, used to improve other breeds by adding speed, refinement, endurance, and strong bone. Today, Arabian bloodlines are found in almost every modern breed of riding horse.
The Arabian developed in a desert
Desert
A desert is a landscape or region that receives an extremely low amount of precipitation, less than enough to support growth of most plants. Most deserts have an average annual precipitation of less than...
climate and was prized by the nomadic Bedouin
Bedouin
The Bedouin are a part of a predominantly desert-dwelling Arab ethnic group traditionally divided into tribes or clans, known in Arabic as ..-Etymology:...
people, often being brought inside the family tent for shelter and protection from theft. Selective breeding
Selective breeding
Selective breeding is the process of breeding plants and animals for particular genetic traits. Typically, strains that are selectively bred are domesticated, and the breeding is sometimes done by a professional breeder. Bred animals are known as breeds, while bred plants are known as varieties,...
for traits including an ability to form a cooperative relationship with humans created a horse breed that is good-natured, quick to learn, and willing to please. The Arabian also developed the high spirit and alertness needed in a horse used for raiding and war. This combination of willingness and sensitivity requires modern Arabian horse owners to handle their horses with competence and respect.
The Arabian is a versatile breed. Arabians dominate the discipline of endurance riding
Endurance riding
Endurance riding is an equestrian sport based on controlled long-distance races. It is one of the international competitions recognized by the FEI. There are endurance rides worldwide....
, and compete today in many other fields of equestrian
Equestrianism
Equestrianism more often known as riding, horseback riding or horse riding refers to the skill of riding, driving, or vaulting with horses...
activity. They are one of the top ten most popular horse breeds in the world. They are now found worldwide, including the United States and Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, continental Europe, South America (especially Brazil), and its land of origin, the Middle East.
Breed characteristics
Bedouin
The Bedouin are a part of a predominantly desert-dwelling Arab ethnic group traditionally divided into tribes or clans, known in Arabic as ..-Etymology:...
, that adds additional sinus capacity, believed to have helped the Arabian horse in its native dry desert climate. Another breed characteristic is an arched neck with a large, well-set windpipe set on a refined, clean throatlatch
Horse anatomy
Equine anatomy refers to the gross and microscopic anatomy of horses and other equids, including donkeys, and zebras. While all anatomical features of equids are described in the same terms as for other animals by the International Committee on Veterinary Gross Anatomical Nomenclature in the book...
. This structure of the poll
Horse anatomy
Equine anatomy refers to the gross and microscopic anatomy of horses and other equids, including donkeys, and zebras. While all anatomical features of equids are described in the same terms as for other animals by the International Committee on Veterinary Gross Anatomical Nomenclature in the book...
and throatlatch was called the mitbah or mitbeh by the Bedouin. In the best Arabians it is long, allowing flexibility in the bridle
Bridle
A bridle is a piece of equipment used to direct a horse. As defined in the Oxford English Dictionary, the "bridle" includes both the headstall that holds a bit that goes in the mouth of a horse, and the reins that are attached to the bit....
and room for the windpipe.
Other distinctive features are a relatively long, level croup
Rump (animal)
The rump or croup, in the external morphology of an animal, is the portion of the posterior dorsum that is posterior to the loins and anterior to the tail. Anatomically, the rump corresponds to the sacrum....
, or top of the hindquarters, and naturally high tail carriage. The USEF breed standard requires Arabians have solid bone and standard correct equine conformation
Equine conformation
Equine conformation evaluates the degree of correctness of a horse's bone structure, musculature, and its body proportions in relation to each other. Undesirable conformation can limit the ability to perform a specific task. Although there are several universal "faults," a horse's conformation is...
. Well-bred Arabians have a deep, well-angled hip and well laid-back shoulder. Within the breed, there are variations. Some individuals have wider, more powerfully muscled hindquarters suitable for intense bursts of activity in events such as reining
Reining
Reining is a western riding competition for horses where the riders guide the horses through a precise pattern of circles, spins, and stops. All work is done at the lope and gallop; the fastest of the horse gaits...
, while others have longer, leaner muscling better suited for long stretches of flat work such as endurance riding
Endurance riding
Endurance riding is an equestrian sport based on controlled long-distance races. It is one of the international competitions recognized by the FEI. There are endurance rides worldwide....
or horse racing
Horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...
. Most have a compact body with a short back. Arabians usually have dense, strong bone, and good hoof
Hoof
A hoof , plural hooves or hoofs , is the tip of a toe of an ungulate mammal, strengthened by a thick horny covering. The hoof consists of a hard or rubbery sole, and a hard wall formed by a thick nail rolled around the tip of the toe. The weight of the animal is normally borne by both the sole...
walls. They are especially noted for their endurance, and the superiority of the breed in Endurance riding
Endurance riding
Endurance riding is an equestrian sport based on controlled long-distance races. It is one of the international competitions recognized by the FEI. There are endurance rides worldwide....
competition demonstrates that well-bred Arabians are strong, sound horses with superior stamina. At international FEI
International Federation for Equestrian Sports
The Fédération Équestre Internationale or in English, the International Federation for Equestrian Sports, is the international governing body of equestrian sports. It recognizes ten international disciplines...
-sponsored endurance events, Arabians and half-Arabians are the dominant performers in distance competition.
Skeletal analysis
Lumbar
In tetrapod anatomy, lumbar is an adjective that means of or pertaining to the abdominal segment of the torso, between the diaphragm and the sacrum ...
vertebrae instead of the usual 6, and 17 pairs of rib
Rib
In vertebrate anatomy, ribs are the long curved bones which form the rib cage. In most vertebrates, ribs surround the chest, enabling the lungs to expand and thus facilitate breathing by expanding the chest cavity. They serve to protect the lungs, heart, and other internal organs of the thorax...
s rather than 18. A quality Arabian has both a relatively horizontal croup and a properly angled pelvis
Pelvis
In human anatomy, the pelvis is the lower part of the trunk, between the abdomen and the lower limbs .The pelvis includes several structures:...
as well as good croup length and depth to the hip (determined by the length of the pelvis), that allows agility and impulsion. A misconception confuses the topline of the croup with the angle of the "hip" (the pelvis or ilium
Ilium (bone)
The ilium is the uppermost and largest bone of the pelvis, and appears in most vertebrates including mammals and birds, but not bony fish. All reptiles have an ilium except snakes, although some snake species have a tiny bone which is considered to be an ilium.The name comes from the Latin ,...
), leading some to assert that Arabians have a flat pelvis angle and cannot use their hindquarters properly. However, the croup is formed by the sacral
Sacrum
In vertebrate anatomy the sacrum is a large, triangular bone at the base of the spine and at the upper and back part of the pelvic cavity, where it is inserted like a wedge between the two hip bones. Its upper part connects with the last lumbar vertebra, and bottom part with the coccyx...
vertebrae. The hip angle is determined by the attachment of the ilium
Ilium (bone)
The ilium is the uppermost and largest bone of the pelvis, and appears in most vertebrates including mammals and birds, but not bony fish. All reptiles have an ilium except snakes, although some snake species have a tiny bone which is considered to be an ilium.The name comes from the Latin ,...
to the spine, the structure and length of the femur
Femur
The femur , or thigh bone, is the most proximal bone of the leg in tetrapod vertebrates capable of walking or jumping, such as most land mammals, birds, many reptiles such as lizards, and amphibians such as frogs. In vertebrates with four legs such as dogs and horses, the femur is found only in...
, and other aspects of hindquarter anatomy, which is not correlated to the topline of the sacrum. Thus, the Arabian has conformation
Equine conformation
Equine conformation evaluates the degree of correctness of a horse's bone structure, musculature, and its body proportions in relation to each other. Undesirable conformation can limit the ability to perform a specific task. Although there are several universal "faults," a horse's conformation is...
typical of other horse breeds built for speed and distance, such as the Thoroughbred
Thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...
, where the angle of the ilium is more oblique than that of the croup. Thus, the hip angle is not necessarily correlated to the topline of the croup. Horses bred to gallop need a good length of croup and good length of hip for proper attachment of muscles, and so unlike angle, length of hip and croup do go together as a rule.
Size
The breed standard stated by the United States Equestrian FederationUnited States Equestrian Federation
The United States Equestrian Federation is the national governing body for most equestrian sports in the United States. It began on January 20, 1917 as the Association of American Horse Shows, later changed in 1933 to the American Horse Shows Association...
, describes Arabians as standing between tall, "with the occasional individual over or under." Thus, all Arabians, regardless of height, are classified as "horses", even though is the traditional cutoff height between a horse
Horse
The horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is a single-hooved mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...
and a pony
Pony
A pony is a small horse . Depending on context, a pony may be a horse that is under an approximate or exact height at the withers, or a small horse with a specific conformation and temperament. There are many different breeds...
. A common myth is that Arabians are not strong because they are relatively small and refined. However, the Arabian horse is noted for a greater density of bone than other breeds, short cannons
Horse anatomy
Equine anatomy refers to the gross and microscopic anatomy of horses and other equids, including donkeys, and zebras. While all anatomical features of equids are described in the same terms as for other animals by the International Committee on Veterinary Gross Anatomical Nomenclature in the book...
, sound feet, and a broad, short back, all of which give the breed physical strength comparable to many taller animals. Thus, even a smaller Arabian can carry a heavy rider. For tasks where the sheer weight of the horse matters, such as farm work done by a draft horse
Draft horse
A draft horse , draught horse or dray horse , less often called a work horse or heavy horse, is a large horse bred for hard, heavy tasks such as ploughing and farm labour...
, any lighter-weight horse is at a disadvantage. However, for most purposes, the Arabian is a strong and hardy light horse breed able to carry any type of rider in most equestrian
Equestrianism
Equestrianism more often known as riding, horseback riding or horse riding refers to the skill of riding, driving, or vaulting with horses...
pursuits.
Temperament
Mare (horse)
A mare is an adult female horse or other equine.In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse age three and younger. However, in Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more than four years old; in harness racing a mare is a...
were sometimes kept in their owner's tent, close to children and everyday family life. Only horses with a naturally good disposition were allowed to reproduce, with the result that Arabians today have a good temperament that, among other examples, makes them one of the few breeds where the United States Equestrian Federation
United States Equestrian Federation
The United States Equestrian Federation is the national governing body for most equestrian sports in the United States. It began on January 20, 1917 as the Association of American Horse Shows, later changed in 1933 to the American Horse Shows Association...
rules allow children to exhibit stallion
Stallion (horse)
A stallion is a male horse that has not been gelded .Stallions will follow the conformation and phenotype of their breed, but within that standard, the presence of hormones such as testosterone may give stallions a thicker, "cresty" neck, as well as a somewhat more muscular physique as compared to...
s in nearly all show ring classes, including those limited to riders under 18.
On the other hand, the Arabian is also classified as a "hot-blooded" breed, a category that includes other refined, spirited horses bred for speed, such as the Akhal-Teke
Akhal-Teke
The Akhal-Teke is a horse breed from Turkmenistan, where they are a national emblem. They are noted for their speed and for endurance on long marches. These "golden-horses" are adapted to severe climatic conditions and are thought to be one of the oldest surviving horse breeds...
, the Barb
Barb (horse)
Developed on the Barbary Coast of North Africa, the Barb horse is a desert breed with great hardiness and stamina. The Barb generally possesses a fiery temperament and an atypical sport-horse conformation, but nevertheless has influenced modern breeds....
and the Thoroughbred
Thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...
. Like other hot-bloods, Arabians' sensitivity and intelligence enable quick learning and greater communication with their riders; however, their intelligence also allows them to learn bad habits as quickly as good ones, and they do not tolerate inept or abusive training practices. Some sources claim that it is more difficult to train a "hot-blooded" horse. Though most Arabians have a natural tendency to cooperate with humans, when treated badly, like any horse, they can become excessively nervous or anxious, but seldom become vicious unless seriously spoiled or subjected to extreme abuse. At the other end of the spectrum, romantic myths are sometimes told about Arabian horses that give them near-divine characteristics.
Colors
The Arabian Horse Association registers purebredPurebred
Purebreds, also called purebreeds, are cultivated varieties or cultivars of an animal species, achieved through the process of selective breeding...
horses with the coat colors bay, gray
Gray (horse)
Gray or grey is a coat color of horses characterized by progressive silvering of the colored hairs of the coat. Most gray horses have black skin and dark eyes; unlike many depigmentation genes, gray does not affect skin or eye color Their adult hair coat is white, dappled, or white intermingled...
, chestnut
Chestnut (coat)
Chestnut is a hair coat color of horses consisting of a reddish-to-brown coat with a mane and tail the same or lighter in color than the coat. Genetically and visually, chestnut is characterized by the absolute absence of true black hairs...
, black
Black (horse)
Black is a hair coat color of horses in which the entire hair coat is black. Black is a relatively uncommon coat color, and novices frequently mistake dark chestnuts or bays for black. However, some breeds of horses, such as the Friesian horse, Murgese and Ariegeois are almost exclusively black...
, and roan
Roan (horse)
Roan is a horse coat color pattern characterized by an even mixture of colored and white hairs on the body, while the head and "points"—lower legs, mane and tail—are more solid-colored. The roan pattern is dominantly-inherited, and is found in many horse breeds...
. Bay, gray and chestnut are the most common, black is less common. The classic roan gene does not appear to exist in Arabians; rather, Arabians registered by breeders as "roan" are usually expressing rabicano
Rabicano
Rabicano, also called white ticking, is a horse coat color characterized by limited roaning in a specific pattern: interspersed white hairs most dense and originating from the flank and the tailhead...
or, sometimes, sabino
Sabino horse
Sabino is a group of white spotting patterns in horses that affect the skin and hair. A wide variety of irregular color patterns are accepted as sabino. In the strictest sense, "sabino" refers to the white patterns produced by the Sabino 1 gene, for which there is a DNA test...
patterns with roan features. All Arabians, no matter their coat color
Equine coat color
Horses exhibit a diverse array of coat colors and distinctive markings. A specialized vocabulary has evolved to describe them.While most horses remain the same color throughout life, a few, over the course of several years, will develop a different coat color from that with which they were born...
, have black skin, except under white markings
Horse markings
Markings on horses usually are distinctive white areas on an otherwise dark base coat color. Most horses have some markings, and they help to identify the horse as a unique individual. Markings are present at birth and do not change over the course of the horse's life...
. Black skin provided protection from the intense desert sun.
Gray and white
Although many Arabians appear "white", they are not. A white hair coat is usually created by the natural action of the grayGray (horse)
Gray or grey is a coat color of horses characterized by progressive silvering of the colored hairs of the coat. Most gray horses have black skin and dark eyes; unlike many depigmentation genes, gray does not affect skin or eye color Their adult hair coat is white, dappled, or white intermingled...
gene
Gene
A gene is a molecular unit of heredity of a living organism. It is a name given to some stretches of DNA and RNA that code for a type of protein or for an RNA chain that has a function in the organism. Living beings depend on genes, as they specify all proteins and functional RNA chains...
, and virtually all "white" Arabians are actually grays. A specialized colorization seen in some older gray Arabians is the so-called "bloody-shoulder", which is a particular type of "flea-bitten" gray with localized aggregations of pigment on the shoulder.
There are a very few Arabians registered as "white", having a white coat, pink skin and dark eyes from birth. These animals are believed to manifest a new form of dominant white
Dominant white
Dominant white is a group of genetically related coat color conditions in the horse, best known for producing an all-white coat, but also for producing some forms of white spotting and white markings. Dominant white horses are born with unpigmented pink skin and white hair with dark eyes, although...
, a result of a nonsense mutation
Nonsense mutation
In genetics, a nonsense mutation is a point mutation in a sequence of DNA that results in a premature stop codon, or a nonsense codon in the transcribed mRNA, and in a truncated, incomplete, and usually nonfunctional protein product. It differs from a missense mutation, which is a point mutation...
in DNA tracing to a single stallion foaled in 1996. This horse was originally thought to be a sabino, but actually was found to have a new form of dominant white mutation, now labeled W3. It is possible that white mutations have occurred in Arabians in the past or that mutations other than W3 exist but have not been verified by genetic testing.
Sabino
One spotting pattern, sabinoSabino horse
Sabino is a group of white spotting patterns in horses that affect the skin and hair. A wide variety of irregular color patterns are accepted as sabino. In the strictest sense, "sabino" refers to the white patterns produced by the Sabino 1 gene, for which there is a DNA test...
, does exist in purebred Arabians. Sabino coloring is characterized by white markings
Horse markings
Markings on horses usually are distinctive white areas on an otherwise dark base coat color. Most horses have some markings, and they help to identify the horse as a unique individual. Markings are present at birth and do not change over the course of the horse's life...
such as "high white" above the knees and hocks
Hock (zoology)
The hock, or gambrel, is the joint between the tarsal bones and tibia of a digitigrade or unguligrade quadrupedal mammal, such as a horse, cat, or dog...
, irregular spotting on the legs, belly and face, white markings that extend beyond the eyes or under the chin and jaw, and sometimes lacy or roaned edges.
The genetic mechanism that produces sabino patterning in Arabians is undetermined, and more than one gene may be involved. Studies at the University of California, Davis
University of California, Davis
The University of California, Davis is a public teaching and research university established in 1905 and located in Davis, California, USA. Spanning over , the campus is the largest within the University of California system and third largest by enrollment...
indicate that Arabians do not appear to carry the autosomal
Autosome
An autosome is a chromosome that is not a sex chromosome, or allosome; that is to say, there is an equal number of copies of the chromosome in males and females. For example, in humans, there are 22 pairs of autosomes. In addition to autosomes, there are sex chromosomes, to be specific: X and Y...
dominant gene "SB1" or sabino 1, that often produces bold spotting and some completely white
White (horse)
White horses are born white and stay white throughout their life. White horses may have brown, blue, or hazel eyes. "True white" horses, especially those that carry one of the dominant white genes, are rare...
horses in other breeds. The inheritance patterns observed in sabino-like Arabians also do not follow the same mode of inheritance as sabino 1.
Rabicano or roan?
There are very few Arabians registered as roanRoan (horse)
Roan is a horse coat color pattern characterized by an even mixture of colored and white hairs on the body, while the head and "points"—lower legs, mane and tail—are more solid-colored. The roan pattern is dominantly-inherited, and is found in many horse breeds...
, and according to researcher D. Phillip Sponenberg, roaning in purebred Arabians is actually the action of rabicano
Rabicano
Rabicano, also called white ticking, is a horse coat color characterized by limited roaning in a specific pattern: interspersed white hairs most dense and originating from the flank and the tailhead...
genetics. Unlike a genetic roan, rabicano is a partial roan-like pattern; the horse does not have intermingled white and solid hairs over the entire body, only on the midsection and flanks, the head and legs are solid-colored. Some people also confuse a young gray horse with a roan because of the intermixed hair colors common to both. However, a roan does not consistently lighten with age, while a gray does.
Colors that do not exist in purebreds
Purebred Arabians never carry dilution geneDilution gene
Dilution gene is a popular term for any one of a number of genes that act to create a lighter coat color in living creatures. There are many examples of such genes:-General:...
s. Therefore, purebreds cannot be colors such as dun
Dun gene
The dun gene is a dilution gene that affects both red and black pigments in the coat color of a horse. The dun gene has the ability to affect the appearance of all black, bay, or chestnut -based horses to some degree by lightening the base body coat and suppressing the underlying base color to the...
, cremello
Cream gene
The cream gene is responsible for a number of horse coat colors. Horses that have the cream gene in addition to a base coat color that is chestnut will become palomino if they are heterozygous, having one copy of the cream gene, or cremello, if they are homozygous. Similarly, horses with a bay...
, palomino
Palomino
Palomino is a coat color in horses, consisting of a gold coat and white mane and tail. Genetically, the palomino color is created by a single allele of a dilution gene called the cream gene working on a "red" base coat...
or buckskin
Buckskin (color)
Buckskin is a hair coat color of horses; referring to a color that resembles certain shades of tanned deerskin. Similar colors in some breeds of dogs are also called buckskin. The horse has a tan or gold colored coat with black points . Buckskin occurs as a result of the cream dilution gene acting...
. However, there is pictorial evidence from pottery and tombs in Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...
suggesting that spotting patterns may have existed on ancestral Arabian-type horses in antiquity. Nonetheless, purebred
Purebred
Purebreds, also called purebreeds, are cultivated varieties or cultivars of an animal species, achieved through the process of selective breeding...
Arabians today do not carry genes for pinto
Pinto horse
A pinto horse has a coat color that consists of large patches of white and any other color. The distinction between "pinto" and "solid" can be tenuous, as so-called "solid" horses frequently have areas of white hair. Various cultures throughout history appear to have selectively bred for pinto...
or Appaloosa
Appaloosa
The Appaloosa is a horse breed best known for its colorful leopard-spotted coat pattern. There is a wide range of body types within the breed, stemming from the influence of multiple breeds of horses throughout its history. Each horse's color pattern is genetically the result of various spotting...
spotting patterns, except for sabino
Sabino horse
Sabino is a group of white spotting patterns in horses that affect the skin and hair. A wide variety of irregular color patterns are accepted as sabino. In the strictest sense, "sabino" refers to the white patterns produced by the Sabino 1 gene, for which there is a DNA test...
.
DNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms . The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in...
testing for verification of parentage became standard. For a time, horses with belly spots and other white markings deemed excessive were discouraged from registration and excess white was sometimes penalized in the show ring.
To produce horses with some Arabian characteristics but coat colors not found in purebreds, they have to be crossbred with other breeds. Though the purebred Arabian produces a limited range of potential colors, they do not appear to carry any color-based lethal disorders such as the frame overo
Overo
Overo refers to several genetically unrelated pinto coloration patterns of white-over-dark body markings in horses, and is a term used by the American Paint Horse Association to classify a set of pinto patterns that are not Tobiano...
gene ("O") that can produce lethal white syndrome
Lethal white syndrome
Lethal white syndrome , also called overo lethal white syndrome , lethal white overo , and overo lethal white foal syndrome , is an autosomal genetic disorder most prevalent in the American Paint Horse...
(LWS). Because purebred Arabians cannot produce LWS foal
Foal
A foal is an equine, particularly a horse, that is one year old or younger. More specific terms are colt for a male foal and filly for a female foal, but these terms are used until the horse is age three or four. When the foal is nursing from its dam , it may also be called a suckling...
s, Arabian mares were used as a non-affected population in some of the studies seeking the gene that caused the condition in other breeds. Nonetheless, partbred Arabian offspring can, in some cases, carry these genes if the non-Arabian parent was a carrier.
Genetic disorders
There are six known genetic disorders in Arabian horses. Two are inevitably fatal, two are not inherently fatal but are disabling and usually result in euthanasia of the affected animal; the remaining conditions can usually be treated. Three are thought to be autosomal recessiveDominance relationship
Dominance in genetics is a relationship between two variant forms of a single gene, in which one allele masks the effect of the other in influencing some trait. In the simplest case, if a gene exists in two allelic forms , three combinations of alleles are possible: AA, AB, and BB...
conditions, which means that the flawed gene is not sex-linked and has to come from both parents for an affected foal to be born; the others currently lack sufficient research data to determine the precise mode of inheritance. Arabians are not the only breed of horse to have problems with inherited diseases; fatal or disabling genetic conditions also exist in many other breeds, including the American Quarter Horse
American Quarter Horse
The American Quarter Horse is an American breed of horse that excels at sprinting short distances. Its name came from its ability to outdistance other breeds of horses in races of a quarter mile or less; some individuals have been clocked at speeds up to 55 mph...
, American Paint Horse
American Paint Horse
The American Paint Horse is a breed of horse that combines both the conformational characteristics of a western stock horse with a pinto spotting pattern of white and dark coat colors. Developed from a base of spotted horses with Quarter Horse and Thoroughbred bloodlines, the American Paint Horse...
, American Saddlebred
American Saddlebred
The American Saddlebred, formerly known as the American Saddle Horse, is a breed of horse that was developed in Kentucky by plantation owners. Today, in the horse show world, they are most commonly seen under saddle in Saddle seat style riding, and in various types of driving, including pleasure...
, Appaloosa
Appaloosa
The Appaloosa is a horse breed best known for its colorful leopard-spotted coat pattern. There is a wide range of body types within the breed, stemming from the influence of multiple breeds of horses throughout its history. Each horse's color pattern is genetically the result of various spotting...
, Miniature horse
Miniature horse
Miniature horses are found in many nations, particularly in Europe and the Americas. The designation of miniature horse is determined by the height of the animal, which, depending on the particular breed registry involved, is usually less than as measured at the last hairs of the mane, which are...
, and Belgian
Belgian (horse)
The Belgian Draft horse or Belgian, also known as Belgian Heavy Horse, Brabançon, or Brabant, is a draft horse breed from the Brabant region of modern Belgium, where it is called the or Flemish: . It is one of the strongest of the heavy breeds...
.
Genetic diseases that can occur in purebred Arabians, or in partbreds with Arabian ancestry in both parents, are the following:
- Severe Combined ImmunodeficiencySevere combined immunodeficiency (non-human)Severe Combined Immunodeficiency is a severe immunodeficiency genetic disorder that is characterized by the complete inability of the adaptive immune system to mount, coordinate, and sustain an appropriate immune response, usually due to absent or atypical T and B lymphocytes...
(SCID). Recessive disorder, fatal when homozygous, carriers (heterozygotes) show no signs. Similar to the "bubble boySevere combined immunodeficiencySevere combined immunodeficiency , is a genetic disorder in which both "arms" of the adaptive immune system are impaired due to a defect in one of several possible genes. SCID is a severe form of heritable immunodeficiency...
" condition in humans, an affected foal is born with a complete lack of an immune system, and thus generally dies of an opportunistic infection, usually before the age of three months. There is a DNA test that can detect healthy horses who are carriers of the gene causing SCID, thus testing and careful, planned matings can now eliminate the possibility of an affected foalFoalA foal is an equine, particularly a horse, that is one year old or younger. More specific terms are colt for a male foal and filly for a female foal, but these terms are used until the horse is age three or four. When the foal is nursing from its dam , it may also be called a suckling...
ever being born. - Lavender Foal SyndromeLavender Foal SyndromeLavender Foal Syndrome , also called Coat Color Dilution Lethal is a genetic disease that affects newborn foals of Arabian horse bloodlines. Cases reported in peer-reviewed veterinary literature are entirely of foals descended from a number of "Egyptian Arabian" or Egyptian-related bloodline groups...
(LFS), also called Coat Color Dilution Lethal (CCDL). Recessive disorder, fatal when homozygous, carriers show no signs. The condition has its name because most affected foals are born with a coat color dilution that lightens the tips of the coat hairs, or even the entire hair shaft. Foals with LFS are unable to stand at birth, often have seizures, and are usually euthanized within a few days of birth. In November 2009, Cornell University announced that a DNA test has been developed to detect carriers of LFS. Simultaneouly, the University of Pretoria also announced that they had also developed a DNA test. - Cerebellar abiotrophyCerebellar abiotrophyCerebellar abiotrophy , also referred to as the cerebellar cortical abiotrophy , which is a genetic neurological disease in animals best known to affect certain breeds of horses and dogs. It develops when the neurons known as Purkinje cells, located in the cerebellum of the brain, begin to die...
(CA or CCA). Recessive disorder, homozygous horses are affected, carriers show no signs. An affected foal is usually born without clinical signs, but at some stage, usually after six weeks of age, develops severe incoordination, a head tremor, wide-legged stance and other symptoms related to the death of the purkinje cellPurkinje cellFor the cells of the electrical conduction system of the heart, see Purkinje fibersPurkinje cells, or Purkinje neurons , are a class of GABAergic neurons located in the cerebellar cortex...
s in the cerebellumCerebellumThe cerebellum is a region of the brain that plays an important role in motor control. It may also be involved in some cognitive functions such as attention and language, and in regulating fear and pleasure responses, but its movement-related functions are the most solidly established...
. Such foals are frequently diagnosed only after they have crashed into a fence or fallen over backwards, and often are misdiagnosed as suffering from a head injury caused by an accident. Severity varies, with some foals having fast onset of severe coordination problems, others showing milder signs. Mildly affected horses can live a full lifespan, but most are euthanized before adulthood because they are so accident-prone as to be dangerous. As of 2008, there is a genetic test that uses DNA markers associated with CA to detect both carriers and affected animals. Clinical signs are distinguishable from other neurological conditions, and a diagnosis of CA can be verified by examining the brain after euthanasiaEuthanasiaEuthanasia refers to the practice of intentionally ending a life in order to relieve pain and suffering....
. - Occipital Atlanto-Axial Malformation (OAAM). This is a condition where the occiput, atlas and axis vertebrae in the neck and at the base of the skull are fused or malformed. Symptoms range from mild incoordination to the paralysis of both front and rear legs. Some affected foals cannot stand to nurse, in others the symptoms may not be seen for several weeks. This is the only cervical spinal cord disease seen in horses less than 1 month of age, and a radiograph can diagnose the condition. There is no genetic test for OAAM, and the hereditary component of this condition is not well researched at present.
- Equine juvenile epilepsyEpilepsyEpilepsy is a common chronic neurological disorder characterized by seizures. These seizures are transient signs and/or symptoms of abnormal, excessive or hypersynchronous neuronal activity in the brain.About 50 million people worldwide have epilepsy, and nearly two out of every three new cases...
, or Juvenile Idiopathic Epilepsy, sometimes referred to as "benign" epilepsy, is not usually fatal. Foals appear normal between epileptic seizureSeizureAn epileptic seizure, occasionally referred to as a fit, is defined as a transient symptom of "abnormal excessive or synchronous neuronal activity in the brain". The outward effect can be as dramatic as a wild thrashing movement or as mild as a brief loss of awareness...
s, and seizures usually stop occurring between 12 and 18 months. Affected foals may show signs of epilepsy anywhere from two days to six months from birth. Seizures can be treated with traditional anti-seizure medications, which may reduce their severity. Though the condition has been studied since 1985 at the University of California, DavisUniversity of California, DavisThe University of California, Davis is a public teaching and research university established in 1905 and located in Davis, California, USA. Spanning over , the campus is the largest within the University of California system and third largest by enrollment...
, the genetic mode of inheritance is unclear, though the cases studied were all of one general bloodline group. Recent research updates suggest that a dominant mode of inheritanceDominance relationshipDominance in genetics is a relationship between two variant forms of a single gene, in which one allele masks the effect of the other in influencing some trait. In the simplest case, if a gene exists in two allelic forms , three combinations of alleles are possible: AA, AB, and BB...
is involved in transmission of this trait. One researcher hypothesized that epilepsy may be linked in some fashion to Lavender Foal Syndrome due to the fact that it occurs in similar bloodlines and some horses have produced foals with both conditions. - Guttural Pouch Tympany (GPT) occurs in horses ranging from birth to 1 year of age and is more common in fillies than in colts. It is thought to be genetic in Arabians, possibly polygenic in inheritance, but more study is needed. Foals are born with a defect that causes the pharyngealNasopharynxThe nasopharynx is the uppermost part of the pharynx. It extends from the base of the skull to the upper surface of the soft palate; it differs from the oral and laryngeal parts of the pharynx in that its cavity always remains patent .-Lateral:On its lateral wall is the pharyngeal ostium of the...
opening of the eustachian tubeEustachian tubeThe Eustachian tube is a tube that links the nasopharynx to the middle ear. It is a part of the middle ear. In adult humans the Eustachian tube is approximately 35 mm long. It is named after the sixteenth-century anatomist Bartolomeo Eustachi...
to act like a one-way valve – air can get in, but it cannot get out. The affected guttural pouch is distended with air and forms a characteristic nonpainful swelling. Breathing is noisy in severely affected animals. Diagnosis is based on clinical signs and radiographic examination of the skull. Medical management with NSAID and antimicrobial therapy can treat upper respiratory tract inflammation. Surgical intervention is needed to correct the malformation of the guttural pouch opening, to provide a route for air in the abnormal guttural pouch to pass to the normal side and be expelled into the pharynx. Foals that are successfully treated may grow up to have fully useful lives.
The Arabian Horse Association
Arabian Horse Association
The Arabian Horse Association is the single national organization that is the only breed registry that registers Arabian horses in the United States...
in the United States has created a foundation that supports research efforts to uncover the roots of genetic diseases. The organization F.O.A.L. (Fight Off Arabian Lethals) is a clearinghouse for information on these conditions. Additional information is available from the World Arabian Horse Association
World Arabian Horse Association
The World Arabian Horse Organization is the world organization for the preservation, improvement and preservation of Arabian horses. WAHO grants membership to nations after examination of national breeding stud books, and review of regulations for each country.-Candidates for membership:...
(WAHO).
Mythology
Muhammad
Muhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...
chose his foundation mares by a test of their courage and loyalty. While there are several variants on the tale, a common version states 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, Muhammad called for the horses to return to him. Only five mares responded. Because they faithfully returned to their master, though desperate with thirst, these mares became his favorites and were called Al Khamsa
Al Khamsa
"Al Khamsa" is an Arabic term that is applied to specific Bedouin bloodlines of the Arabian horse. It roughly translates to "the five."The legend of Al Khamsa refers to the five favorite horses of the prophet Muhammad. According to this folklore, Mohammed denied his mares water for three days as a...
, meaning, the five. These mares became the legendary founders of the five "strains" of the Arabian horse. Although the Al Khamsa are generally considered fictional horses of legend, some breeders today claim the modern Bedouin Arabian actually descended from these mares.
Another origin tale claims that King Solomon
Solomon
Solomon , according to the Book of Kings and the Book of Chronicles, a King of Israel and according to the Talmud one of the 48 prophets, is identified as the son of David, also called Jedidiah in 2 Samuel 12:25, and is described as the third king of the United Monarchy, and the final king before...
was given a pure Arabian-type mare named Safanad ("the pure") by the Queen of Sheba. A different version says that Solomon gave a stallion, Zad el-Raheb or Zad-el-Rakib ("Gift to the Rider"), to the Banu Azd people when they came to pay tribute to the king. This legendary stallion was said to be faster than the zebra and the gazelle, and every hunt with him was successful, thus when he was put to stud, he became a founding sire of legend.
Yet another creation myth puts the origin of the Arabian in the time of Ishmael
Ishmael
Ishmael is a figure in the Hebrew Bible and the Qur'an, and was Abraham's first born child according to Jews, Christians and Muslims. Ishmael was born of Abraham's marriage to Sarah's handmaiden Hagar...
, the son of Abraham
Abraham
Abraham , whose birth name was Abram, is the eponym of the Abrahamic religions, among which are Judaism, Christianity and Islam...
. In this story, the Angel Jibril
Gabriel
In Abrahamic religions, Gabriel is an Archangel who typically serves as a messenger to humans from God.He first appears in the Book of Daniel, delivering explanations of Daniel's visions. In the Gospel of Luke Gabriel foretells the births of both John the Baptist and of Jesus...
(also known as Gabriel
Gabriel
In Abrahamic religions, Gabriel is an Archangel who typically serves as a messenger to humans from God.He first appears in the Book of Daniel, delivering explanations of Daniel's visions. In the Gospel of Luke Gabriel foretells the births of both John the Baptist and of Jesus...
) descended from Heaven and awakened Ishmael with a "wind-spout" that whirled toward him. The Angel then commanded the thundercloud to stop scattering dust and rain, and so it gathered itself into a prancing, handsome creature - a horse - that seemed to swallow up the ground. Hence, the Bedouins bestowed the title "Drinker of the Wind" to the first Arabian horse.
Finally, a Bedouin
Bedouin
The Bedouin are a part of a predominantly desert-dwelling Arab ethnic group traditionally divided into tribes or clans, known in Arabic as ..-Etymology:...
story states that Allah
Allah
Allah is a word for God used in the context of Islam. In Arabic, the word means simply "God". It is used primarily by Muslims and Bahá'ís, and often, albeit not exclusively, used by Arabic-speaking Eastern Catholic Christians, Maltese Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox Christians, Mizrahi Jews and...
created the Arabian horse from the four winds; spirit from the North, strength from the South, speed from the East, and intelligence from the West. While doing so, he exclaimed, "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
Allah
Allah is a word for God used in the context of Islam. In Arabic, the word means simply "God". It is used primarily by Muslims and Bahá'ís, and often, albeit not exclusively, used by Arabic-speaking Eastern Catholic Christians, Maltese Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox Christians, Mizrahi Jews and...
said to the South Wind: "I want to make a creature out of you. Condense." Then from the material condensed from the wind, he made a kamayt-colored animal (a bay or burnt chestnut
Chestnut (coat)
Chestnut is a hair coat color of horses consisting of a reddish-to-brown coat with a mane and tail the same or lighter in color than the coat. Genetically and visually, chestnut is characterized by the absolute absence of true black hairs...
) and 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; you shall fly without wings; riches shall be on your back and fortune shall come through your meditation."
Origins
Arabians are one of the oldest human-developed horse breeds in the world. The progenitor stock, the Oriental subtypeOriental horse
The term oriental horse refers to the ancient breeds of horses developed in the Middle East, such as the Arabian, Akhal-Teke, Barb, and the now-extinct Turkoman horse. They tend to be thin-skinned, long-legged, slim in build and more physically refined than other types, but with great endurance...
or "Proto-Arabian" was a horse with oriental characteristics similar to the modern Arabian. Horses with these features appeared in rock paintings and inscriptions in the Arabian Peninsula
Arabian Peninsula
The Arabian Peninsula is a land mass situated north-east of Africa. Also known as Arabia or the Arabian subcontinent, it is the world's largest peninsula and covers 3,237,500 km2...
as far back as 2500 BC. In ancient history
Ancient history
Ancient history is the study of the written past from the beginning of recorded human history to the Early Middle Ages. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, with Cuneiform script, the oldest discovered form of coherent writing, from the protoliterate period around the 30th century BC...
throughout the Ancient Near East
Ancient Near East
The ancient Near East was the home of early civilizations within a region roughly corresponding to the modern Middle East: Mesopotamia , ancient Egypt, ancient Iran The ancient Near East was the home of early civilizations within a region roughly corresponding to the modern Middle East: Mesopotamia...
, horses with refined heads and high-carried tails were depicted in artwork, particularly that of Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...
in the 16th century BC.
Some scholars of the Arabian horse once theorized that the Arabian came from a separate subspecies of horse, known as equus caballus pumpelli. Other scholars, including Gladys Brown Edwards, a noted Arabian researcher, believe that the "dry" oriental horses of the desert, from which the modern Arabian developed, were more likely Equus ferus caballus with specific landrace
Landrace
A landrace is a local variety of a domesticated animal or plant species which has developed largely by natural processes, by adaptation to the natural and cultural environment in which it lives. It differs from a formal breed which has been bred deliberately to conform to a particular standard...
characteristics based on the environments in which they lived, rather than being a separate subspecies. Horses with similar, though not identical, physical characteristics include the Marwari horse
Marwari horse
The Marwari or Malani is a rare breed of horse from the Marwar region of India. Known for its inward-turning ear tips, it comes in all equine colours, although pinto patterns tend to be the most popular with buyers and breeders. It is known for its hardiness, and is quite similar to the...
of India, the Barb
Barb (horse)
Developed on the Barbary Coast of North Africa, the Barb horse is a desert breed with great hardiness and stamina. The Barb generally possesses a fiery temperament and an atypical sport-horse conformation, but nevertheless has influenced modern breeds....
of North Africa, the Akhal-Teke
Akhal-Teke
The Akhal-Teke is a horse breed from Turkmenistan, where they are a national emblem. They are noted for their speed and for endurance on long marches. These "golden-horses" are adapted to severe climatic conditions and are thought to be one of the oldest surviving horse breeds...
of western Asia and the now-extinct Turkoman Horse
Turkoman Horse
The Turkoman horse, or Turkmene, was an Oriental horse breed from the steppes of Central Asia, now extinct. Modern descendants include the Akhal-Teke and the Yamud horse breeds. Horses bred in Turkmenistan are still referred to as Turkoman, and have similar characteristics...
.
Desert roots
Fertile Crescent
The Fertile Crescent, nicknamed "The Cradle of Civilization" for the fact the first civilizations started there, is a crescent-shaped region containing the comparatively moist and fertile land of otherwise arid and semi-arid Western Asia. The term was first used by University of Chicago...
. Another hypothesis suggests the southwestern corner of the Arabian peninsula, in modern-day Yemen
Yemen
The Republic of Yemen , commonly known as Yemen , is a country located in the Middle East, occupying the southwestern to southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, and Oman to the east....
, where three now-dry riverbeds indicate good natural pastures existed long ago, perhaps as far back as the Ice Age
Ice age
An ice age or, more precisely, glacial age, is a generic geological period of long-term reduction in the temperature of the Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental ice sheets, polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers...
.
The proto-Arabian horse may have been domesticated
Domestication of the horse
There are a number of hypotheses on many of the key issues regarding the domestication of the horse. Although horses appeared in Paleolithic cave art as early as 30,000 BCE, these were truly wild horses and were probably hunted for meat. How and when horses became domesticated is disputed...
by the people of the Arabian peninsula
Arabian Peninsula
The Arabian Peninsula is a land mass situated north-east of Africa. Also known as Arabia or the Arabian subcontinent, it is the world's largest peninsula and covers 3,237,500 km2...
known today as the Bedouin
Bedouin
The Bedouin are a part of a predominantly desert-dwelling Arab ethnic group traditionally divided into tribes or clans, known in Arabic as ..-Etymology:...
, some time after they learned to use the camel
Camel
A camel is an even-toed ungulate within the genus Camelus, bearing distinctive fatty deposits known as humps on its back. There are two species of camels: the dromedary or Arabian camel has a single hump, and the bactrian has two humps. Dromedaries are native to the dry desert areas of West Asia,...
, approximately 4,000–5,000 years ago. Other scholars, noting that horses were common in the Fertile Crescent but rare in the Arabian peninsula prior to the rise of Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
, theorize that the breed as it is known today only developed in large numbers when the conversion of the Persians
Persian people
The Persian people are part of the Iranian peoples who speak the modern Persian language and closely akin Iranian dialects and languages. The origin of the ethnic Iranian/Persian peoples are traced to the Ancient Iranian peoples, who were part of the ancient Indo-Iranians and themselves part of...
to Islam in the 7th century brought knowledge of horse breeding and horsemanship to the Bedouin.
Regardless of origin, climate and culture ultimately created the Arabian. The desert environment required a domesticated horse to cooperate with humans to survive; humans were the only providers of food and water in certain areas, and even hardy Arabian horses needed far more water than camels in order to survive (most horses can only live about 72 hours without water). Where there was no pasture or water, the Bedouin fed their horses dates and camel's milk. The desert horse needed the ability to thrive on very little food, and to have anatomical traits to compensate for life in a dry climate with wide temperature extremes from day to night. Weak individuals were weeded out of the breeding pool, and the animals that remained were also honed by centuries of human warfare.
The Bedouin way of life depended on camels and horses: Arabians were bred to be war horses
Horses in warfare
The first use of horses in warfare occurred over 5,000 years ago. The earliest evidence of horses ridden in warfare dates from Eurasia between 4000 and 3000 BC. A Sumerian illustration of warfare from 2500 BC depicts some type of equine pulling wagons...
with speed, endurance, soundness, and intelligence. Because many raids required stealth, mares were preferred over stallions as they were quieter, and therefore would not give away the position of the fighters. A good disposition was also critical; prized war mares were often brought inside family tents to prevent theft and for protection from weather and predators. Though appearance was not necessarily a survival factor, the Bedouin bred for refinement and beauty in their horses as well as for more practical features.
Strains and pedigrees
For centuries, the Bedouin tracked the ancestry of each horse through an oral traditionOral tradition
Oral tradition and oral lore is cultural material and traditions transmitted orally from one generation to another. The messages or testimony are verbally transmitted in speech or song and may take the form, for example, of folktales, sayings, ballads, songs, or chants...
. 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
Gelding
A gelding is a castrated horse or other equine such as a donkey or a mule. Castration, and the elimination of hormonally driven behavior associated with a stallion, allows a male horse to be calmer and better-behaved, making the animal quieter, gentler and potentially more suitable as an everyday...
male horses, and considered stallions
Stallion (horse)
A stallion is a male horse that has not been gelded .Stallions will follow the conformation and phenotype of their breed, but within that standard, the presence of hormones such as testosterone may give stallions a thicker, "cresty" neck, as well as a somewhat more muscular physique as compared to...
too intractable to be good war horses, thus they kept very few colts
Colt (horse)
A colt is a young male horse, under the age of four. The term "colt" is often confused with foal, which refers to a horse of either sex under one year of age....
, selling most, and culling those of poor quality.
Over time, the Bedouin developed several sub-types or strains of Arabian horse, each with unique characteristics, and traced through the maternal line only. According to the Arabian Horse Association
Arabian Horse Association
The Arabian Horse Association is the single national organization that is the only breed registry that registers Arabian horses in the United States...
, the five primary strains were known as the Keheilan, Seglawi, Abeyan, Hamdani and Hadban. Carl Raswan
Carl Raswan
Carl Reinhard Raswan , born Carl Reinhard Schmidt, was one of the greatest connoisseurs and patrons of the asil Arabian horse. He was also a writer and author of numerous books on Arabian horses and the Bedouin people...
, a promoter and writer about Arabian horses from the middle of the 20th century, held the belief that there were only three strains, Kehilan, Seglawi and Muniqi. Raswan felt that these strains represented body "types" of the breed, with the Kehilan being "masculine", the Seglawi being "feminine" and the Muniqi being "speedy". There were also lesser strains, sub-strains, and regional variations in strain names. Therefore, many Arabian horses were not only Asil, of pure blood, but also bred to be pure in strain, with crossbreeding between strains discouraged, though not forbidden, by some tribes. Purity of bloodline was very important to the Bedouin, and they also believed in telegony
Telegony (pregnancy)
Telegony is a theory in heredity, now discredited but widely believed until the late 19th century, holding that offspring can inherit the characteristics of a previous mate of the female parent; thus the child of a widowed or remarried woman might partake of traits of a previous husband...
, believing if a mare was ever bred to a stallion of "impure" blood, the mare herself and all future offspring would be "contaminated" by the stallion and hence no longer Asil.
This complex web of bloodline and strain was an integral part of Bedouin culture; they not only knew the pedigrees and history of their best war mares in detail, but also carefully tracked the breeding of their camels, Saluki
Saluki
The Saluki, also known as the Royal Dog of Egypt and Persian Greyhound is one of the oldest known breeds of domesticated dog. From the period of the Middle Kingdom onwards, Saluki-like animals appear on the ancient Egyptian tombs of 2134 BC. They have connections both to the Bible and Imperial...
dogs, and their own family or tribal history. Eventually, written records began to be kept; the first written pedigrees in the Middle East that specifically used the term "Arabian" date to 1330 AD. As important as strain was to the Bedouin, modern studies of mitochondrial DNA
Mitochondrial DNA
Mitochondrial DNA is the DNA located in organelles called mitochondria, structures within eukaryotic cells that convert the chemical energy from food into a form that cells can use, adenosine triphosphate...
suggest that Arabian horses alive today with records stating descent from a given strain may not actually share a common maternal ancestry.
Historic development
Role in the ancient world
Fiery war horses with dished faces and high-carried tails were popular artistic subjects in Ancient EgyptAncient Egypt
Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...
and Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia is a toponym for the area of the Tigris–Euphrates river system, largely corresponding to modern-day Iraq, northeastern Syria, southeastern Turkey and southwestern Iran.Widely considered to be the cradle of civilization, Bronze Age Mesopotamia included Sumer and the...
, often depicted pulling chariots in war or for hunting. Horses with oriental characteristics appear in later artwork as far north as that of Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...
and the Roman Empire
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
. While this type of horse was not called an "Arabian" in the Ancient Near East
Ancient Near East
The ancient Near East was the home of early civilizations within a region roughly corresponding to the modern Middle East: Mesopotamia , ancient Egypt, ancient Iran The ancient Near East was the home of early civilizations within a region roughly corresponding to the modern Middle East: Mesopotamia...
until later, (the word "Arabia" or "Arabaya" first appeared in writing in Ancient Persia, c. 500 BC) these proto-Arabians shared many characteristics with the modern Arabian, including speed, endurance, and refinement. For example, a horse skeleton unearthed in the Sinai peninsula, dated to 1700 BC and probably brought by the Hyksos
Hyksos
The Hyksos were an Asiatic people who took over the eastern Nile Delta during the twelfth dynasty, initiating the Second Intermediate Period of ancient Egypt....
invaders, is considered the earliest physical evidence of the horse in Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...
. This horse had a wedge-shaped head, large eye socket and small muzzle, all characteristics of the Arabian horse.
In Islamic history
Hijra (Islam)
The Hijra is the migration or journey of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and his followers from Mecca to Medina in 622 CE. Alternate spellings of this Arabic word are Hijrah, Hijrat or Hegira, the latter following the spelling rules of Latin.- Hijra of Muhammad :In September 622, warned of a plot to...
in AD 622 (also sometimes spelled Hegira), the Arabian horse spread across the known world of the time, and became recognized as a distinct, named breed. It played a significant role in the History of the Middle East
History of the Middle East
This article is a general overview of the history of the Middle East. For more detailed information, see articles on the histories of individual countries and regions...
and of Islam. By AD 630, Muslim influence expanded across the Middle East and North Africa, by AD 711 Muslim warriors
Muslim conquests
Muslim conquests also referred to as the Islamic conquests or Arab conquests, began with the Islamic prophet Muhammad. He established a new unified polity in the Arabian Peninsula which under the subsequent Rashidun and Umayyad Caliphates saw a century of rapid expansion of Muslim power.They...
had reached Spain, and they controlled most of the Iberian Peninsula
Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula , sometimes called Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe and includes the modern-day sovereign states of Spain, Portugal and Andorra, as well as the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar...
by 720. Their war horses were of various oriental types, including both Arabians and the Barb
Barb (horse)
Developed on the Barbary Coast of North Africa, the Barb horse is a desert breed with great hardiness and stamina. The Barb generally possesses a fiery temperament and an atypical sport-horse conformation, but nevertheless has influenced modern breeds....
horse of North Africa.
Arabian horses also spread to the rest of the world via the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
, which rose in 1299. Though it never fully dominated the heart of the Arabian Peninsula
Arabian Peninsula
The Arabian Peninsula is a land mass situated north-east of Africa. Also known as Arabia or the Arabian subcontinent, it is the world's largest peninsula and covers 3,237,500 km2...
, this Turkish
Turkish people
Turkish people, also known as the "Turks" , are an ethnic group primarily living in Turkey and in the former lands of the Ottoman Empire where Turkish minorities had been established in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Romania...
empire obtained many Arabian horses through trade, diplomacy and war. The Ottomans encouraged formation of private stud farm
Stud farm
A stud farm or stud in animal husbandry, is an establishment for selective breeding of livestock. The word "stud" comes from the Old English stod meaning "herd of horses, place where horses are kept for breeding" Historically, documentation of the breedings that occur on a stud farm leads to the...
s in order to ensure a supply of calvalry horses, and Ottoman nobles, such as Muhammad Ali of Egypt
Muhammad Ali of Egypt
Muhammad Ali Pasha al-Mas'ud ibn Agha was a commander in the Ottoman army, who became Wāli, and self-declared Khedive of Egypt and Sudan...
also collected pure, desert-bred Arabian horses.
El Naseri, or Al-Nasir Muhammad
Al-Nasir Muhammad
Al-Nasir Muhammad b. Cairo 1285, d...
, Sultan of Egypt
Sultan of Egypt
Sultan of Egypt was the status held by the rulers of Egypt after the establishment of the Ayyubid Dynasty of Saladin in 1174 until the Ottoman conquest of Egypt in 1517. Though the extent of the Egyptian Sultanate ebbed and flowed, it generally included Sham and Hejaz, with the consequence that the...
(1290–1342) imported and bred numerous Arabians in Egypt. A stud farm record was made of his purchases describing many of the horses as well as their abilities, and was deposited in his library, becoming a source for later study. Through the Ottomans, Arabian horses were often sold, traded, or given as diplomatic gifts to Europeans and, later, to Americans.
Egypt
Historically, Egyptian breeders imported horses bred in the deserts of PalestinePalestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
and the Arabian peninsula
Arabian Peninsula
The Arabian Peninsula is a land mass situated north-east of Africa. Also known as Arabia or the Arabian subcontinent, it is the world's largest peninsula and covers 3,237,500 km2...
as the source of their foundation bloodstock
Foundation bloodstock
Foundation bloodstock or foundation stock are horses that are the progenitor, or foundation, of a new horse breed or a given bloodline within a breed. The term is also used in a similar manner when discussing purebred dogs...
. By the time that the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
dominated Egypt, the political elites of the region still recognized the need for quality bloodstock for both war and for horse racing
Horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...
, and some continued to return to the deserts to obtain pure-blooded Arabians. One of the most famous was Muhammad Ali of Egypt
Muhammad Ali of Egypt
Muhammad Ali Pasha al-Mas'ud ibn Agha was a commander in the Ottoman army, who became Wāli, and self-declared Khedive of Egypt and Sudan...
, also known as Muhammad Ali Pasha, who established an extensive stud farm in the 19th century. After his death, some of his stock was bred on by Abbas I of Egypt
Abbas I of Egypt
Abbas I , , also known as Abbas Hilmi I Pasha Wāli of Egypt and Sudan, was a son of Tusun Pasha and grandson of Muhammad Ali, founder of the reigning dynasty of Egypt and Sudan at the time...
, also known as Abbas Pasha. However, after Abbas Pasha was assassinated in 1854, his heir, El Hami Pasha, sold most of his horses, often for crossbreeding, and gave away many others as diplomatic gifts. A remnant of the herd was obtained by Ali Pasha Sherif
Ali Pasha Sherif
Ali Pasha Sherif was an Egyptian government official and a renowned breeder of Arabian horses during the late 19th century.-Family Background:...
, who then went back to the desert to bring in new bloodstock. At its peak, the stud of Ali Pasha Sherif had over 400 purebred Arabians. Unfortunately, an epidemic of African horse sickness
African Horse sickness
African horse sickness is a highly infectious, and deadly disease. It commonly affects horses, mules, and donkeys. It is caused by a virus of the genus Orbivirus belonging to the family Reoviridae. This disease can be caused by any of the nine serotypes of this virus...
in the 1870s that killed thousands of horses throughout Egypt decimated much of his herd, wiping out several irreplaceable bloodlines. Late in his life, he sold several horses to Wilfred and Lady Anne Blunt
Lady Anne Blunt
Anne Isabella Noel Blunt, née King-Noel, 15th Baroness Wentworth , known for most of her life as Lady Anne Blunt, was co-founder, with her husband the poet Wilfrid Scawen Blunt, of the Crabbet Arabian Stud. The two married on 8 June 1869...
, who exported them to Crabbet Park Stud
Crabbet Arabian Stud
The Crabbet Arabian Stud, also known as the Crabbet Park Stud, was a horse breeding farm established on 2 July 1878 when the first Arabian horses brought to England by Wilfrid Scawen Blunt and Lady Anne Blunt arrived at Crabbet Park, their estate in Sussex...
in England. After his death, Lady Anne was also able to gather many remaining horses at her Sheykh Obeyd
Sheykh Obeyd
Sheykh Obeyd was a stud farm that raised Arabian horses, located near Cairo, Egypt. It was founded by Wilfred Scawen Blunt and Lady Anne Blunt in the late 19th century, was the home of Lady Anne following her divorce from Wilfred, and was where she lived until her death...
stud.
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
formed the Royal Agricultural Society (RAS) in 1908, which is known today as the Egyptian Agricultural Organization (EAO).
RAS representatives traveled to England during the 1920s and purchased eighteen descendants of the original Blunt exports from Lady Wentworth at Crabbet Park, and returned these bloodlines to Egypt in order to restore bloodlines had been lost. Other than several horses purchased by Henry Babson
Henry Babson
Henry B. Babson was an entrepreneur, investor in phonograph technology, and notable breeder of Arabian horses. He first moved to Chicago at the age of 17 at the urging of inventor Leon F. Douglass...
for importation to the United States in the 1930s, and one other small group exported to the USA in 1947, relatively few Egyptian-bred Arabian horses were exported until the overthrow of King Farouk I in 1952. Many of the private stud farms of the princes were then confiscated and the animals taken over by the EAO. In the 1960s and 1970s, as oil development brought more foreign investors to Egypt, some of whom were horse fanciers, Arabians were exported to Germany and to the United States, as well as to the former Soviet Union.Today, the designation "Straight Egyptian" or "Egyptian Arabian" is popular with some Arabian breeders, and the modern Egyptian-bred Arabian is an outcross
Outcrossing
Outcrossing is the practice of introducing unrelated genetic material into a breeding line. It increases genetic diversity, thus reducing the probability of all individuals being subject to disease or reducing genetic abnormalities...
used to add refinement in some breeding programs.
Arrival in Europe
Probably the earliest horses with Arabian bloodlines to enter Europe came indirectly, through Spain and France. Others would have arrived with returning CrusaderCrusades
The Crusades were a series of religious wars, blessed by the Pope and the Catholic Church with the main goal of restoring Christian access to the holy places in and near Jerusalem...
s— beginning in 1095, European armies invaded Palestine and many knight
Knight
A knight was a member of a class of lower nobility in the High Middle Ages.By the Late Middle Ages, the rank had become associated with the ideals of chivalry, a code of conduct for the perfect courtly Christian warrior....
s returned home with Arabian horses as spoils of war. Later, as knights and the heavy, armored war horse
Horses in warfare
The first use of horses in warfare occurred over 5,000 years ago. The earliest evidence of horses ridden in warfare dates from Eurasia between 4000 and 3000 BC. A Sumerian illustration of warfare from 2500 BC depicts some type of equine pulling wagons...
s who carried them became obsolete, Arabian horses and their descendants were used to develop faster, agile light cavalry
Light cavalry
Light cavalry refers to lightly armed and lightly armored troops mounted on horses, as opposed to heavy cavalry, where the riders are heavily armored...
horses that were used in warfare into the 20th century.
Another major infusion of Arabian horses into Europe occurred when the Ottoman Turks
Ottoman Turks
The Ottoman Turks were the Turkish-speaking population of the Ottoman Empire who formed the base of the state's military and ruling classes. Reliable information about the early history of Ottoman Turks is scarce, but they take their Turkish name, Osmanlı , from the house of Osman I The Ottoman...
sent 300,000 horsemen into Hungary in 1522, many of whom were mounted on pure-blooded Arabians, captured during raids into Arabia. By 1529, the Ottomans reached Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, where they were stopped by the Polish and Hungarian armies, who captured these horses from the defeated Ottoman cavalry
Cavalry
Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...
. Some of these animals provided foundation bloodstock
Foundation bloodstock
Foundation bloodstock or foundation stock are horses that are the progenitor, or foundation, of a new horse breed or a given bloodline within a breed. The term is also used in a similar manner when discussing purebred dogs...
for the major studs of eastern Europe.
Polish and Russian breeding programs
Knyszyn
Knyszyn is a town in north-eastern Poland, northwest of Białystok. It is situated in the Podlaskie Voivodeship , and was formerly in the Białystok Voivodeship ....
a, the royal stud of Polish king Zygmunt II August, and another the Imperial Russian Stud of Peter the Great.
European horse breeders also obtained Arabian stock directly from the desert or via trade with the Ottomans. In Russia, Count Alexey Orlov
Alexei Grigoryevich Orlov
Count Alexei Grigoryevich Orlov was a Russian soldier and statesman, who rose to prominence during the reign of Catherine the Great.Orlov served in the Imperial Russian Army, and through his connections with his brother, became one of the key conspirators in the plot to overthrow Tsar Peter III...
obtained many Arabians, including Smetanka
Smetanka
Smetanka was an Arabian stallion who was a foundation sire of the Orlov trotter. Count Alexey Orlov of Russia obtained many Arabians, including Smetanka, from the nobility of the Ottoman Empire and other sources tracing to the Bedouin of the Arabian peninsula...
, an Arabian stallion who became a foundation sire of the Orlov trotter
Orlov Trotter
The Orlov Trotter is a horse breed with a hereditary fast trot, noted for its outstanding speed and stamina. It is the most famous Russian horse. The breed was developed in Russia in the late 18th century by Count Alexei Orlov at his Khrenovskoy Stud farm near the town of Bobrov...
. Orlov then provided Arabian horses to Catherine the Great, who in 1772 owned 12 pure Arabian stallions and 10 mares. By 1889 two members of the Russian nobility, Count Stroganov and Prince Shcherbatov, established Arabian stud farm
Stud farm
A stud farm or stud in animal husbandry, is an establishment for selective breeding of livestock. The word "stud" comes from the Old English stod meaning "herd of horses, place where horses are kept for breeding" Historically, documentation of the breedings that occur on a stud farm leads to the...
s to meet the continued need to breed Arabians as a source of pure bloodstock.
In Poland, notable imports from Arabia included those of Prince Hieronymous Sanguszko
Sanguszko
Sanguszko is a Polish-Lithuanian noble family of the Ruthenian Sanguszko is a Polish-Lithuanian noble family of the Ruthenian Sanguszko is a Polish-Lithuanian noble family of the Ruthenian (now Ukrainian stock from the Gediminid dynasty. Like other princely houses of Polish-Lithuanian...
(1743–1812), who founded the Slawuta stud. Poland's first state-run Arabian stud farm, Janów Podlaski
Janów Podlaski
Janów Podlaski is a village in Biała Podlaska County, Lublin Voivodeship, in eastern Poland, close to the border with Belarus. It is the seat of the gmina called Gmina Janów Podlaski...
, was established by the decree of Alexander I of Russia
Alexander I of Russia
Alexander I of Russia , served as Emperor of Russia from 23 March 1801 to 1 December 1825 and the first Russian King of Poland from 1815 to 1825. He was also the first Russian Grand Duke of Finland and Lithuania....
in 1817, and by 1850, the great stud farms of Poland were well-established, including Antoniny, owned by the Polish Count Potocki
Potocki
Potocki is the surname of a Polish noble family.-History:The Potocki family is a great artistocratic family originated from Potok in the Kraków Voivodeship; their family name derives from that place name. The family is heavily entwined with the cultural development and history of Poland's Eastern...
(who had married into the Sanguszko family); later notable as the farm that produced the stallion Skowronek
Skowronek
Skowronek was an Arabian stallion foaled in 1909. He was bred by Count Józef Potocki who owned the Antoniny Stud in Poland. He was imported to England as a young horse. Upon purchase by Lady Wentworth, Skowronek became a foundation stallion at Lady Wentworth's famed Crabbet Arabian Stud...
.
Central and western Europe
The 18th century marked the establishment of most of the great Arabian studs of Europe, dedicated to preserving "pure" Arabian bloodstock. The PrussiaPrussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
ns set up a royal stud in 1732, originally intended to provide horses for the royal stables, and other studs were established to breed animals for other uses, including mounts for the Prussian army. The foundation of these breeding programs was the crossing of Arabians on native horses; by 1873 some English observers felt that the Prussian calvalry mounts were superior in endurance to those of the British, and credited Arabian bloodlines for this superiority.
Other state studs included the Babolna Stud of Hungary, set up in 1789, and the Weil stud in Germany (now Weil-Marbach or the Marbach stud
Marbach stud
The Marbach Stud, also known as Weil-Marbach, is Germany's oldest state stud farm for horse breeding, has a history that dates back over 500 years. It is located in southwest Germany near Gomadingen in the Reutlingen district of Baden-Württemberg. The annual stallion parade is an internationally...
), founded in 1817 by King William I of Württemberg
William I of Württemberg
William I was the second King of Württemberg from October 30, 1816 until his death.He was born in Lüben, the son of King Frederick I of Württemberg and his wife Duchess Augusta of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel .-First marriage:...
. King James I of England
James I of England
James VI and I was King of Scots as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the English and Scottish crowns on 24 March 1603...
imported the first Arabian stallion, the Markham Arabian, to England in 1616. Arabians were also introduced into European race horse breeding, especially in England via the Darley Arabian
Darley Arabian
The Darley Arabian was one of three dominant foundation sires of modern Thoroughbred horse racing bloodstock, the other two being the Godolphin Arabian and the Byerley Turk. This bay Arabian horse was bought in Aleppo, Syria by Thomas Darley in 1704 and shipped back to Aldby Park in England, where...
, Byerly Turk
Byerly Turk
The Byerley Turk or Byerly Turk, was the earliest of three stallions that were the founders of the modern Thoroughbred horse racing bloodstock...
, and Godolphin Arabian
Godolphin Arabian
The Godolphin Arabian , also known as the Godolphin Barb, was an Arabian horse who was one of three stallions that were the founders of the modern Thoroughbred horse racing bloodstock...
, the three foundation stallions of the modern Thoroughbred
Thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...
breed, who were each brought to England during the 18th century. Other monarchs obtained Arabian horses, often as personal mounts. One of the most famous Arabian stallions in Europe was Marengo
Marengo (horse)
Marengo was the famous war mount of Napoleon I of France. Named after the Battle of Marengo, through which he carried his rider safely, Marengo was imported to France from Egypt in 1799 as a 6-year-old. The gray Arabian was probably bred at the famous El Naseri Stud...
, the war horse
Horses in warfare
The first use of horses in warfare occurred over 5,000 years ago. The earliest evidence of horses ridden in warfare dates from Eurasia between 4000 and 3000 BC. A Sumerian illustration of warfare from 2500 BC depicts some type of equine pulling wagons...
ridden by Napoleon Bonaparte.
During the mid-19th century, the need for Arabian blood to improve the breeding stock for light cavalry horses in Europe resulted in more excursions to the Middle East. Queen Isabel II of Spain sent representatives to the desert to purchase Arabian horses and by 1847 had established a stud book; her successor, King Alfonso XII imported additional bloodstock from other European nations. By 1893, the state military stud farm, Yeguada Militar was established in Córdoba, Spain
Córdoba, Spain
-History:The first trace of human presence in the area are remains of a Neanderthal Man, dating to c. 32,000 BC. In the 8th century BC, during the ancient Tartessos period, a pre-urban settlement existed. The population gradually learned copper and silver metallurgy...
for breeding both Arabian and Iberian horse
Iberian horse
The Iberian horse is a title given to a number of horse breeds native to the Iberian peninsula. At present, 17 horse breeds are recognized by FAO as characteristic of the Iberian Peninsula....
s. The military remained heavily involved in the importation and breeding of Arabians in Spain well into the early 20th century, and the Yeguada Militar is still in existence today.
This period also marked a phase of considerable travel to the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
by European civilians and minor nobility, and in the process, some travelers noticed that the Arabian horse as a pure breed of horse was under threat due to modern forms of warfare, inbreeding
Inbreeding
Inbreeding is the reproduction from the mating of two genetically related parents. Inbreeding results in increased homozygosity, which can increase the chances of offspring being affected by recessive or deleterious traits. This generally leads to a decreased fitness of a population, which is...
and other problems that were reducing the horse population of the Bedouin tribes at a rapid rate. By the late 19th century, the most farsighted began in earnest to collect the finest Arabian horses they could find in order to preserve the blood of the pure desert horse for future generations. The most famous example was Lady Anne Blunt
Lady Anne Blunt
Anne Isabella Noel Blunt, née King-Noel, 15th Baroness Wentworth , known for most of her life as Lady Anne Blunt, was co-founder, with her husband the poet Wilfrid Scawen Blunt, of the Crabbet Arabian Stud. The two married on 8 June 1869...
, the daughter of Ada Lovelace
Ada Lovelace
Augusta Ada King, Countess of Lovelace , born Augusta Ada Byron, was an English writer chiefly known for her work on Charles Babbage's early mechanical general-purpose computer, the analytical engine...
and granddaughter of Lord Byron.
The rise of the Crabbet Park Stud
Perhaps the most famous of all Arabian breeding operations founded in Europe was the Crabbet Park Stud
Crabbet Arabian Stud
The Crabbet Arabian Stud, also known as the Crabbet Park Stud, was a horse breeding farm established on 2 July 1878 when the first Arabian horses brought to England by Wilfrid Scawen Blunt and Lady Anne Blunt arrived at Crabbet Park, their estate in Sussex...
of England, founded 1878. Starting in 1877, Wilfrid Scawen Blunt
Wilfrid Scawen Blunt
Wilfrid Scawen Blunt was an English poet and writer. He was born at Petworth House in Sussex, and served in the Diplomatic Service from 1858 to 1869. His mother was a Catholic convert and he was educated at Twyford School, Stonyhurst and at St Mary's College, Oscott...
and Lady Anne Blunt
Lady Anne Blunt
Anne Isabella Noel Blunt, née King-Noel, 15th Baroness Wentworth , known for most of her life as Lady Anne Blunt, was co-founder, with her husband the poet Wilfrid Scawen Blunt, of the Crabbet Arabian Stud. The two married on 8 June 1869...
made repeated journeys to the Middle East, including visits to the stud of Ali Pasha Sherif
Ali Pasha Sherif
Ali Pasha Sherif was an Egyptian government official and a renowned breeder of Arabian horses during the late 19th century.-Family Background:...
in Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
and to Bedouin tribes in the Nejd
Najd
Najd or Nejd , literally Highland, is the central region of the Arabian Peninsula.-Boundaries :The Arabic word nejd literally means "upland" and was once applied to a variety of regions within the Arabian Peninsula...
, bringing the best Arabians they could find to England. Lady Anne also purchased and maintained the Sheykh Obeyd
Sheykh Obeyd
Sheykh Obeyd was a stud farm that raised Arabian horses, located near Cairo, Egypt. It was founded by Wilfred Scawen Blunt and Lady Anne Blunt in the late 19th century, was the home of Lady Anne following her divorce from Wilfred, and was where she lived until her death...
stud farm in Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, near Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
. Upon Lady Anne's death in 1917, the Blunts' daughter, Judith, Lady Wentworth
Judith Blunt-Lytton, 16th Baroness Wentworth
Judith Anne Dorothea Blunt-Lytton, 16th Baroness Wentworth also known as Lady Wentworth was a British peeress, Arabian horse breeder and tennis player...
, inherited the Wentworth title and Lady Anne's portion of the estate, and obtained the remainder of the Crabbet Stud following a protracted legal battle with her father, Wilfrid. Lady Wentworth expanded the stud, added new bloodstock, and exported 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 motorway was cut through the property, forcing the sale of the land and dispersal of the horses.
Early 20th century Europe
In the early 20th century, the military was involved in the breeding of Arabian horses throughout Europe, particularly in Poland, Spain, Germany, and Russia; private breeders also developed a number of breeding programs. Significant among the private breedersHorse breeding
Horse breeding is reproduction in horses, and particularly the human-directed process of selective breeding of animals, particularly purebred horses of a given breed. Planned matings can be used to produce specifically desired characteristics in domesticated horses...
in continental Europe was Spain's Cristobal Colon de Aguilera, XV Duque de Veragua
Duchy of Veragua
The Duchy of Veragua was a Spanish hereditary domain created in 1537 in the reign of King Charles I in a small section of the territory of Veragua...
, a direct descendant of Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus was an explorer, colonizer, and navigator, born in the Republic of Genoa, in northwestern Italy. Under the auspices of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, he completed four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean that led to general European awareness of the American continents in the...
, who founded the Veragua Stud in the 1920s.
Modern warfare and its impact on European studs
Between World War I, the Russian Revolution, and the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, many historic European stud farms were lost; in Poland, the Antoniny and Slawuta Studs were wiped out except for five mares. Notable among the survivors was the Janów Podlaski Stud. The Russian Revolution, combined with the effects of World War I, destroyed most of the breeding programs in Russia, but by 1921, the Soviet government reestablished an Arabian program, the Tersk StudTersk Stud
The Tersk Stud was officially established on February 11, 1921, on the orders of Marshal Semyon Budyonny. The breeding farm was used to restore the Russian horse population, which suffered heavy losses during the Russian Revolution.- Early history :...
, on the site of the former Stroganov estate, which included Polish bloodstock as well as some importations from the Crabbet Stud in England. The programs that survived the war re-established their breeding operations and some added to their studs with new imports of desert-bred Arabian horses from the Middle East. Not all European studs recovered. The Weil stud of Germany, founded by King Wilhelm I, went into considerable decline; by the time the Weil herd was transferred to the Marbach State Stud
Marbach stud
The Marbach Stud, also known as Weil-Marbach, is Germany's oldest state stud farm for horse breeding, has a history that dates back over 500 years. It is located in southwest Germany near Gomadingen in the Reutlingen district of Baden-Württemberg. The annual stallion parade is an internationally...
in 1932, only 17 purebred Arabians remained.
The Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
and World War II also had a devastating impact on horse breeding throughout Europe. The Veragua stud was destroyed, and its records lost, with the only survivors being the broodmares and the younger horses, who were rescued by Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco y Bahamonde was a Spanish general, dictator and head of state of Spain from October 1936 , and de facto regent of the nominally restored Kingdom of Spain from 1947 until his death in November, 1975...
. Crabbet Park
Crabbet Arabian Stud
The Crabbet Arabian Stud, also known as the Crabbet Park Stud, was a horse breeding farm established on 2 July 1878 when the first Arabian horses brought to England by Wilfrid Scawen Blunt and Lady Anne Blunt arrived at Crabbet Park, their estate in Sussex...
, Tersk
Tersk Stud
The Tersk Stud was officially established on February 11, 1921, on the orders of Marshal Semyon Budyonny. The breeding farm was used to restore the Russian horse population, which suffered heavy losses during the Russian Revolution.- Early history :...
, and Janów Podlaski survived. Both the Soviet Union and the United States obtained valuable Arabian bloodlines as spoils of war, which they used to strengthen their breeding programs. The Soviets had taken steps to protect their breeding stock at Tersk Stud
Tersk Stud
The Tersk Stud was officially established on February 11, 1921, on the orders of Marshal Semyon Budyonny. The breeding farm was used to restore the Russian horse population, which suffered heavy losses during the Russian Revolution.- Early history :...
, and by utilizing horses captured in Poland they were able to re-establish their breeding program soon after the end of World War II. The Americans brought Arabian horses captured in Europe to the United States, mostly to the Pomona U.S. Army Remount station, the former W.K. Kellogg
Will Keith Kellogg
Will Keith Kellogg, generally referred to as W.K. Kellogg was an American industrialist in food manufacturing, best known as the founder of the Kellogg Company, which to this day produces a wide variety of popular breakfast cereals...
Ranch in California.
In the postwar era, Poland, Spain, and Germany developed or re-established many well-respected Arabian stud farms. The studs of Poland in particular were decimated by both the Nazis and the Soviets, but were able to reclaim some of their breeding stock and became particularly world-renowned for their quality Arabian horses, tested rigorously by racing and other performance standards. During the 1950s, the Russians also obtained additional horses from Egypt to augment their breeding programs.
After the Cold War
While only a few Arabians were exported from behind the Iron CurtainIron Curtain
The concept of the Iron Curtain symbolized the ideological fighting and physical boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1989...
during the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
, those who did come to the west caught the eye of breeders worldwide. Improved international relations between eastern Europe and the west led to major 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 1991, greater political stability in Egypt, and the rise of the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
all increased international trade in Arabian horses. Organizations such as the World Arabian Horse Association
World Arabian Horse Association
The World Arabian Horse Organization is the world organization for the preservation, improvement and preservation of Arabian horses. WAHO grants membership to nations after examination of national breeding stud books, and review of regulations for each country.-Candidates for membership:...
(WAHO) created consistent standards for transferring the registration of Arabian horses between different nations. Today, Arabian horses are traded all over the world.
In America
The first horses on the American mainland since the end of the Ice AgeIce age
An ice age or, more precisely, glacial age, is a generic geological period of long-term reduction in the temperature of the Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental ice sheets, polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers...
arrived with the Spanish Conquistadors. Hernán Cortés
Hernán Cortés
Hernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro, 1st Marquis of the Valley of Oaxaca was a Spanish Conquistador who led an expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec Empire and brought large portions of mainland Mexico under the rule of the King of Castile in the early 16th century...
brought 16 horses of Andalusian
Andalusian horse
The Andalusian, also known as the Pure Spanish Horse or PRE , is a horse breed developed in the Iberian Peninsula. Its ancestors have been present on the Iberian Peninsula for thousands of years. The Andalusian has been recognized as an individual breed since the 15th century, and its conformation...
, Barb
Barb (horse)
Developed on the Barbary Coast of North Africa, the Barb horse is a desert breed with great hardiness and stamina. The Barb generally possesses a fiery temperament and an atypical sport-horse conformation, but nevertheless has influenced modern breeds....
, and Arabian ancestry to Mexico in 1519. Others followed, such as Francisco Vásquez de Coronado
Francisco Vásquez de Coronado
Francisco Vásquez de Coronado y Luján was a Spanish conquistador, who visited New Mexico and other parts of what are now the southwestern United States between 1540 and 1542...
, who brought 250 horses of similar breeding to America in 1540. More horses followed with each new arrival of Conquistadors, missionaries
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
, and settlers. Many horses escaped or were stolen, becoming the foundation stock of the American Mustang
Mustang (horse)
A Mustang is a free-roaming horse of the North American west that first descended from horses brought to the Americas by the Spanish. Mustangs are often referred to as wild horses, but there is intense debate over terminology...
.
Early imports
Colonists from England also brought horses of Arabian breeding to the eastern seaboard. One example was Nathaniel Harrison, who imported a horse of Arabian, Barb and Turkish ancestry to America in 1747.George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
's primary mounts during the Revolutionary War was a gray half-Arabian horse named "Blueskin", sired by the stallion "Ranger", also known as "Lindsay's Arabian", said to have been obtained from the Sultan of Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
. Other Presidents are linked to ownership of Arabian horses; in 1840, President Martin Van Buren
Martin Van Buren
Martin Van Buren was the eighth President of the United States . Before his presidency, he was the eighth Vice President and the tenth Secretary of State, under Andrew Jackson ....
received two Arabians from the Sultan of Oman
Oman
Oman , officially called the Sultanate of Oman , is an Arab state in southwest Asia on the southeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by the United Arab Emirates to the northwest, Saudi Arabia to the west, and Yemen to the southwest. The coast is formed by the Arabian Sea on the...
, and in 1877, President Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America...
obtained an Arabian stallion, Leopard, and a Barb
Barb (horse)
Developed on the Barbary Coast of North Africa, the Barb horse is a desert breed with great hardiness and stamina. The Barb generally possesses a fiery temperament and an atypical sport-horse conformation, but nevertheless has influenced modern breeds....
, Linden Tree, as gifts from the "Sultan of Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
." Leopard is the only stallion among the early imports who left known purebred descendants in America. In 1888 Randolph Huntington imported the desert-bred Arabian mare *Naomi, and bred her to Leopard, producing Leopard's only purebred Arabian son, Anazeh, who sired eight purebred Arabian foals, four of whom still appear in pedigrees today.
A. Keene Richard was the first American known to have specifically bred Arabian horses. He traveled to the desert in 1853 and 1856 to obtain breeding stock, which he crossed on Thoroughbreds, and also bred purebred Arabians. Unfortunately, his horses were lost during the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
and have no known purebred Arabian descendants today.
Development of purebred breeding in America
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
at the World Fair
World's Columbian Exposition
The World's Columbian Exposition was a World's Fair held in Chicago in 1893 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. Chicago bested New York City; Washington, D.C.; and St...
in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
. Some remained in the United States and caught the interest of American breeders, who traveled abroad to obtain more. In 1908, the Arabian Horse Registry of America was established, recording 71 animals, and by 1994, the number had reached half a million. Today there are more Arabians registered in North America than in the rest of the world put together.
Major Arabian importations to the United States were made by breeders such as Homer Davenport
Homer Davenport
Homer Calvin Davenport was a political cartoonist from the United States. He was known for his satirical drawings and support of Progressive Era politics. A native Oregonian, he worked for several West Coast newspapers before being hired by William Randolph Hearst and the New York Evening Journal...
and Peter Bradley of the Hingham Stock Farm, who purchased several stallions and mares directly from the Bedouin in 1906. Spencer Borden of the Interlachen Stud made several importations between 1898 and 1911; and W.R. Brown of the Maynesboro Stud, interested in the Arabian as a cavalry mount, imported many Arabians over a period of years, starting in 1918. Another wave of imports came in the 1920s and 30s when breeders such as W.K. Kellogg
Will Keith Kellogg
Will Keith Kellogg, generally referred to as W.K. Kellogg was an American industrialist in food manufacturing, best known as the founder of the Kellogg Company, which to this day produces a wide variety of popular breakfast cereals...
, Henry Babson
Henry Babson
Henry B. Babson was an entrepreneur, investor in phonograph technology, and notable breeder of Arabian horses. He first moved to Chicago at the age of 17 at the urging of inventor Leon F. Douglass...
, Roger Selby, James Draper, and others imported Arabian bloodstock from Crabbet Park Stud in England, as well as from Poland, Spain and Egypt. The breeding of Arabians was fostered by the U. S. Army Remount Service, which stood purebred stallions at public stud for a reduced rate.
Several Arabians, mostly of Polish breeding, were captured from Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
and imported to the U.S.A. following World War II. In the late 1950s, a new round of importations came from the Crabbet Stud following the death of Lady Wentworth. As the tensions of the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
eased, more Arabians were imported to America from Poland and Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, and in the late 1970s, as political issues surrounding import regulations and the recognition of stud books were resolved, many Arabian horses were imported from Spain and Russia.
Modern trends
In the 1980s, Arabians became a popular status symbol and were marketed similarly to fine art. Some individuals also used horses as a tax shelterTax shelter
Tax shelters are any method of reducing taxable income resulting in a reduction of the payments to tax collecting entities, including state and federal governments...
. Prices skyrocketed, especially in the United States, with 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. The potential for profit led to over-breeding of the Arabian. When the Tax Reform Act of 1986 closed the tax-sheltering "passive investment" loophole, limiting the use of horse farms as tax shelters, the Arabian market was particularly vulnerable due to over-saturation and artificially inflated prices, and it collapsed, forcing many breeders into bankruptcy and sending many purebred Arabians to slaughter
Horse slaughter
Horse slaughter is the practice of slaughtering horses for meat. These animals come mainly from auctions, where they're sold by private sellers and breeders....
. Prices recovered slowly, with many breeders moving away from producing "living art" and towards a horse more suitable for amateur owners and many riding disciplines. By 2003, a survey found that 67% of purebred Arabian horses in America are owned for recreational riding purposes.
In Australia
Early imports
Arabian horses were introduced to Australia in the earliest days of European Settlement. Early imports included both purebred Arabians and light Spanish "jennetJennet
A Jennet or Spanish Jennet was a small Spanish horse. It was noted for a smooth naturally ambling gait, compact and well-muscled build, and a good disposition...
s" from Andalusia
Andalusia
Andalusia is the most populous and the second largest in area of the autonomous communities of Spain. The Andalusian autonomous community is officially recognised as a nationality of Spain. The territory is divided into eight provinces: Huelva, Seville, Cádiz, Córdoba, Málaga, Jaén, Granada and...
, many Arabians also came from India. Based on records describing stallions "of Arabic and Persian blood", the first Arabian horses were probably imported to Australia in several groups between 1788 and 1802. About 1803, a merchant named Robert Campbell imported a bay Arabian stallion, Hector, from India; Hector was said to have been owned by Arthur Wellesley
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, KG, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS , was an Irish-born British soldier and statesman, and one of the leading military and political figures of the 19th century...
, who later became known as the Duke of Wellington. In 1804 two additional Arabians, also from India, arrived in Tasmania
Tasmania
Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
one of whom, White William, sired the first purebred Arabian foal born in Australia, a stallion named Derwent.
Throughout the 19th century, many more Arabians came to Australia, though most were used to produce crossbred horses and left no recorded purebred
Purebred
Purebreds, also called purebreeds, are cultivated varieties or cultivars of an animal species, achieved through the process of selective breeding...
descendants. The first significant imports to be permanently recorded with offspring still appearing in modern purebred Arabian pedigrees were those of James Boucaut, who in 1891 imported several Arabians from Wilfred
Wilfrid Scawen Blunt
Wilfrid Scawen Blunt was an English poet and writer. He was born at Petworth House in Sussex, and served in the Diplomatic Service from 1858 to 1869. His mother was a Catholic convert and he was educated at Twyford School, Stonyhurst and at St Mary's College, Oscott...
and Lady Anne Blunt
Lady Anne Blunt
Anne Isabella Noel Blunt, née King-Noel, 15th Baroness Wentworth , known for most of her life as Lady Anne Blunt, was co-founder, with her husband the poet Wilfrid Scawen Blunt, of the Crabbet Arabian Stud. The two married on 8 June 1869...
's Crabbet Arabian Stud
Crabbet Arabian Stud
The Crabbet Arabian Stud, also known as the Crabbet Park Stud, was a horse breeding farm established on 2 July 1878 when the first Arabian horses brought to England by Wilfrid Scawen Blunt and Lady Anne Blunt arrived at Crabbet Park, their estate in Sussex...
in England. Purebred Arabians were used to improve racehorses and some of them became quite famous as such; about 100 Arabian sires are included in the Australian Stud Book (for Thoroughbred
Thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...
racehorses). The military was also involved in the promotion of breeding calvalry horses, especially around World War I. They were part of the foundation of several breeds considered uniquely Australian, including the Australian Pony
Australian Pony
The Australian Pony is a breed of pony that developed in Australia. It was greatly influenced by the native British breeds, especially the Welsh Pony, as well as some Arabian bloodlines.-Characteristics:...
, the Waler and the Australian Stock Horse
Australian Stock Horse
The Australian Stock Horse , has been especially bred for Australian conditions. It is a hardy breed of horse noted for endurance, agility and a good temperament. Its ancestry dates to the arrival of the first horses in Australia, brought from Europe, Africa and Asia...
.
In the 20th and 21st centuries
In the early 20th century, more Arabian horses, mostly of Crabbet bloodlines, arrived in Australia. The first Arabians of Polish breeding arrived in 1966, and Egyptian lines were first imported in 1970. Arabian horses from the rest of the world followed, and today the Australian Arabian horse registry is the second largest in the world, next to that of the United States.Modern breeding
Arabian horses today are found all over the world. They are no longer classified by Bedouin strain, but 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 1944, including those from programs such as Kellogg, DavenportHomer Davenport
Homer Calvin Davenport was a political cartoonist from the United States. He was known for his satirical drawings and support of Progressive Era politics. A native Oregonian, he worked for several West Coast newspapers before being hired by William Randolph Hearst and the New York Evening Journal...
, Maynesboro, Babson
Henry Babson
Henry B. Babson was an entrepreneur, investor in phonograph technology, and notable breeder of Arabian horses. He first moved to Chicago at the age of 17 at the urging of inventor Leon F. Douglass...
, 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. 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; there are also a number of breeders who specialize in preservation breeding
Preservation breeding
Preservation breeding is an attempt by many animal breeders to preserve bloodlines of animals, either of a rare breed, or of rare pedigrees within a breed. One purpose of preservation breeding is to protect genetic diversity within a species, another is to preserve valuable genetic traits that may...
of various bloodlines. Controversies exist over the relative "purity" of certain animals; breeders argue about the genetic "purity" of various pedigrees, discussing whether some horses descend from "impure" animals that cannot be traced to the desert Bedouin. The major factions are as follows:
- The Arabian Horse Association (AHA) states, "The origin of the purebred Arabian horse was the Arabian desert, and all Arabians ultimately trace their lineage to this source." In essence, all horses accepted for registration in the United States are deemed to be "purebred" Arabians by AHA.
- The World Arabian Horse AssociationWorld Arabian Horse AssociationThe World Arabian Horse Organization is the world organization for the preservation, improvement and preservation of Arabian horses. WAHO grants membership to nations after examination of national breeding stud books, and review of regulations for each country.-Candidates for membership:...
(WAHO) has the broadest definition of a purebred Arabian. WAHO states, "A Purebred Arabian horse is one which appears in any purebred Arabian Stud Book or Register listed by WAHO as acceptable." By this definition, over 95% of the known purebred Arabian horses in the world are registered in stud books acceptable to WAHO. WAHO also researched the purity question in general, and its findings are on its web site, describing both the research and the political issues surrounding Arabian horse bloodlines, particularly in America. - At the other end of the spectrum, organizations focused on bloodlines that are the most meticulously documented to desert sources have the most restrictive definitions. For example, The Asil Club in Europe only accepts "a horse whose pedigree is exclusively based on Bedouin breeding of the Arabian peninsula, without any crossbreeding with non-Arabian horses at any time." Likewise, the Al KhamsaAl Khamsa"Al Khamsa" is an Arabic term that is applied to specific Bedouin bloodlines of the Arabian horse. It roughly translates to "the five."The legend of Al Khamsa refers to the five favorite horses of the prophet Muhammad. According to this folklore, Mohammed denied his mares water for three days as a...
organization takes the position that "The horse...which are called "Al Khamsa Arabian Horses," are those horses in North America that can reasonably be assumed to descend entirely from bedouin Arabian horses bred by horse-breeding bedouin tribes of the deserts of the Arabian Peninsula without admixture from sources unacceptable to Al Khamsa." Most restrictive of all are horses identified as "straight Egyptian" by the Pyramid Society, which must trace in all lines to the desert and also to horses owned or bred by specific Egyptian breeding programs. By this definition, straight Egyptian Arabians constitute only 2% of all Arabian horses in America. - Ironically, some pure-blooded desert-bred Arabians in SyriaSyriaSyria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
had enormous difficulties being accepted as registrable purebred Arabians because many of the Bedouin who owned them saw no need to obtain a piece of paper to verify the purity of their horses. However, eventually the Syrians developed a stud bookBreed registryA breed registry, also known as a stud book or register, in animal husbandry and the hobby of animal fancy, is an official list of animals within a specific breed whose parents are known. Animals are usually registered by their breeders when they are still young...
for their animals that was accepted by the World Arabian Horse Association (WAHO) in 2007.
Influence on other horse breeds
Genetics
Genetics , a discipline of biology, is the science of genes, heredity, and variation in living organisms....
strength of the desert-bred Arabian horse, Arabian bloodlines have played a part in the development of nearly every modern light horse breed, including the Thoroughbred
Thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...
, Orlov Trotter
Orlov Trotter
The Orlov Trotter is a horse breed with a hereditary fast trot, noted for its outstanding speed and stamina. It is the most famous Russian horse. The breed was developed in Russia in the late 18th century by Count Alexei Orlov at his Khrenovskoy Stud farm near the town of Bobrov...
, Morgan
Morgan horse
The Morgan is one of the earliest horse breeds developed in the United States. Tracing back to the stallion Figure, later named Justin Morgan after his best-known owner, the breed excels in many disciplines, and is known for its versatility....
, American Saddlebred
American Saddlebred
The American Saddlebred, formerly known as the American Saddle Horse, is a breed of horse that was developed in Kentucky by plantation owners. Today, in the horse show world, they are most commonly seen under saddle in Saddle seat style riding, and in various types of driving, including pleasure...
, American Quarter Horse
American Quarter Horse
The American Quarter Horse is an American breed of horse that excels at sprinting short distances. Its name came from its ability to outdistance other breeds of horses in races of a quarter mile or less; some individuals have been clocked at speeds up to 55 mph...
, and Warmblood
Warmblood
Warmbloods are a group of middle-weight horse types and breeds, primarily originating in Europe, registered with organizations that are characterized by open studbook policy, studbook selection, and the aim of breeding for equestrian sport...
breeds such as the Trakehner
Trakehner
Trakehner is a light warmblood breed of horse, originally developed at the East Prussian state stud farm in the town of Trakehnen from which the breed takes its name...
. Arabian bloodlines have also influenced the development of the Welsh Pony
Welsh Pony
The Welsh Pony and Cob are closely related horse breeds including both pony and cob types, which originated in Wales in the United Kingdom...
, the Australian Stock Horse
Australian Stock Horse
The Australian Stock Horse , has been especially bred for Australian conditions. It is a hardy breed of horse noted for endurance, agility and a good temperament. Its ancestry dates to the arrival of the first horses in Australia, brought from Europe, Africa and Asia...
, Percheron
Percheron
The Percheron is a breed of draft horse that originated in the Perche valley in northern France. Percherons are usually gray or black in color. They are well-muscled, and known for their intelligence and willingness to work. Although their exact origins are unknown, the ancestors of the breed were...
draft horse
Draft horse
A draft horse , draught horse or dray horse , less often called a work horse or heavy horse, is a large horse bred for hard, heavy tasks such as ploughing and farm labour...
, Appaloosa
Appaloosa
The Appaloosa is a horse breed best known for its colorful leopard-spotted coat pattern. There is a wide range of body types within the breed, stemming from the influence of multiple breeds of horses throughout its history. Each horse's color pattern is genetically the result of various spotting...
, and the Colorado Ranger
Colorado Ranger
The Colorado Ranger is a horse breed named for its Colorado High Plains origins in the United States of America.-Characteristics:The registers horses that can be traced back to one of the two stallions and which also meet additional registration requirements. The breed traces back to one of the...
Horse.
Today, people cross Arabians with other breeds to add refinement, endurance, agility and beauty. In the USA, Half-Arabians have their own registry within the Arabian Horse Association, which includes a special section for Anglo-Arabian
Anglo-Arabian
The Anglo-Arabian or Anglo-Arab is a crossbred horse that now also has its own status as a horse breed. It is a Thoroughbred crossed with an Arabian. The cross can be made between a Thoroughbred stallion and an Arabian mare, or vice-versa...
s (Arabian-Thoroughbred crosses). Some crosses originally registered only as Half-Arabians became popular enough to have their own breed registry, including the National Show Horse
National Show Horse
The National Show Horse, , originated as a cross between an American Saddlebred and an Arabian horse. It is now established as a separate breed, since the founding of a breed registry in August 1981. Registered animals today may be the offspring of registered NSH parents or may be a combination...
(an Arabian-Saddlebred cross), the Quarab
Quarab
The Quarab is a horse breed from the United States, developed from a cross of Arabian horses, American Quarter Horses and Paint horses. Members of the breed are found that resemble all three of the foundation breeds, leading to three recognized types: Straight or Foundation , Stock and...
(Arabian-Quarter Horse), the Pintabian
Pintabian
The Pintabian is a breed of horse that has over 99% Arabian blood as verified by the ., and displays the Tobiano color pattern. Any horse less than 99% Arabian, or not verified as such by the Pintabian Horse Registry Inc., is not considered a Pintabian....
the Welara
Welara
Welara ponies are a breed of pony bred from the Arabian horse and the Welsh pony. They are used as mounts for children and small adults, and are known for their good movement and gentle temperament.-Breed Characteristics:...
(Arabian-Welsh Pony), and the Morab
Morab
The Morab is a breed of horse originally developed through the cross-breeding of Arabian and Morgan horses. The breeding of Morab horses began in the late 1880s with the intent of creating a fine carriage horse that was still substantial enough for moderate farm labor...
(Arabian-Morgan). In addition, some Arabians and Half Arabians have been approved for breeding by some Warmblood
Warmblood
Warmbloods are a group of middle-weight horse types and breeds, primarily originating in Europe, registered with organizations that are characterized by open studbook policy, studbook selection, and the aim of breeding for equestrian sport...
registries, particularly the Trakehner registry.
There is intense debate over the role the Arabian played in the development of other light horse breeds. Before DNA-based research developed, one hypothesis, based on body types and conformation, suggested the light, "dry", oriental horse
Oriental horse
The term oriental horse refers to the ancient breeds of horses developed in the Middle East, such as the Arabian, Akhal-Teke, Barb, and the now-extinct Turkoman horse. They tend to be thin-skinned, long-legged, slim in build and more physically refined than other types, but with great endurance...
adapted to the desert climate had developed prior to domestication; DNA studies of multiple horse breeds now suggest that while domesticated horses arose from multiple mare lines, there is very little variability in the Y-chromosome between breeds. Following domestication of the horse
Domestication of the horse
There are a number of hypotheses on many of the key issues regarding the domestication of the horse. Although horses appeared in Paleolithic cave art as early as 30,000 BCE, these were truly wild horses and were probably hunted for meat. How and when horses became domesticated is disputed...
, due to the location of the Middle East as a crossroads of the ancient world, and relatively near the earliest locations of domestication, oriental horses spread throughout Europe and Asia both in ancient and modern times. There is little doubt that humans crossed "oriental" blood on that of other types to create light riding horses; the only actual questions are at what point the "oriental" prototype could be called an "Arabian", how much Arabian blood was mixed with local animals, and at what point in history.
For some breeds, such as the Thoroughbred
Thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...
, Arabian influence of specific animals is documented in written stud books. For older breeds, dating the influx of Arabian ancestry is more difficult. For example, while outside cultures, and the horses they brought with them, influenced the predecessor to the Iberian horse
Iberian horse
The Iberian horse is a title given to a number of horse breeds native to the Iberian peninsula. At present, 17 horse breeds are recognized by FAO as characteristic of the Iberian Peninsula....
in both the time of Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
and again with the Islamic invasions of the 8th century, it is difficult to trace precise details of the journeys taken by waves of conquerors and their horses as they traveled from the Middle East to North Africa and across Gibraltar to southern Europe. Mitochondrial DNA
Mitochondrial DNA
Mitochondrial DNA is the DNA located in organelles called mitochondria, structures within eukaryotic cells that convert the chemical energy from food into a form that cells can use, adenosine triphosphate...
studies of modern Andalusian horse
Andalusian horse
The Andalusian, also known as the Pure Spanish Horse or PRE , is a horse breed developed in the Iberian Peninsula. Its ancestors have been present on the Iberian Peninsula for thousands of years. The Andalusian has been recognized as an individual breed since the 15th century, and its conformation...
s of the Iberian peninsula
Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula , sometimes called Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe and includes the modern-day sovereign states of Spain, Portugal and Andorra, as well as the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar...
and Barb
Barb (horse)
Developed on the Barbary Coast of North Africa, the Barb horse is a desert breed with great hardiness and stamina. The Barb generally possesses a fiery temperament and an atypical sport-horse conformation, but nevertheless has influenced modern breeds....
horses of North Africa present convincing evidence that both breeds crossed the Strait of Gibraltar
Strait of Gibraltar
The Strait of Gibraltar is a narrow strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea and separates Spain in Europe from Morocco in Africa. The name comes from Gibraltar, which in turn originates from the Arabic Jebel Tariq , albeit the Arab name for the Strait is Bab el-Zakat or...
and influenced one another. Though these studies did not compare Andalusian and Barb mtDNA to that of Arabian horses, there is evidence that horses resembling Arabians, whether before or after the breed was called an "Arabian", were part of this genetic mix. Arabians and Barbs, though probably related to one another, are quite different in appearance, and horses of both Arabian and Barb type were present in the Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
armies that occupied Europe. There is also historical documentation that Islamic invaders raised Arabian horses in Spain prior to the Reconquista
Reconquista
The Reconquista was a period of almost 800 years in the Middle Ages during which several Christian kingdoms succeeded in retaking the Muslim-controlled areas of the Iberian Peninsula broadly known as Al-Andalus...
; the Spanish also documented imports of Arabian horses in 1847, 1884 and 1885 that were used to improve existing Spanish stock and revive declining equine populations.
Uses
Arabians are versatile horses that compete in many equestrianEquestrianism
Equestrianism more often known as riding, horseback riding or horse riding refers to the skill of riding, driving, or vaulting with horses...
fields, including horse racing
Horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...
, the horse show
Horse show
A Horse show is a judged exhibition of horses and ponies. Many different horse breeds and equestrian disciplines hold competitions worldwide, from local to the international levels. Most horse shows run from one to three days, sometimes longer for major, all-breed events or national and...
disciplines of saddle seat
Saddle seat
Saddle Seat is a style of horseback riding within the category of English riding that is designed to show off the high trotting action of certain horse breeds. The style developed into its modern form in the United States, and is also seen in Canada and South Africa...
, Western pleasure
Western Pleasure
Western Pleasure is a western style competition at horse shows that evaluates horses on manners and suitability of the horse for a relaxed but collected gait cadence and relatively slow speed of gait, along with calm and responsive disposition. The horse is to appear to be a "pleasure" to ride and...
, and hunt seat
Hunt seat
Hunt seat is terminology used in the United States and Canada to refer to a style of forward seat riding commonly found at American horse shows. Along with Dressage, it is one of the two classic forms of English riding. The Hunt seat is based on the tradition of fox hunting...
, as well as dressage
Dressage
Dressage is a competitive equestrian sport, defined by the International Equestrian Federation as "the highest expression of horse training." Competitions are held at all levels from amateur to the World Equestrian Games...
, cutting
Cutting (sport)
Cutting is an equestrian event in the western riding style where a horse and rider are judged on their ability to separate a single animal away from a cattle herd and keep it away for a short period of time.-Description:...
, reining
Reining
Reining is a western riding competition for horses where the riders guide the horses through a precise pattern of circles, spins, and stops. All work is done at the lope and gallop; the fastest of the horse gaits...
, endurance riding
Endurance riding
Endurance riding is an equestrian sport based on controlled long-distance races. It is one of the international competitions recognized by the FEI. There are endurance rides worldwide....
, show jumping
Show jumping
Show jumping, also known as "stadium jumping," "open jumping," or "jumpers," is a member of a family of English riding equestrian events that also includes dressage, eventing, hunters, and equitation. Jumping classes commonly are seen at horse shows throughout the world, including the Olympics...
, eventing
Eventing
Eventing is an equestrian event comprising dressage, cross-country, and show jumping. This event has its roots in a comprehensive cavalry test requiring mastery of several types of riding...
, youth events such as equitation
Equitation
Equitation is the art or practice of horse riding or horsemanship.More specifically, equitation may refer to a rider's position while mounted, and encompass a rider's ability to ride correctly and with effective aids. In horse show competition, the rider, rather than the horse is evaluated...
, and others. They are used as pleasure riding
Pleasure riding
Pleasure riding is a form of equestrianism that encompasses many forms of recreational riding for personal enjoyment, absent elements of competition. Pleasure riding is called "hacking" in British English, and in parts of the eastern United States and Canada...
, trail riding
Trail riding
Trail riding sometimes called horse or pony trekking is riding outdoors on natural trails and roads as opposed to riding in an enclosed area such as a riding arena. The term may encompass those who travel on horses, on mountain bikes, or on motorcycles and other motorized all-terrain vehicles...
, and working ranch
Ranch
A ranch is an area of landscape, including various structures, given primarily to the practice of ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle or sheep for meat or wool. The word most often applies to livestock-raising operations in the western United States and Canada, though...
horses for those who are not interested in competition.
Competition
Arabians dominate the sport of endurance ridingEndurance riding
Endurance riding is an equestrian sport based on controlled long-distance races. It is one of the international competitions recognized by the FEI. There are endurance rides worldwide....
because of their stamina. They are the leading breed in competitions such as the Tevis Cup
Tevis Cup
The Western States Trail Ride, popularly called The Tevis Cup, is a 100-mile endurance ride. The amateur event has been held annually since 1955....
that can cover up to 100 miles (160.9 km) in a day, and they participate in FEI
International Federation for Equestrian Sports
The Fédération Équestre Internationale or in English, the International Federation for Equestrian Sports, is the international governing body of equestrian sports. It recognizes ten international disciplines...
-sanctioned endurance events worldwide, including the World Equestrian Games
World Equestrian Games
The FEI World Equestrian Games are the major international championships for equestrianism, and administered by the Fédération Equestre Internationale . The games have been held every four years, halfway between sets of consecutive Summer Olympic Games, since 1990...
.
There is an extensive series of horse show
Horse show
A Horse show is a judged exhibition of horses and ponies. Many different horse breeds and equestrian disciplines hold competitions worldwide, from local to the international levels. Most horse shows run from one to three days, sometimes longer for major, all-breed events or national and...
s in the United States and Canada for Arabian, Half-Arabian, and Anglo-Arabian
Anglo-Arabian
The Anglo-Arabian or Anglo-Arab is a crossbred horse that now also has its own status as a horse breed. It is a Thoroughbred crossed with an Arabian. The cross can be made between a Thoroughbred stallion and an Arabian mare, or vice-versa...
horses, sanctioned by the USEF
United States Equestrian Federation
The United States Equestrian Federation is the national governing body for most equestrian sports in the United States. It began on January 20, 1917 as the Association of American Horse Shows, later changed in 1933 to the American Horse Shows Association...
in conjunction with the Arabian Horse Association
Arabian Horse Association
The Arabian Horse Association is the single national organization that is the only breed registry that registers Arabian horses in the United States...
. Classes offered include Western pleasure
Western Pleasure
Western Pleasure is a western style competition at horse shows that evaluates horses on manners and suitability of the horse for a relaxed but collected gait cadence and relatively slow speed of gait, along with calm and responsive disposition. The horse is to appear to be a "pleasure" to ride and...
, reining
Reining
Reining is a western riding competition for horses where the riders guide the horses through a precise pattern of circles, spins, and stops. All work is done at the lope and gallop; the fastest of the horse gaits...
, hunter type
Hunt seat
Hunt seat is terminology used in the United States and Canada to refer to a style of forward seat riding commonly found at American horse shows. Along with Dressage, it is one of the two classic forms of English riding. The Hunt seat is based on the tradition of fox hunting...
and saddle seat
Saddle seat
Saddle Seat is a style of horseback riding within the category of English riding that is designed to show off the high trotting action of certain horse breeds. The style developed into its modern form in the United States, and is also seen in Canada and South Africa...
English pleasure
English Pleasure
English pleasure is generic term for a number of different English riding classes seen at horse shows in the United States, where the horse is ridden in either hunt seat or saddle seat tack....
, and halter
Halter (horse show)
"Halter" is a term used to describe a type of horse show class where horses are shown "in hand," meaning that they are led, not ridden, and are judged on their conformation and suitability as breeding stock...
, plus the very popular "Native" costume class. "Sport horse
Sport horse
Sport horse, or Sporthorse, is a term used to describe a type of horse, rather than any particular breed. The term generally refers to horses bred for the traditional Olympic equestrian sporting events of dressage, eventing, show jumping, and combined driving. The precise definition varies...
" events for Arabian horses have become popular in North America, particularly after the Arabian Horse Association
Arabian Horse Association
The Arabian Horse Association is the single national organization that is the only breed registry that registers Arabian horses in the United States...
began hosting a separate Arabian and Half Arabian Sport Horse National Championship in 2003 that by 2004 grew to draw 2000 entries. This competition draws Arabian and part-Arabian horses that perform in hunter
Show hunter
The show hunter is a type of show horse that is judged on its movement, manners, and way of going, particularly while jumping fences. The horses are shown in hunt seat style tack, and are often of Warmblood or Thoroughbred type, though a hunter-style pony is also seen in youth classes...
, jumper
Show jumping
Show jumping, also known as "stadium jumping," "open jumping," or "jumpers," is a member of a family of English riding equestrian events that also includes dressage, eventing, hunters, and equitation. Jumping classes commonly are seen at horse shows throughout the world, including the Olympics...
, sport horse under saddle, sport horse in hand, dressage
Dressage
Dressage is a competitive equestrian sport, defined by the International Equestrian Federation as "the highest expression of horse training." Competitions are held at all levels from amateur to the World Equestrian Games...
, and combined driving
Combined driving
Combined driving also known as Horse Driving Trials is an equestrian sport involving carriage driving. In this discipline the driver sits on a vehicle drawn by a single horse, a pair or a team of four. The sport has three phases: Dressage, Cross-country Marathon and Obstacle Cone Driving and is...
competition.
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates, abbreviated as the UAE, or shortened to "the Emirates", is a state situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman, and Saudi Arabia, and sharing sea borders with Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Iran.The UAE is a...
.
Purebred Arabians have excelled in open events against other breeds. One of the most famous examples in the field of western riding
Western riding
Western riding is a style of horseback riding which evolved from the ranching and warfare traditions brought to the Americas by the Spanish Conquistadors, and both equipment and riding style evolved to meet the working needs of the cowboy in the American West...
competition was the Arabian mare
Mare (horse)
A mare is an adult female horse or other equine.In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse age three and younger. However, in Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more than four years old; in harness racing a mare is a...
Ronteza
Sheila Varian
Sheila Varian is a breeder of Arabian horses who lives and works at the Varian Arabians Ranch near Arroyo Grande, California. She grew up with a strong interest in horses, and was mentored in horsemanship by Mary "Sid" Spencer, a local rancher and Morgan horse breeder who also introduced Varian to...
, who defeated 50 horses of all breeds to win the 1961 Reined Cow Horse
Working cow horse
Working cow horse is a type of competition, known also as reined cow horse, where horses are asked to work a single live cow in an arena, performing specific maneuvers that include circling the cow, turning it in a specified manner, and performing a reining pattern...
championship at the Cow Palace in San Francisco, California. Another Arabian competitive against all breeds was the stallion
Stallion (horse)
A stallion is a male horse that has not been gelded .Stallions will follow the conformation and phenotype of their breed, but within that standard, the presence of hormones such as testosterone may give stallions a thicker, "cresty" neck, as well as a somewhat more muscular physique as compared to...
Aaraf who won an all-breed cutting horse
Cutting (sport)
Cutting is an equestrian event in the western riding style where a horse and rider are judged on their ability to separate a single animal away from a cattle herd and keep it away for a short period of time.-Description:...
competition at the Quarter Horse Congress in the 1950s. In show jumping
Show jumping
Show jumping, also known as "stadium jumping," "open jumping," or "jumpers," is a member of a family of English riding equestrian events that also includes dressage, eventing, hunters, and equitation. Jumping classes commonly are seen at horse shows throughout the world, including the Olympics...
and show hunter
Show hunter
The show hunter is a type of show horse that is judged on its movement, manners, and way of going, particularly while jumping fences. The horses are shown in hunt seat style tack, and are often of Warmblood or Thoroughbred type, though a hunter-style pony is also seen in youth classes...
competition, a number of Arabians have competed successfully against other breeds in open competition, including the purebred gelding
Gelding
A gelding is a castrated horse or other equine such as a donkey or a mule. Castration, and the elimination of hormonally driven behavior associated with a stallion, allows a male horse to be calmer and better-behaved, making the animal quieter, gentler and potentially more suitable as an everyday...
Russian Roulette, who has won multiple jumping classes against horses of all breeds on the open circuit, and in eventing, a purebred Arabian competed on the Brazilian team at the 2004 Athens Olympics.
Part-Arabians have also appeared at open sport horse events and even Olympic
Equestrian at the Summer Olympics
Equestrianism made its Summer Olympics debut at the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris, France. It disappeared until 1912, but has appeared at every Summer Olympic Games since. The current Olympic equestrian disciplines are Dressage, Eventing, and Jumping...
level competition. The Anglo-Arabian Linon was ridden to an Olympic silver medal for France in Dressage in 1928 and 1932, as well as a team gold in 1932, and another French Anglo-Arabian, Harpagon, was ridden to a team gold medal and an individual silver in dressage at the 1948 Olympics. At the 1952 Olympics
Equestrian at the 1952 Summer Olympics
The Equestrian Events at the 1952 Helsinki Summer Olympics included Dressage, Eventing, and Show Jumping. All three disciplines had both individual and team competitions. The competitions were held from July 28, 1952 to August 3, 1952.-Medal summary:...
, the French rider Pierre d'Oriola won the Gold individual medal in show jumping
Show jumping
Show jumping, also known as "stadium jumping," "open jumping," or "jumpers," is a member of a family of English riding equestrian events that also includes dressage, eventing, hunters, and equitation. Jumping classes commonly are seen at horse shows throughout the world, including the Olympics...
on the Anglo-Arabian Ali Baba. Another Anglo-Arabian, Tamarillo
Tamarillo (horse)
Tamarillo is a horse that has excelled in the sport of eventing under rider William Fox-Pitt.*Color: Bay*Sex: Gelding*Height: 16.2 hh *Breed: Anglo-Arabian*Breeding: by Tarnik ; out of Mellita by Master Spiritus at Biddesden stud...
, ridden by William Fox-Pitt
William Fox-Pitt
William Speed Lane Fox-Pitt , known as William Fox-Pitt, is an English equestrian. He has had notable successes at the Burghley, Badminton, Blenheim and Bramham Horse Trials...
, represents the United Kingdom in FEI and Olympic competition, winning many awards, including first place at the 2004 Badminton Horse Trials
Badminton Horse Trials
The Badminton Horse Trials is a three-day event, one of only six annual Concours Complet International Four Star **** events as classified by the Fédération Équestre Internationale , which takes place in April or May each year in the park of Badminton House, the seat of the Dukes of Beaufort in...
. More recently a gelding named Theodore O'Connor
Theodore O'Connor
Theodore O'Connor , nicknamed "Teddy," was a 14.1¾ hand pony who competed internationally at the highest level of eventing. Ridden by Olympian Karen O'Connor, he performed exceedingly well at such events as the Rolex Kentucky Three Day and the Pan American Games...
, nicknamed "Teddy", a 14.1 (or 14.2, sources vary) hand pony
Pony
A pony is a small horse . Depending on context, a pony may be a horse that is under an approximate or exact height at the withers, or a small horse with a specific conformation and temperament. There are many different breeds...
of Thoroughbred
Thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...
, Arabian, and Shetland pony
Shetland pony
The Shetland pony is a breed of pony originating in the Shetland Isles. Shetlands range in size from a minimum height of approximately 28 inches to an official maximum height of 42 inches at the withers. Shetland ponies have heavy coats, short legs and are considered quite intelligent...
breeding, won two gold medals at the 2007 Pan American Games
Pan American Games
The Pan-American or Pan American Games are a major event in the Americas featuring summer and formerly winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Pan American Games are the second largest multi-sport event after the Summer Olympics...
and was finished in the top six at the 2007 and 2008 Rolex Kentucky Three Day
Rolex Kentucky Three Day
The Rolex Kentucky Three Day Event is an eventing competition held at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Kentucky. The Rolex Kentucky is a CCI**** eventing competition, and the only four-star show in the Western Hemisphere. Four stars is the highest level of competition, the same level of...
CCI competition.
Other activities
Rudolph Valentino
Rudolph Valentino was an Italian actor, and early pop icon. A sex symbol of the 1920s, Valentino was known as the "Latin Lover". He starred in several well-known silent films including The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, The Sheik, Blood and Sand, The Eagle and Son of the Sheik...
rode the Kellogg Arabian stallion Jadaan in 1926's Son of the Sheik, and have been seen in many other films, including The Black Stallion
The Black Stallion (film)
The Black Stallion is a 1979 American film based on the 1941 classic children's novel The Black Stallion by Walter Farley. It tells the story of Alec Ramsey, who is shipwrecked on a desert island, together with a wild Arabian stallion whom he befriends...
featuring the stallion Cass Ole
Cass Ole
Cass Ole was a Texas bred Arabian stallion. Originally bred to be a show horse, he was National Champion in Arabian Western Pleasure in 1975, National Reserve Champion Arabian Ladies Side Saddle in 1976, and U.S. Top Ten Arabian English Pleasure in both 1975 and 1976...
, The Young Black Stallion
The Young Black Stallion
The Young Black Stallion is a 2003 Disney made-for-IMAX film that debuted in select IMAX theaters in the United States on December 25, 2003. It was directed by Simon Wincer. Noted for its beautiful scenery and wide-angle shots, the 45-minute movie was filmed in various settings in Africa...
, which used over 40 Arabians during filming, as well as Hidalgo
Hidalgo (film)
Hidalgo is a 2004 film based on the legend of the American distance rider Frank Hopkins and his mustang Hidalgo, and recounts Hopkins' racing his horse in Arabia in 1891 against Bedouin riding pure-blooded Arabian horses. The movie was written by John Fusco and directed by Joe Johnston...
and the 1959 version of Ben-Hur
Ben-Hur (1959 film)
Ben-Hur is a 1959 American epic film directed by William Wyler and starring Charlton Heston in the title role, the third film adaptation of Lew Wallace's 1880 novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ. The screenplay was written by Karl Tunberg, Gore Vidal, and Christopher Fry. The score was composed by...
.
Arabians are mascots for football teams, performing crowd-pleasing activities on the field and sidelines. One of the horses who serves as "Traveler"
Traveler (mascot)
Traveler is a horse who is the mascot of the University of Southern California. He appears at all USC home football games in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum as well as many other outdoor events, including numerous Rose Parades. The current horse is Traveler VII...
, the mascot for the University of Southern California
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
Trojans, has been a purebred Arabian. "Thunder", a stage name
Stage name
A stage name, also called a showbiz name or screen name, is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers such as actors, wrestlers, comedians, and musicians.-Motivation to use a stage name:...
for the purebred Arabian stallion J B Kobask, was mascot for the Denver Broncos
Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver, Colorado. They are currently members of the West Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
from 1993 until his retirement in 2004, when the Arabian gelding Winter Solstyce took over as "Thunder II". Cal Poly Pomona's
California State Polytechnic University, Pomona
California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, or Cal Poly Pomona, is a public university located in Pomona, California, United States...
W.K. Kellogg Arabian Horse Center Equestrian Unit has made Arabian horses a regular sight at the annual Tournament of Roses Parade
Tournament of Roses Parade
The Tournament of Roses Parade, better known as the Rose Parade, is "America's New Year Celebration", a festival of flower-covered floats, marching bands, equestrians and a college football game on New Year's Day , produced by the non-profit Pasadena Tournament of Roses Association.The annual...
held each New Year's Day in Pasadena, California.
Arabians also are used on search and rescue
Search and rescue
Search and rescue is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger.The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, mostly based upon terrain considerations...
teams and occasionally for police work. Some Arabians are used in polo
Polo
Polo is a team sport played on horseback in which the objective is to score goals against an opposing team. Sometimes called, "The Sport of Kings", it was highly popularized by the British. Players score by driving a small white plastic or wooden ball into the opposing team's goal using a...
in the USA and Europe, in the Turkish equestrian sport of Cirit , as well as in circus
Circus
A circus is commonly a travelling company of performers that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, unicyclists and other stunt-oriented artists...
es, therapeutic horseback riding
Therapeutic horseback riding
Therapeutic horseback riding is used to teach riding skills to people with disabilities...
programs, and on guest ranches.
External links
Registries and related organizations- Arabian Horse Association (USA)
- Arabian Horse Breeders Alliance (USA)
- Arabian Horse Society of Australia
- Argentine Arabian Horse Association
- Weatherbys (UK) Maintainer of the General Stud Book
- World Arabian Horse Organisation
Educational organizations and articles
- Al Khamsa Organization
- Frequently asked questions about Arabian horses
- "History of the Australian Colonial Arabian"
- "History of the Egyptian Arabian," The Pyramid Society
- "Horse of the Desert Bedouin"
- Korona Polish Arabian Breeders society
- Spanish Arabian Horse Society
- W.K.Kellogg Arabian Horse Library