Arabian Horse

The Arabian or Arab horse (Arabic: الحصان العربي [ 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 in the Middle East that resemble modern Arabians dating back 4,500 years. Throughout history, Arabian horses have 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 sport. 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 their land of origin, the Middle East.

Breed characteristics[]

A purebred Arabian stallion, showing dished profile, arched neck, level croup and high-carried tail

Skeletal analysis[]

Mounted skeleton of an Arabian horse, showing underlying structure of breed characteristics including short back, high-set tail, distinction between level croup and well-angulated hip. This specimen also has only 5 lumbar vertebrae.

Some Arabians, though not all, have 5 lumbar vertebrae instead of the usual 6, and 17 pairs of ribs rather than 18.^[10] 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.^[5][11] 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.^[12][13][14] 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.^[13]

Size[]

The breed standard stated by the United States Equestrian Federation, describes Arabians as standing between 14.1 to 15.1 hands (57 to 61 inches, 145 to 155 cm) tall, "with the occasional individual over or under".^[4] Thus, all Arabians, regardless of height, are classified as "horses", even though 14.2 hands (58 inches, 147 cm) is the traditional cutoff height between a horse and a pony.^[15] 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,^[3] all of which give the breed physical strength comparable to many taller animals.^[16] 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,^[17] any lighter-weight horse is at a disadvantage.^[17] 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.^[16]

Temperament[]

Arabians are noted for both intelligence and a spirited disposition

For centuries, Arabian horses lived in the desert in close association with humans.^[18] For shelter and protection from theft, prized war mares were sometimes kept in their owner's tent, close to children and everyday family life.^[19] 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 stallions in nearly all show ring classes, including those limited to riders under 18.^[20]

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,^[21] and they do not tolerate inept or abusive training practices.^[22] Some sources claim that it is more difficult to train a "hot-blooded" horse.^[23] 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.^[22] At the other end of the spectrum, romantic myths are sometimes told about Arabian horses that give them near-divine characteristics.^[24]

Colors[]

Main articles: Equine coat color and Equine coat color genetics

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Wikipedia

The Thoroughbred is a horse breed developed for 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. Thoroughbreds are considered "hot-blooded" horses that are known for their agility, speed, and spirit.

The Thoroughbred, as it is known today, was developed in 17th- and 18th-century England, when native mares were crossbred with imported stallions of Arabian, Barb, and Turkoman breeding. All modern Thoroughbreds can trace their pedigrees to three stallions originally imported into England in the 17th and 18th centuries, and to a larger number of foundation mares of mostly English breeding. During the 18th and 19th centuries, the Thoroughbred breed spread throughout the world; they were imported into North America starting in 1730 and into Australia, Europe, Japan and South America during the 19th century. Millions of Thoroughbreds exist today, and around 100,000 foals are registered each year worldwide.

Thoroughbreds are used mainly for racing, but are also bred for other riding disciplines such as show jumping, combined training, dressage, polo, and fox hunting. They are also commonly crossbred to create new breeds or to improve existing ones, and have been influential in the creation of the Quarter Horse, Standardbred, Anglo-Arabian, and various warmblood breeds.

Thoroughbred racehorses perform with maximum exertion, which has resulted in high accident rates and health problems such as bleeding from the lungs. Other health concerns include low fertility, abnormally small hearts, and a small hoof-to-body-mass ratio. There are several theories for the reasons behind the prevalence of accidents and health problems in the Thoroughbred breed, and research on the subject is ongoing.

Breed characteristics[]

[]

Thoroughbreds have a well-chiseled head.

The typical Thoroughbred ranges from 15.2 to 17.0 hands (62 to 68 inches, 157 to 173 cm) high, averaging 16 hands (64 inches, 163 cm). They are most often bay, dark bay or brown, chestnut, black, or gray.^[1] Less common colors recognized in the United States include roan and palomino. White is very rare, but is a recognized color separate from gray.^[2] The face and lower legs may be marked with white,^[3] but white will generally not appear on the body. Coat patterns that have more than one color on the body, such as Pinto or Appaloosa, are not recognized by mainstream breed registries.^[2][4] Good-quality Thoroughbreds have a well-chiseled head on a long neck, high withers, a deep chest, a short back, good depth of hindquarters, a lean body, and long legs.^[3][5] Thoroughbreds are classified among the "hot-blooded" breeds, which are animals bred for agility and speed and are generally considered spirited and bold.^[6]

Thoroughbreds born in the Northern Hemisphere are officially considered a year older on the first of January each year;^[7] those born in the Southern Hemisphere officially are one year older on the first of August.^[8] These artificial dates have been set to enable the standardization of races and other competitions for horses in certain age groups.^[9]

Terminology[]

The Thoroughbred is a distinct breed of horse, although people sometimes refer to a purebred horse of any breed as a thoroughbred. The term for any horse or other animal derived from a single breed line is purebred.^[10][11] While the term probably came into general use because the English Thoroughbred's General Stud Book was one of the first breed registries created, in modern usage horse breeders consider it incorrect to refer to any animal as a thoroughbred except for horses belonging to the Thoroughbred breed.^[10] Nonetheless, breeders of other species of purebred animals may use the two terms interchangeably,^[11] though thoroughbred is less often used for describing purebred animals of other species.^[10][11] The term is a proper noun referring to this specific breed,^[12] though often not capitalized, especially in non-specialist publications, and outside the US. For example, the Australian Stud Book,^[13] The New York Times,^[14] and the BBC do not capitalize the word.^[15]

History[]

The Darley Arabian, one of the three traditional foundation sires of the Thoroughbred

Beginnings in England[]

Early racing[]

Flat racing existed in England by at least 1174, when four-mile races took place at Smithfield, in London. Racing continued at fairs and markets throughout the Middle Ages and into the reign of King James I of England. It was then that handicapping, a system of adding weight to attempt to equalize a horse's chances of winning as well as improved training procedures, began to be used. During the reigns of Charles II, William III, Anne, and George I, the foundation of the Thoroughbred was laid.^[16] The term "thro-bred" to describe horses was first used in 1713.^[17]

Under Charles II, a keen racegoer and owner, and Anne, royal support was given to racing and the breeding of race horses. With royal support, horse racing became popular with the public, and by 1727, a newspaper devoted to racing, the Racing Calendar, was founded. Devoted exclusively to the sport, it recorded race results and advertised upcoming meets.^[16]

Foundation stallions[]

All modern Thoroughbreds trace back to three stallions imported into England from the Middle East in the late 17th and early 18th centuries: the Byerley Turk (1680s), the Darley Arabian (1704), and the Godolphin Arabian (1729).^[18][19] Other imported stallions were less influential, but still made noteworthy contributions to the breed. These included the Alcock's Arabian,^[20] D'Arcy's White Turk, Leedes Arabian, and Curwen's Bay Barb.^{[21][22][notes} ^1] Another was the Brownlow Turk, who, among other attributes, is thought to be largely responsible for the gray coat color in Thoroughbreds.^[20] In all, about 160 stallions have been traced in the historical record as contributing to the creation of the Thoroughbred. The addition of horses of Eastern bloodlines, whether Arabian, Barb, or Turk, to the native English mares^[23] ultimately led to the creation of the General Stud Book (GSB) in 1791 and the practice of official registration of horses.^[12] According to Peter Willett, about 50% of the foundation stallions appear to have been of Arabian bloodlines, with the remainder being evenly divided between Turkoman and Barb breeding.^[23][notes ^2]

Matchem, a grandson of the Godolphin Arabian, from a painting by George Stubbs

Each of the three major foundation sires was, coincidentally, the ancestor of a grandson or great-great-grandson who was the only male descendant to perpetuate each respective horse's male line: Matchem was the only descendant of his grandsire, the Godolphin Arabian, to maintain a male line to the present;^[25] the Byerley Turk's male line was preserved by Herod (or King Herod), a great-great-grandson;^[26] and the male line of the Darley Arabian owes its existence to great-great-grandson Eclipse, who was the dominant racehorse of his day and never defeated.^[21][27] One genetic study indicates that 95% of all male Thoroughbreds trace their direct male line (via the Y chromosome) to the Darley Arabian.^[28]

However, in modern Thoroughbred pedigrees, most horses have more crosses to the Godolphin Arabian (13.8%) than to the Darley Arabian (6.5%) when all lines of descent (maternal and paternal) are considered. Further, as a percentage of contributions to current Thoroughbred bloodlines, Curwen's Bay Barb (4.2%) appears more often than the Byerley Turk (3.3%). The majority of modern Thoroughbreds alive today trace to a total of only 27 or 28 stallions from the 18th and 19th centuries.^[28][29]

Foundation mares[]

The mares used as foundation breeding stock came from a variety of breeds, some of which, such as the Irish Hobby, had developed in northern Europe prior to the 13th century.^[30] Other mares were of oriental breeding, including Barb, Turk and other bloodlines,^[31] although most researchers conclude that the number of Eastern mares imported into England during the 100 years after 1660 was small.^[23] The 19th-century researcher Bruce Lowe identified 50 mare "families" in the Thoroughbred breed, later augmented by other researchers to 74.^[32] However, it is probable that fewer genetically unique mare lines existed than Lowe identified.^[32] Recent studies of the mtDNA of Thoroughbred mares indicate that some of the mare lines thought to be genetically distinct may actually have had a common ancestor; in 19 mare lines studied, the haplotypes revealed that they traced to only 15 unique foundation mares, suggesting either a common ancestor for foundation mares thought to be unrelated or recording errors in the GSB.^[32]

Later development in Britain[]

By the end of the 18th century, the English Classic races had been established. These are the St. Leger Stakes, founded in 1776, The Oaks, founded in 1779, and The Derby in 1780. Later, the 2,000 Guineas Stakes and the 1,000 Guineas Stakes were founded in 1809 and 1814. The 1,000 Guineas and the Oaks are restricted to fillies, but the others are open to racehorses of either sex aged three years. The distances of these races, ranging from one mile (1.6 km) to 1.75 miles (2.82 km), led to a change in breeding practices, as breeders concentrated on producing horses that could race at a younger age than in the past and that had more speed. In the early 18th century, the emphasis had been on longer races, up to 4 miles (6.4 km), that were run in multiple heats. The older style of race favored older horses, but with the change in distances, younger horses became preferred.^[33]

Selective breeding for speed and racing ability led to improvements in the size of horses and winning times by the middle of the 19th century. Bay Middleton, a winner of the Epsom Derby, stood over 16 hands high, a full hand higher than the Darley Arabian. Winning times had improved to such a degree that many felt further improvement by adding additional Arabian bloodlines was impossible. This was borne out in 1885, when a race was held between a Thoroughbred, Iambic, considered a mid-grade runner, and the best Arabian of the time, Asil. The race was over 3 miles (4,800 m), and although Iambic was handicapped by carrying 4.5 stone (29 kg; 63 lb) more than Asil, he still managed to beat Asil by 20 lengths.^[34] The improvement of the breed for racing in this way was said by noted 19th century racing writer, Nimrod, to have created "the noblest animal in the creation".^[35]

An aspect of the modern British breeding establishment is that they breed not only for flat racing, but also for steeplechasing.^[36] Up until the end of the 19th century, Thoroughbreds were bred not only for racing but also as saddle horses.^[37]

Soon after the start of the 20th century, fears that the English races would be overrun with American-bred Thoroughbreds because of the closing of US racetracks in the early 1910s, led to the Jersey Act of 1913.^[38] It prohibited the registration of any horse in the General Stud Book (GSB) if they could not show that every ancestor traced to the GSB. This excluded most American-bred horses, because the 100-year gap between the founding of the GSB and the American Stud Book meant that most American-bred horses possessed at least one or two crosses to horses not registered in the GSB. The act was not repealed until 1949, after which a horse was only required to show that all its ancestors to the ninth generation were registered in a recognized Stud Book.^[39] Many felt that the Jersey Act hampered the development of the British Thoroughbred by preventing breeders in the United Kingdom from using new bloodlines developed outside the British Isles.^[40]

In America[]

The first Thoroughbred horse in the American Colonies was Bulle Rock, imported in 1730.^[41][42] Maryland and Virginia were the centers of Colonial Thoroughbred breeding, along with South Carolina and New York. During the American Revolution importations of horses from England practically stopped but were restarted after the signing of a peace treaty. Two important stallions were imported around the time of the Revolution; Messenger in 1788 and Diomed before that. Messenger left little impact on the American Thoroughbred, but is considered a foundation sire of the Standardbred breed. Diomed, who won the Derby Stakes in 1780, had a significant impact on American Thoroughbred breeding, mainly through his son Sir Archy.^[43][44] John F. Wall, a racing historian, said that Sir Archy was the "first outstanding stallion we can claim as native American."^[45] He was retired from the racetrack because of lack of opponents.^[45]

After the American Revolution, the center of Thoroughbred breeding and racing in the United States moved west. Kentucky and Tennessee became significant centers. Andrew Jackson, later President of the United States, was a breeder and racer of Thoroughbreds in Tennessee.^[46] Match races held in the early 19th century helped to popularize horse racing in the United States. One took place in 1823, in Long Island, New York, between Sir Henry and American Eclipse. Another was a match race between Boston and Fashion in 1838 that featured bets of $20,000 from each side.^[47] The last major match races before the American Civil War were both between Lexington and Lecompte. The first was held in 1854 in New Orleans and was won by Lecompte. Lexington's owner then challenged Lecompte's owner to a rematch, held in 1855 in New Orleans and won by Lexington. Both of these horses were sons of Boston, a descendant of Sir Archy.^[48] Lexington went on to a career as a breeding stallion, and led the sires list of number of winners for sixteen years, fourteen of them in a row.^[49]

After the American Civil War, the emphasis in American racing changed from the older style of four-mile (6 km) races in which the horses ran in at least two heats. The new style of racing involved shorter races not run in heats, over distances from five furlongs up to 1.5 miles (2.4 km). This development meant a change in breeding practices, as well as the age that horses were raced, with younger horses and sprinters coming to the fore. It was also after the Civil War that the American Thoroughbred returned to England to race. Iroquois became the first American-bred winner of the Epsom Derby in 1881.

The success of American-bred Thoroughbreds in England led to the Jersey Act in 1913, which limited the importation of American Thoroughbreds into England.^[50] After World War I, the breeders in America continued to emphasize speed and early racing age but also imported horses from England, and this trend continued past World War II.^[51] After World War II, Thoroughbred breeding remained centered in Kentucky, but California, New York, and Florida also emerged as important racing and breeding centers.^[52]

Thoroughbreds in the United States have historically been used not only for racing but also to improve other breeds. The early import Messenger was the foundation of the Standardbred,^[53] and Thoroughbred blood was also instrumental in the development of the American Quarter Horse.^[54] The foundation stallion of the Morgan breed is held by some to have been sired by a Thoroughbred.^[55] Between World War I and World War II, the U.S. Army used Thoroughbred stallions as part of their Remount Service, which was designed to improve the stock of cavalry mounts.^[56][57]

In Europe[]

Thoroughbreds began to be imported to France in 1817 and 1818 with the importation of a number of stallions from England, but initially the sport of horse racing did not prosper in France. The first Jockey Club in France was not formed until 1833, and in 1834 the racing and regulation functions were split off to a new society, the Société d'Encouragement pour l'Amélioration des Races de Chevaux en France, better known as the Jockey-Club de Paris.^[58] The French Stud Book was founded at the same time by the government.^[59]

By 1876, French-bred Thoroughbreds were regularly winning races in England, and in that year a French breeder-owner earned the most money in England on the track.^[60] World War I almost destroyed French breeding because of war damage and lack of races.^[61] After the war, the premier French race, the Grand Prix, resumed and continues to this day. During World War II, French Thoroughbred breeding did not suffer as it had during the first World War, and thus was able to compete on an equal footing with other countries after the war.^[62]

Organized racing in Italy started in 1837, when race meets were established in Florence and Naples and a meet in Milan was founded in 1842. Modern flat racing came to Rome in 1868. Later importations, including the Derby Stakes winners Ellington (1856) and Melton (1885), came to Italy before the end of the 19th century.^[44][63] Modern Thoroughbred breeding in Italy is mostly associated with the breeding program of Federico Tesio, who started his breeding program in 1898. Tesio was the breeder of Nearco, one of the dominant sires of Thoroughbreds in the later part of the 20th century.^[64]

Other countries in Europe have Thoroughbred breeding programs, including Germany,^[65] Russia, Poland, and Hungary.^[66]

In Australia and New Zealand...

Legends[]

An Arabian horse in the desert. Antoine-Jean Gros, c. 1810

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.^[66][67] Although the Al Khamsa are generally considered fictional horses of legend,^[68] some breeders today claim the modern Bedouin Arabian actually descended from these mares.^[69]

Another origin tale claims that King Solomon was given a pure Arabian-type mare named Safanad ("the pure") by the Queen of Sheba.^[68] 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.^[70]

Yet another creation myth puts the origin of the Arabian in the time of Ishmael, the son of Abraham.^[71] 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.^[72]

Finally, a Bedouin story states that Allah created the Arabian horse from the south wind and 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."^[73] 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."^[74]

Origins[]

Arabians are one of the oldest human-developed horse breeds in the world.^[24] The progenitor stock, the Oriental subtype or "Proto-Arabian" was believed to be a horse with oriental characteristics similar to the modern Arabian. Horses with these features appeared in rock paintings and inscriptions in the Arabian Peninsula dating back 3500 years.^[75] 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.^[76]

Some scholars of the Arabian horse once theorized that the Arabian came from a separate subspecies of horse,^[77] known as equus caballus pumpelli.^[78] 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.^[10][78]

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.^[78] Recent genetic studies of mitochondrial DNA in Arabian horses of Polish and American breeding suggest that the modern breed has heterogeneous origins with ten haplogroups. The modern concept of breed purity in the modern population cannot be traced beyond 200 years.^[79]

Desert roots[]

Carl Raswan pictured on an Anazeh warmare

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.^[78] 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.^[80][81] This hypothesis has gained renewed attention following a 2010 discovery of artifacts dated between 6590 and 7250 BCE in Al-Magar, in southwestern Saudi Arabia, that appeared to portray horses.^[82]

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.^[81][83] One theory is that this development occurred in the Nejd plateau in central Arabia.^[75] 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.^[84] The oldest depictions in the Arabian Peninsula of horses that are clearly domesticated date no earlier than 1800-2000 BCE.^[82]

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.^[85] 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.^[86]

The Bedouin way of life depended on camels and horses: Arabians were bred to be war horses with speed, endurance, soundness, and intelligence.^[86][87] 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.^[86] 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.^[88] 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.^[87]

Strains and pedigrees[]

For centuries, the Bedouin tracked the ancestry of each horse through an oral tradition. 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.^[89]...

Historic development[]

Hittite chariot (drawing of an Egyptian relief)

Role in the ancient world[]

Fiery war horses with dished faces and high-carried tails were popular artistic subjects in Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, often depicted pulling chariots in war or for hunting. Horses with oriental characteristics appear in 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,^[100] 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 sockets and small muzzle, all characteristics of the Arabian horse.^[101]

In Islamic history[]

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.^[102] It played a significant role in the History of the Middle East and of Islam. By 630, Muslim influence expanded across the Middle East and North Africa, by 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.^[103] More Arabian horses were introduced to North Africa as a result of the migration of Banu Hilal.^[104]

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.^[105] The Ottomans encouraged formation of private stud farms in order to ensure a supply of cavalry horses,^[106] and Ottoman nobles, such as Muhammad Ali of Egypt also collected pure, desert-bred Arabian horses.^[105]

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.^[105][107] Through the Ottomans, Arabian horses were often sold, traded, or given as diplomatic gifts to Europeans and, later, to Americans.^[81]

Egypt[]

"Mameluck en Attaque" 18th-century painting by Carle Vernet

Historically, Egyptian breeders imported horses bred in the deserts of Palestine and the Arabian peninsula as the source of their foundation bloodstock.^[108] 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.^[109][110] 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.^{[109][110][111]}

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.^[110][112] 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.^[110] 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.^[113]

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.^[114] The government of Egypt formed the Royal Agricultural Society (RAS) in 1908,^[115] which is known today as the Egyptian Agricultural Organization (EAO).^[116] RAS representatives traveled to England during the 1920s and purchased eighteen descendants of the original Blunt exports from Lady Wentworth at Crabbet Park, and brought them to Egypt in order to restore bloodlines had been lost.^[115]

Other than several horses purchased by Henry Babson for importation to the United States in the 1930s,^[117] and one other small group exported to the US in 1947, relatively few Egyptian-bred Arabian horses were exported until the overthrow of King Farouk I in 1952.^[118] Many of the private stud farms of the princes were then confiscated and the animals taken over by the EAO.^[116] 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.^[119][120] 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.^[114]

Battle of La Higueruela, 1431. Spanish fighting the Moorish forces of Nasrid Sultan Muhammed IX of Granada. Note the differences in tail carriage of the various horses in the painting. The Arabian's high-carried tail is a distinctive trait that is seen even in part-blooded offspring.

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 Crusaders^[105]—beginning in 1095, European armies invaded Palestine and many knights returned home with Arabian horses as spoils of war. Later, as knights and the heavy, armored war horses 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.^[81]

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.^[121][122]

Polish and Russian breeding programs[]

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 Knyszyna, the royal stud of Polish king Zygmunt II August, and another the Imperial Russian Stud of Peter the Great.^[121]

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.^[123][124] Orlov then provided Arabian horses to Catherine the Great, who in 1772 owned 12 pure Arabian stallions and 10 mares.^[123] By 1889 two members of the Russian nobility, Count Stroganov and Prince Nikolai Borisovich Shcherbatov, established Arabian stud farms to meet the continued need to breed Arabians as a source of pure bloodstock.^[119][123]

In Poland, notable imports from Arabia included those of Prince Hieronymous Sanguszko (1743–1812), who founded the Slawuta stud.^[125][126] Poland's first state-run Arabian stud farm, Janów Podlaski, was established by the decree of Alexander I of Russia in 1817,^[127] 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.^[126][128]

Central and western Europe[]

Several noble families of Poland became major breeders of Arabian horses. Eustachy Erazm Sanguszko, painted by Juliusz Kossak.

The 18th century marked the establishment of most of the great Arabian studs of Europe, dedicated to preserving "pure" Arabian bloodstock. The Prussians 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 cavalry mounts were superior in endurance to those of the British, and credited Arabian bloodlines for this superiority.^[129]

Other state studs included the Babolna Stud of Hungary, set up in 1789,^[130] and the Weil stud in Germany (now Weil-Marbach or the Marbach stud), founded in 1817 by King William I of Württemberg.^[131] King James I of England imported the first Arabian stallion, the Markham Arabian, to England in 1616.^[132] 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.^[133] 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.^[134]

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 horses. 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.^[135]

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.^[136] 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.^[137]

Rise of the Crabbet Park Stud[]

Lady Anne Blunt with her favorite Arabian mare, Kasida

Main article: Crabbet Arabian Stud

Perhaps the most famous of all Arabian breeding operations founded in Europe was the Crabbet Park Stud of England, founded 1878.^[138][139] 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.^[140][141] Lady Wentworth expanded the stud, added new bloodstock, and exported Arabian horses worldwide. Upon her 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.^[142] Along with Crabbet, the Hanstead Stud of Lady Yule also produced horses of worldwide significance.^[143]

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.^{[144][145][146][147]} Significant among the private breeders in continental Europe was Spain's Cristóbal Colón de Aguilera, XV Duque de Veragua, a direct descendant of Christopher Columbus, who founded the Veragua Stud in the 1920s.^[135][148]

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.^[149] 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 Stud, on the site of the former Stroganov estate,^[119] which included Polish bloodstock as well as some importations from the Crabbet Stud in England.^[150] 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.^[131][151]

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.^[152][153] 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.^[154]

In the postwar era, Poland,^[155] Spain,^[153] and Germany developed or re-established many well-respected Arabian stud farms.^[156] 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.^[157] During the 1950s, the Russians also obtained additional horses from Egypt to augment their breeding programs.^[158]

After the Cold War[]

While only a few Arabians were exported from behind the Iron Curtain 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.^[159] 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.^[160]

In America[]

The first horses on the American mainland since the end of the Ice Age 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.^[161] 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.^[162][163]

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.^[161]

Washington Taking Control of the American Army, at Cambridge, Massachusetts July 1775. Copy of lithograph by Currier & Ives, 1876.

One of George Washington's primary mounts during the American 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.^[164][165] Other Presidents are linked to ownership of Arabian horses; in 1840, President Martin Van Buren received two Arabians from the Sultan of Oman,^[161] and in 1877, President Ulysses S. Grant obtained two stallions, an Arabian and a Barb, as gifts from Abdul Hamid II, the "Sultan of Turkey".^{[81][166][167]}

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.^[168] Another major U.S. political figure, William H. Seward purchased four Arabians in Beirut in 1859, prior to becoming Secretary of State to Abraham Lincoln.^[169]

Leopard is the only stallion imported prior to 1888 who left known purebred descendants in America.^[170] 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.^[171]

Development of purebred breeding in America[]

Exhibitor from Syria holding an Arabian horse at the Hamidie Society exhibition, World's Columbian Exposition, 1893.

In 1908, the Arabian Horse Registry of America was established, recording 71 animals,^[166] 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.^[172]

The origins of the registry date to 1893, when the Hamidie Society sponsored an exhibit of Arabian horses from what today is Syria at the World Fair in Chicago.^[166] This exhibition raised considerable interest in Arabian horses. Records are unclear if 40 or 45 horses were imported for the exposition, but seven died in a fire shortly after arrival. The 28 horses that remained at the end of the exhibition stayed in America and were sold at auction when the Hamidie Society went bankrupt.^[173] These horses caught the interest of American breeders,^[166][174] including Peter Bradley of the Hingham Stock Farm, who purchased some Hamidie horses at the auction, and Homer Davenport, another admirer of the Hamidie imports.^[173]

Major Arabian importations to the United States included those of Davenport and Bradley, who teamed up to purchase several stallions and mares directly from the Bedouin in 1906.^[174] Spencer Borden of the Interlachen Stud made several importations between 1898 and 1911;^[166][175] 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.^[166] 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.^[166][176] The breeding of Arabians was fostered by the U. S. Army Remount Service, which stood purebred stallions at public stud for a reduced rate.^[177]

Several Arabians, mostly of Polish breeding, were captured from Nazi Germany and imported to the U.S.A. following World War II.^[178] In 1957, two deaths in England led to more sales to the United States: first from Crabbet Stud on the demise of Lady Wentworth,^[179] and then from Hanstead with the passing of Gladys Yule.^[143] 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.^[97][180]

Modern trends[]

In the 1980s, Arabians became a popular status symbol and were marketed similarly to fine art.^[181] Some individuals also used horses as a tax shelter.^[182] 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 million.^[183] 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,^[184][185] 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.^[185][186] 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.^[187] As of 2013, there are more than 660,000 Arabians that have been registered in the United States, and the US has the largest number of Arabians of any nation in the world.^[188]

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