The Arabian Horse Today  Historically
the Arabian has maintained a reputation as the horse of beauty, intelligence,
courage, endurance, and romance. Because he was bred and reared in close
contact with man from the earliest records, and existing in mutual inter-dependence,
he developed an unequaled ability to bond with humans. Indeed, his intelligence
has been celebrated in thousands of anecdotes. He is gentle, affectionate,
and familiar, almost to the point of being troublesome. Foals, for example,
have no fear of man, and are usually indifferent to sudden noises. The
Arabian gentleness and tractability, while originally the effect of education,
is now inherited, and is observed in foals bred in a foreign environment.
Because the Arab often engaged in a form of desert warfare
known as "Ghazu," a form of quick mounted foray upon his neighbors,
his life and welfare depended upon the endurance and speed of his Arabian
horse. These stellar qualities of the Arabian horse were also the natural
result of a good original stock, which by intensive breeding in a favorable
environment had maintained its purity. His blood is commanding to a remarkable
degree, and invariably dominates all the breeds to which it is introduced
and contributes its own superior qualities to them. When imported to England, the Arabian became the progenitor
of the Thoroughbred. In Russia, the blood of the Arabian horse contributed
largely to the development of the Orloff Trotter. In France, the animal
helped make the famous Percheron. And in America, again it was the Arabian
horse which became the progenitor of the Morgan and through the English
Thoroughbred, to make the Trotter. As the oldest of all the light breeds and foundation stock
of most, the Arabian is unique. The Arabian breed is different in that
it does not exist as a result of selective breeding, as were other modern
light breeds, where it was necessary to establish a registry prior to
the development of the breed, but was a breed that had been recognized
for thousands of years and had been maintained and cherished in its purity
over those years as much as is humanly possible.  The
high intelligence, trainability, gentle disposition and stamina of the
Arabian enable it to excel at a wide variety of activities popular today.
Arabians are excellent on the trail as well as in the show ring. Show
classes in English and western pleasure, cutting and reining, even jumping
and dressage provide opportunities for fun and enjoyment at both all-Arabian
events and open breed shows alike. As an endurance horse, the Arabian
has no equal. The top prizes at endurance events almost always go to riders
of Arabians. In addition, the Arabians' Bedouin heritage is evident in
their unequaled ability to bond with humans, making them the perfect horse
for family members of all ages.
With today's prices comparable with other popular breeds,
excellent Arabian horses are now accessible to a broad base of horse enthusiasts.
And, with more living Arabian horses in the United States than in all
the other countries in the world combined, America has some of the best
horses and breeding farms from which to choose. Go back to Introduction
|
