Profile

Origin: Arabia

Colour: Chestnut, grey, bay and black

Height: Usually between 14.2hh – 15hh

Conformation: Small, elegant concave head, curved neck, long sloping shoulder, broad chest and deep body. They have hard clean limbs, hard well-shaped feet, and a fine mane and tail.

Character: Intelligent, responsive.

Uses: Riding, showing, endurance and racing.

The Arabian horse is accepted throughout the world as the purest and oldest of all horse breeds. Its origins are in the Middle Eastern deserts where the Bedouin tribesmen used it as a warhorse.

The Arabian horse averages 15hh. The stallion has great presence whilst the mare gives an impression of elegant gentleness.

Today, almost every breed and type of horse has traces of Arab blood and all English Thoroughbreds are descended in the male line from the Byerley Turk, the Darley Arabian and the Godolphin Arabian which were all imported into Britain in the early 1700s. The resurgence of Pure Bred Arabians in Britain started when Wilfred and Lady Anne Blunt travelled extensively throughout Arabia, befriended tribesmen and selected the best bloodlines to import 29 desert-bred mares and stallions in 1881.

The appearance of the Arab is unique among the equine races. They have a distinct outline and are of perfect proportion. The coat has an iridescent sheen. The head is slightly dished, tapering to a fine muzzle; the eyes are large and low placed while the throat is fine, with a well-shaped arched neck. They have a short back and strong muscular loins, the croup is level and the tail carried high. The Arab also has dense flat bone and hard feet, acute eyesight and hearing, purity and prepotency coupled with a gentle temperament and the ability to survive.

Arabs have 17 ribs, 5 lumbar vertebrae. and 16 tail bones, whereas other horses have a 18-6-18 pattern. This bone formation accounts for the distinctive shape of the back and quarters and the high tail carriage.

They are the most comfortable riding horses, with great stamina, their paces are light and free with an elevated trot capable of great extension. Arabs have a 'floating' action, as if moving on invisible springs. They can carry disproportionate weights whether jumping, racing or, in particular, over endurance distances where Pure and Part Bred Arabs excel against other breeds.

The Anglo Arab (any percentage of Arab and Thoroughbred blood) is an excellent hack and competition horse, combining the size and scope of the Thoroughbred with the courage and intelligence of the Arab. When crossed with other breeds and those of unknown breeding, they produce very good riding and performance stock and they are eligible for entry in the Arabian Part Bred Register.

For more information on the Arab visit www.arabhorsesociety.com