"Arabian"ÃÂ When most people hear this, they automatically think of the perfect horse. So let's go back 5,000 years to the first Arabian horses. In the days of Mohammed Ali, the desert raids were getting more serious. Knowing that they needed the best horses to defend their territory, Mohammed took one hundred horses and locked them up for three days without water. He then led them to a near stream, and knowing that they would become water logged, he sounded the battle cry. Out of the one hundred horses, only five horses (mares) responded. Those mares were the most beautiful anyone had ever seen. They were taken and bred to the best stallions. Their offspring started the Arabian breed. Everyone in Arabia soon found out about the Arabian. They were given the utmost respect. If a family came to a stream the horse always drank first. If a mare was about to foal the whole family would move out of their tents just so the mare would have enough room.
English: Trotting Arabian colt
Earl?
Earl & Eva Routh Family 1945Only a fool would sell his horse, but to be given one as a gift was the upmost honor. Over the years the Arabians fame became worldwide. In some countries, the only horses the army would use were Arabians.
Their dished face, large brown cantaloupe eyes, small pointed ears, flaring nostrils, a muzzle that could sip from a tea cup short back, sturdy strong legs, and an extra large windpipe made the Arabian perfect for racing. Specifically endurance racing. Even on the race track they were unstoppable. The star of the ever popular "Black Stallion"ÃÂ was an Arabian. The movie naturally made the Arabian's popularity skyrocket, and everyone wanted one. Their popularity led to poor breeding because the breeders didn't pay attention to the stallion and mare combinations. The horses ended up with more weaknesses than strengths. The overpopulation had begun. The horses were loosing their pure background that the Arab's had worked so hard to instill. When American breeders heard of this they flew straight over to Arabia, picked out some of the best breeding stock, and brought them home so they could reinstate the breed.
After years of selective breeding they finally got the Arabians back to their orignal standards. Arabians prospered in America.
They were used for endurance racing. Top racers could run one hundred miles in less than ten hours. They were also used to improve other breeds such as the Quarter horse, which developed the Thoroughbred, and the ever popular Paint/Arabian which also became very popular. The other breeds are Morgan/Arabian (Morab) Quarter horse/Arabian (QHArab) Thoroughbred/Arabian (Anglo Arabian) and the most resent Lippizian/Arabian (LippArabian). They were becoming a world wide icon. As a result, the IAHA (International Arabian Horse Association) was formed. When it was started there were only twenty thousand Arabians redgistered. Today there are over one hundred thousand Arabians redgerstered not counting the half Arabian registry.
There are many different types of Arabians, such as the Goldophin Arabian named after the Earl of Goldophin. He acquired the Arabian stallion (Sham) and his groom all the way from Arabia (for the king of England) after they had been beaten and abused. The king thought that the little horse was no match for his bigger horses. So he gave Sham to the royal cook. To use as a cart horse. The cook was jealous that he couldn't handle the stallion, but the little groom could. One day out of frustration, he sold the horse to a man who needed a horse to pull his cart. The man had a very bad temper, and was determined to break the horse from being of his strong headed. The cook came home that day without the horse and the groom knew that something was wrong, so he went looking for his beloved horse. After six months of searching he finally found him, trying to pull a load twice his size on ice. The man was beating him with a whip. The horse moved two feet and collapsed. The boy ran over to him and tried to reassure him. The man finally gave up and dragged the cart back to his house. He thought that the horse was just being stubborn so he didn't give him any food. The boy stole some food from the neighbor and gave the food to him. The horse's sheen was gone and the five year old stallion looked twenty with harness sores all over his body. The next day the man tried the same thing, but just as he was just about to whip the horse the Earl of Goldopin stopped him and offered him twice the horse's price. The man accepted his offer. The Earl took the horse and boy to his house.
He gave the horse six months to recover. Then he gave him to his son-in-law. Sham would only let the boy ride him. After a short ride he gave him back to his father-in-law. They made a deal that the boy and his horse could stay, if he worked in the stables. For a while it worked out until the Earl got a new stallion named (Hobgoblin). The boy hated that horse so much, and the Earl worshipped him. The Earl was waiting for the perfect mare to breed him to. Finally, he thought he found her. Lady Roxanna was her name. She was solid white except for her tail, which was plume colored. The Earl thought that his horse was sounding a greeting, but it was really Sham. He sent his own personal groom to get Hobgoblin, but the boy could take it no more. He let Sham out at the same time. The horses went at each other and after a gruesome fight, Sham won! Hobgoblin lay on the ground struggling to get up. Sham went over to Lady Roxanna and began to breed to her. The Earl was furious, and sent the boy and his horse packing. They ran away to the woods where they lived for two years. Until one day the Earl's groom showed up, and told the boy to bring the horse back at once. After the boy was back, the Earl told him about Roxanna's foal. The foal was barely a year old and could outrun the two year olds. He jumped the fence and started to run with the older horses and outran them by a mile.
That foal(older)broke two world records for racing. Sham and Lady Roxanna produced many more champions including Eclipse, Man O War and many others. So you see the Arabian is the foundation horse for all the world's great horses.
Earl Winston
Anglo-Arabian Stallion
English: Poland - Pure Arabians