The origin of the Arabian is not known. Some people say the ancestors of the Arabian were wild horses in northern Syria, or southern Turkey. Some people say the Hittites bred and cultivated the Arabian. There are some theories that say the Arabian is from Asia and was derived from Tarpan stock. Due to pictorial evidence, however, one cannot say the Arabian was derived from a different breed. There were hieroglyphs as early as the sixteenth century that show a perfect Arabian type. The earliest known hieroglyph of an Arabian appears on the tomb of Phiri the Egyptian; it was of a horse with a dished face, an arched neck, a high tail-set, and small ears - characteristics breeders look for today in their Arabians After the first horse was depicted in stone, many more came after it.

The history of the Arabian may also be found among the Bedouin people - nomads from the deserts of Arabia who depended on their horses and camels for transportation and livelihood. Bedouin tradition says they captured their first horses in the desert.

The Bedouins bred horses as war-mounts and for long journeys across the desert at a swift pace. Their horse was also a companion to them; there was an intimate relationship between the two. Bedouins had their most prized mares sleep with them in their own tents. The relationship between the Bedouin and his horse is shown in the American Indian and nature - their relationship with nature was not physical, but spiritual.1 Bedouin poets showed this relationship through many poems. One of the greatest Arabian poems written was the Seven Odes. One of these odes, "The Golden Ode," is very descriptive:

The Golden Ode of Labid

Well have I my tribe served, brought them aid and armament,

Slept, my mare's reins round me, night-long their sentinel;

Ridden forth at day-dawn, climbed the high-heaped sand ridges

Hard by the foes' marches, dun-red the slopes of them;

Watched till the red sun dipped hand-like in obscurity

Til the night lay curtained, shrouding our weaknesses;

And I came down riding, my mare's neck held loftily

as a palm fruit-laden: woe to the gatherer!

Swift was she, an ostrich; galloped she how wrathfully,

from her side the sweat streamed, lightening the ribs of her;

Strained on her her saddle; dripped with wet the neck of her;

the white foam-flakes wreathing, edging the girth of her;

Thrusteth her neck forward, shaketh her reins galloping;

flieth as the doves fly bound for the water-springs.

(Transcribed by Wilfrid Scawen Blunt after Lady Anne Blunt) 2

In ancient Arabia, the poet was thought to have super-natural knowledge and was the "oracle of the tribe, their guide in peace and their champion in war."3

Bedouins did not keep recordings of pedigrees, but instead were recited and remembered. The Bedouin could tell you the genealogy of his horses as well as he could recite his own family's genealogy

With the rise of Mohammed in six hundred A.D., the country of Arabia went through a great change. The warriors of Islamic faith, mounted on their Arabians, took many countries by storm, conquering North Africa, China, Spain, and more. Because these warriors were able to spread their faith with their horses, the Arabian was thought to be sent from God for a special purpose, and was therefore respected more than other creatures.

The first importations of Arabian horses into England may have been gifts from Spain and France, or they may have been through the Crusades. In thirteen thirty-three, the first documented importation from Arabia to Europe was made by the Maneluke Sultan, El Naseri. One of the most important importations into England was done by the Lady Anne Blunt. Abbas Pasha, the grandson of Viceroy Mohammed Ali, had a Stud with horses of Blunt blood. He loved his Stud and all of his horses and took great pains to keep his horses pure in blood. Abbas Pasha was assassinate and his son, El Hami, inherited the Stud. El Hami died three years afterwards and the priceless horses were sold at auction. An old friend of Abbas Pasha, Ali Pasha Sherif, bought a large portion of the horses at the auction and did his best to continue the bloodlines. Unfortunately, in eighteen eighty an outbreak of horse sickness wiped out many strains of the Stud. Ali Pasha died, and his sons, not caring about the Stud, decided to sell all of the horses at an auction. Mr. Wilfred Scawen Blunt and Lady Anne Blunt, the owners of the Crabbet Estate in England, bought the best of the horses at the auction and they continued the lines there. After Lady Anne's death, the lines were continued by her daughter, Lady Wentworth. This Stud, the Crabbet Estate, was one of the most influential breeding farms of this breed; it was in operation for almost a century.

Lady Anne Blunt and her daughter, Lady Wentworth, contributed greatly to this magnificent breed, in keeping bloodlines alive, helping other breeders with their research of the Bedouin, and their research of the pedigrees in general.

There were several importations of Arabian horses into the United States in the nineteen- twenties and thirties, but the most important ones were of the Skowronek strain. Skowronek only sired forty-seven foals, but among these foals were *Raseyn, and *Raffles; these horses helped make their sire famous.

Raseyn was imported into America in nineteen twenty-six by the Kellogg Ranch, and quickly became an important sire there. He sired one hundred thirty-five foals; Ferseyn and Sureyn were his most famous sons.

Raffles, Skowronek's only inbred son (Skowronek was Raffles's grandsire on his dam's side), was imported into America in nineteen thirty-two by Roger Selby. He sired one hundred twenty- two foals; many modern American-bred Arabians lead back to this sire.

The first importation of an Arabian into the United States was done in seventeen twenty-five - it was a stallion and he bred over three hundred foals after he was imported; unfortunately most of these foals were not pure due to the small amount of pure Arabian mares.

In eighteen ninety-three, the World's Colombian Exposition, more commonly known as the Chicago World's Fair, was held. There, people from Turkey showed their Arabians and many people were captured by the horses' presence and became more interested in them. Among the horses at the fair was *Nedjme, an imported mare that appears as Number One in the Arabian Stud Book of America.

The Arabian's popularity in the United States also spread greatly through the army. The first Cavalry Endurance Ride was held in nineteen twenty, and the Arabians had a superior showing. The United States Remount Service became more involved in the next Cavalry Endurance Ride, held in nineteen twenty-one. As the army began to see how the Arabian was useful in endurance, its numbers increased in the country.

When reading or studying about the Arabian horse, the word "strain" always comes up. A strain is a family of a certain breed that has specific characteristics that other families do not. Concerning the Arabian, each horse always takes its strain name through the female side. However, this can create confusion when breeding a horse from one strain to a horse from another strain. As an example, when looking at a pedigree that shows back to the great- grandparents (which would be eight horses), there may be seven horses with A blood, and one orse with B blood (B being the female strain). This would mean the horse is mostly A blood, but the horse would be considered B blood because of the tail female line. 5

Among the different strains of Arabian horses, there are 5 basic families known as the "Al Khamsa" that other strains have been created from. The name Al Khamsa means "The Five" in Arabic. Supposedly, this "five" refers to horses that lead back to the Kuhailan strain, a prized strain of Blunt breeding. The legend of the Al Khamsa is as follows: there was a group of tired and thirsty war mares turned loose near a water hole. As they ran toward it, a trumpet sounded to come to battle. Only five of the mares responded, and these were the ones that were chosen to be bred from then on. 6

The names of the old strains usually came about through various circumstances among the Arab peoples.

Each strain has different characteristics that distinguish each strain, if barely, from others. The Hamdani horses were usually plain in appearance, but were athletic and muscular. This was one of the largest strains, standing up to 15.2 hands high.

The Seglawi strain was known best for its refined features. Its height averaged about 14.2 hands high.

The Kukaylan, Saqlawi, and æUbayan tended to have the finest heads.

There are many more strains, but I will not be listing them here.

The Arabian is one of the most distinct horses on earth. It is a different species, called equus arabicus. Its back vertebrae has only seventeen ribs instead of the typical nineteen. Its tail has sixteen vertebrae instead of the usual eighteen, and it only has five lumbar vertebrae instead of six.

Its short but wide forehead, often called the "Jibbah," is its signature characteristic - it tapers down to a small, delicate nose which gives the head a concave or dished appearance. Its nostrils are large which allows more air to filter into its lungs. Its eyes are set low and are wide apart. Its ears are small and the tips are pointed inward. Its neck is long and graceful, its shoulder short and straight. The chest is well defined. Its tail is held high like a flag when xcited.

The height of the Arabian is usually between 14.1 and 15 hands, although it is not uncommon for them to be taller or shorter.

The skin of the Arabian is black, but pink under white markings. Its coat is silky and shiny. Its mane, forelock, and tail are fine and satiny.

The action of the Arabian is free and proud.

This description is of the "perfect" Arabian and not every Arabian is perfect. However, when looking at an Arabian these are qualities a breeder looks most at.

The Arabian has influenced hundreds of breeds of different horses, either directly or indirectly. Because the Arabian has been bred as a certain type for so long, it is more withstanding, and therefore has more influence on different breeds.

In the seventeen hundreds, Arabians were being imported into Europe to breed more speed into their racehorses. This was the beginning of the English Thoroughbred. In France, the Arabian contributed in founding the blood of the Percheron. In Russia, it aided in developing the Orloff Trotter.

Brigadier Kurt Albrecht, of the Spanish Riding School in Vienna, said:

Very few of the existing stud-bred breeds have been so deeply influenced in their history

of origin by the percentage of Barb or especially Arabian blood, as the Lippizzaner. Even

the early ancestors, those æSpanish Stallions' which have given their name to the Spanish

Riding School and the brood mares which belonged to a native of the Carso breed and

were already appreciated by the Romans because of their Frugality, hardiness and

endurance, transmitted percentages of this blood. Consequently more stallions were

bought, either directly from Spain or out of Italian, Danish or German successive breeds.

After diverse crossing experiments with Arabian stallions in the 18th century, a sixth strain

was finally established by the Arabian stallion SIGLAVY born in 1810. The Arabian blood

which he carried with him is visible in the Lipizzaner until today.7

The Morgan's only foundation sire, Justin Morgan, was described by Randolph Huntington as "a pony Arab-bred horse." 8 Although no one has any records of Justin Morgan's breeding, his dam was probably of Arabian descent.

Through the Morgan, the Arabian blood indirectly reached to other American breeds such as the American Saddlebred, the Tennessee Walking Horse, the Quarter Horse, and the Standardbred.

Through careful breeding by the Bedouins, and then later large Studs, the Arabian has remained uniform throughout history. Its versatility allows it to compete in different disciplines and excel in all of them.

Notes

1 Judith Forbis, The Classic Arabian Horse (New York/London: Liveright, 1976) 62.

2 Labid The Golden Ode of Labid, quoted by Judith Forbis in The Classic Arabian Horse (New

York/London: Liveright,, 1976) 63.

3 Judith Forbis, The Classic Arabian Horse (New York/London: Liveright,, 1976) 60.

4 History and Heritage of the Arabian Horse. Comp. Arabian Horse America. 29 Dec. 2002

<http://www.arabianhorseamerica.com/History/index.asp>

5 Judith Forbis, The Classic Arabian Horse (New York/London: Liveright,, 1976) 275.

6 Sharon Byford, The Arabian (United States: Alpine, 1987) 2.

7 Brigadier Kurt Albrecth, quoted by Georg Olms in Asil Arabians, The Noble Arabian Horse

(New York: Asil Club, 1993) 304.

8 Randolph Huntington, quoted by Sharon Byford in The Arabian (United States: Alpine,

1987) 30.

Works Cited

Byford, Sharon. The Arabian. United States: Alpine, 1987.

Upton, Peter. Arabians. United States: Chronicle Books, 1999.

Greely, Margaret. Arabian Exodus. Great Britain: J. A. Allen and Company Limited, 1990.

Tweedie, W. The Arabian Horse. Lebanon, England: Libraire Du Liban Beirut, 1894.

Olms, Georg. Asil Arabians, The Noble Arabian Horse. New York: Asil Club, 1993.

Forbis, Judith. The Classic Arabian Horse. New York/London: Liveright, 1976.

History and Heritage of the Arabian Horse. Comp. Arabian Horse America. 2002. 29 Dec. 2002

<http://www.arabianhorseamerica.com/History/index.asp>.

Brown, W. R. The Horse of the Desert. New York: The Macmillian Company, 1947.