| Fun Facts |
| *The earliest Arabian horse brought to the U.S. was a stallion by the name of Ranger, brought over in 1765. This was the horse that sired George Washinton's Arab that he rode in the American Revolutionary War *Arabian horses have 17 ribs, 5 lumbar bones, and 16 tail vertebrae, while other horses have 18-6-18 formation *During the Crimean War (1851-1854), one Arab raced 93 miles without harm, but the rider died from exhaustion *Wild, Asiatic stock are the forebearers of today's Arabian head *Thoroughbred, Trakehner, and Arabian blood helped refine the Hannoverian into an athletic, strong, good-tempered horse *The Arabian horse was a kingmaker in the valley of the Nile, changing history. Through this magnificent animal, the Egyptians were able to see the world beyond their borders and move into it *Major Arabian subypes include the Kuhailan, Munighi, and Siglavy--known collectively as Strelets, Yemen Arabians, and Shagya *The earliest horses first appeared in North America and later traveled-- presumably across the land bridges no longer in existence--to Europe and Asia *Because Welsh ponies lived in the mountains or on the moors for more than 1,000 years, they became tough, resiliant, sure-footed, and quick *In Spain, the Palomino color is sometimes called Ysabella, after the queen who liked this color *The first Olympic show jumping competitions were held in France in 1900 *Black Beauty, by Anna Sewell, was published in 1877 *The first recorded race with mounted horses was at the Greek Olympiad in 624 B.C. *Canada has no native breeds *The Quarter Horse is the oldest surviving American horse breed *The horse's skull is comprised of 34 bones |