Arabian2

Origins of the Arabian Horse
The origin of the Arabian horse remains a great zoological mystery. Although this unique breed has had a distinctive national identity for centuries, its history nevertheless is full of subtleties, complexities and contradictions. It defies simple interpretation. When we first encounter the Arabian, or the prototype of what is known today as the Arabian, he is somewhat smaller than his counterpart today. Otherwise he has essentially remained unchanged throughout the centuries. Authorities are at odds about where the Arabian horse originated. The subject is hazardous, for archaeologists' spades and shifting sands of time are constantly unsettling previously established thinking. There are certain arguments for the ancestral Arabian having been a wild horse in northern Syria, southern Turkey and possibly the piedmont regions to the east as well. The area along the northern edge of the Fertile Crescent comprising part of Iraq and running along the Euphrates and west across Sinai and along the coast to Egypt, offered a mild climate and enough rain to provide an ideal environment for horses. Other historians suggest this unique breed originated in the southwestern part of Arabia, offering supporting evidence that the three great river beds in this area provided natural wild pastures and were the centers in which Arabian horses appeared as undomesticated creatures to the early inhabitants of southwestern Arabia. Because the interior of the Arabian peninsula has been dry for approximately 10,000 years, it would have been difficult, if not impossible, for horses to exist in that arid land without the aid of man. The domestication of the camel in about 3500 BC provided the Bedouins (nomadic inhabitants of the middle east desert regions) with means of transport and sustenance needed to survive the perils of life in central Arabia, an area into which they ventured about 2500 BC. At that time they took with them the prototype of the modern Arabian horse.
There can be little dispute, however, that the Arabian horse has proved to be, throughout recorded history, an original breed-which remains to this very day. Neither sacred nor profane history tells us the country where the horse was first domesticated, or whether it was first used for work or riding. It probably was used for both purposes in very early times and in various parts of the world. We know that by 1500 BC the people of the east had obtained great mastery over their hot-blooded horses that were the forerunners of the breed that eventually became known as "Arabian." About 3500 years ago the hot-blooded horse assumed the role of king-maker in the east, including the valley of the Nile and beyond, changing human history and the face of the world. With the horse the Egyptians were made aware of the vast world beyond their own borders. The Pharaohs were able to extend the Egyptian empire by harnessing the horse to their chariots and relying on its power and courage. With the help of the horse, societies of such distant lands as the Indus Valley civilizations were united with Mesopotamian cultures. The empires of the Hurrians, Hittites, Kassites, Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians and others rose and fell under its thundering hooves. His strength made possible the initial concepts of a cooperative universal society, such as the Roman empire. The Arabian "pony express" shrank space, accelerated communications and linked empires together throughout the eastern world. This awe-inspiring horse of the east appears on seal rings, stone pillars and various monuments with regularity after the 16th century B.C. Egyptian hieroglyphics proclaim his value; Old Testament writings are filled with references to the horse�s might and strength. Other writings talk of the creation of the Arabian, "thou shallst fly without wings and conquer without swords." King Solomon some 900 years BC eulogized the beauty of "a company of horses in Pharaoh's chariots," while in 490 BC the famous Greek horseman, Xenophon proclaimed: "A noble animal which exhibits itself in all its beauty is something so lovely and wonderful that it fascinates young and old alike." But whence came the "Arabian horse?" We have seen this same horse for many centuries before the word "Arab" was ever used or implied as a race of people or species of horse. The origin of the word "Arab" is still obscure. A popular concept links the word with nomadism, connecting it with the Hebrew "Arabha," dark land or steppe land, also with the Hebrew "Erebh," mixed and hence organized as opposed to organized and ordered life of the sedentary communities, or with the root "Abhar"-to move or pass. "Arab" is a Semitic word meaning "desert" or the inhabitant thereof, with no reference to nationality. In the Koran a'rab is used for Bedouins (nomadic desert dwellers) and the first certain instance of its Biblical use as a proper name occurs in Jer. 25:24: "Kings of Arabia," Jeremiah having lived between 626 and 586 BC. The Arabs themselves seem to have used the word at an early date to distinguish the Bedouin from the Arabic-speaking town dwellers. This hot blooded horse that had flourished under the Semitic people of the east now reached its zenith of fame as the horse of the "Arabas." The Bedouin horse breeders were fanatic about keeping the blood of their desert steeds absolutely pure, and through line breeding and inbreeding, celebrated strains evolved which were particularly prized for distinguishing characteristics and qualities. The mare evolved as the Bedouin's most treasured possession. The harsh desert environment ensured that only the strongest and keenest horse survived, and it was responsible for many of the physical characteristics distinguishing the breed to this day.
Arabian Horses Spread to Europe
With the rise of the Prophet Mohammed and the dawn of Islam, circa 600 AD, Arabia underwent a change in culture. Fired with zeal over their newfound Islamic faith, the Arab warriors swept out of the desert mounted on "Arabian horses," spreading the word of their Prophet by the sword. Bred in the desert their remarkable horses had evolved like finely tempered steel into the swift, elegant, graceful and magnificent warhorse by whose means the Arabs shook the civilized world. The Middle East, North Africa, the Mediterranean countries as far west as Spain and others as far east as China, fell to Islam. European horses soon felt an extensive infusion of Arabian blood, especially as a result of the Christian Crusaders returning from the east between the years 1099 AD and 1249 AD. With the invention of fire arms, the heavily armored knight lost his importance and during the 16th century handy, light and speedy horses were in demand for use as cavalry mounts. Subsequent wars proved the superiority of the Arabian horse as the outstanding military mount throughout the world. After the Crusades, people of the western world began looking to the people of the east for Arabian bloodstock. Between 1683 and 1730 a revolution in horse breeding occurred when three Arabian stallions were imported to England. The Darley Arabian, the Byerly Turk and the Godolphin Arabian founded the Thoroughbred breed. Today the majority of all modern Thoroughbreds can be trace to these three Arabian sires. By direct infusion, and through the blood of the Thoroughbred, the Arabian has contributed, to some degree, to all our light breeds of horses. In the 1800's significant Arabian stud farms were founded throughout Europe. The royal families of Poland established notable studs as did the kings of Germany and other European nations. Travelers in the Victorian era became enamored with the horse of the desert, and as a result of Lady Anne Blunt and Wilfred Blunt's historical sojourns into the desert, as well as living in Egypt, the world-famous Crabbet Arabian Stud in England was founded on desert and Egyptian stock. This stud in turn eventually provided foundation horses for many countries including Russia, Poland, Australia, North and South America, and even Egypt.
Introduction of Arabian Horses to North America
America was built by utilizing horsepower and colonists were quick to realize the value of Arabian bloodstock. Nathan Harrison of Virginia imported the first Arabian stallion in 1725. This horse reportedly sired 300 foals from grade mares. The first breeder of consequence, however, was A. Keene Richard. He journeyed into the desert in 1853 and 1856, subsequently importing several stallions and two mares. However, his breeding program was ruptured by the Civil War and nothing survived.