A living treasure from the desert
by Alice Hummel
Drinkers of the wind; a vision of horses galloping free across dunes of sand, heads high, nostrils flared, manes and tails flowing in the wind beauty in motion. These are Arabian horses; a horse with the ability, to flare his nostrils wider than all other horses, which enables him to breathe in more air, adding to his stamina and speed.
For thousands of years, Arabian people have considered their horses part of their families; inviting them into their tents, treating them with love and kindness and breeding them carefully for strength of body and intelligence of mind. These nomads of the desert prized their horses above any other of their possessions. An old Arabian proverb puts into words their love of these horses: "The air of heaven is that which blows between a horse's ears.
These people were the first to keep detailed records of the stallions, mares and their offspring; a family tree for horses, tracing their ancestry. Because of their dedication in breeding only the best of their horses and their careful record keeping, the Arabian horse is the oldest pure breed in the world. The breed is often referred to as Arabian; however, to be exact, the breed is Arab and the horses of the breed are Arabians.
The Arabian horse is known for its widespread large eyes, small and erect ears, a wide forehead, which is slightly dished below the eyes, a deep jawline, small muzzle and an expression in the eyes of deep feeling and wisdom. Also unique in these horses is the fact that they have one less lumbar vertebra, several less vertebrae in the tail bone and a more horizontal position of the pelvic bone than other breeds. One exception is the Morgan, a breed exclusive to the United States. The reason being that the foundation stallion, named for his owner Justin Morgan, was predominantly of Arabian blood lines.
To understand how old this breed of horse is, it is known that Egyptian artifacts over 3,000 years old portray horses that can easily be recognized as Arabians and an Arab historian, El Kelbi, who wrote in the 8th century AD, traced the pedigrees of Arabian horses back to the time of Baz, Noah's great-great grandson. Arabian horses were desired by many different countries and these horses made their way throughout the Old World in various ways.
Caravans travelling the trade routes as far as India took these horses with them, selling them for great profit. Even Marco Polo writing of his travels said, "Merchants obtain pure Arabian war horses of which they make such great profit in India, for you must know that they sell in India a good many horses for 100 marks of silver or more.
Conquering Romans appreciated this horse for its beauty and strength, proven by the fact that they were the horses used as models for their statues. They also rode them and used them to pull their chariots in wars against other countries. As the Romans went from country to country, they bred these horses with the local horses, thereby introducing the qualities of the Arabian horse to other breeds. This was also continued when the
Crusaders invaded the Holy Lands. They, too, were quick to appreciate the qualities of the Arabian horse, taking them back with them on their return to Europe. Here they bred these horses with their own, thereby enhancing their breeds with the blood of the Arabian horse. This horse with its beauty, intelligence and strength impressed all who saw it and as a result, almost every breed of horse today has ties to the Arab breed of horse. One of the best known, the thoroughbred, stemmed from three imported sires in England, notably the Byerley Turk (about 1684-90), the Darley Arabian (1700) and the Godolphin Arabian (1730). There have been other Arabians who helped who helped perfect the thoroughbred, including the Helmsley Turk, the Lister Turk, the Leedes Arabian, the Alcock Arabian (an interesting fact about this horse is that every grey thoroughbred in the world traces back to him), the Darcy White Turk and the Darcy Yellow Turk.
Horsepower December/January 1999