Purebred Arabian horse

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The Arabian horse is the most famous and beautiful breed in the world. Its origin is shrouded in many legends. The breed appeared in the IV-VII centuries on the Arabian Peninsula. From there she came to Europe, approximately in the 8th century; they began to import horses en masse during the time of the Crusades. Arabian horses are the ancestors of many modern horse varieties. Until now, the possession of such a horse is a sign of a special high status and prestige of the owner. Only the best stud farms are engaged in breeding.

Arabian horse breed

General characteristics of the breed

The Arabian breed of horses is distinguished by a harmonious constitution, short stature, agility and speed. The main purpose of these horses is racing, participation in the selection of other breeds. The Arabs used their horses in military campaigns to move across the desert. The breed has become very hardy, few horses can compare with it. Description and characteristics of the appearance of modern Arabian horses of pure blood:

• The height at the withers is 153 cm for a stallion, 150 cm for a mare.
• The girth in the chest area for stallions is 178-179 cm, for fillies - 172-173 cm.
• The girth in the pastern in males is 20 cm, in females - 18 cm.
• Weight - around 450 kg.
• The head is dry.
• The forehead is wide, with square outlines.
• The muzzle is narrow with a characteristic concave nose bridge (pike profile).
• The ears are rather short.
• The neck is elongated, curved like a swan, strong and muscular.
• The breast is widened and deepened.
• The back is shortened and perfectly straight.
• Croup well muscled.
• Legs are dry, strong and firm.
• The lower legs are elongated.
• The hooves are rounded.
• The tail is raised up, develops during the run, like a rooster.
• All muscles and tendons on the horse's body must be clearly visible.

A distinctive feature of all Arabian horses is the reduced number of vertebrae and ribs compared to other breeds. These horses have 17 instead of 18 ribs, 5 vertebrae in the lower back instead of 6 and 16 vertebrae in the tail instead of 18, like in other varieties. On this basis, it is often determined how purebred the Arabian horse is.

The nature of the horses

The character of the Arabian horse, despite its agility, is very calm and pliable. For a century, the horses lived next to a man, the Bedouins kept them in their tents with the whole family, gave them milk and fed them better than they ate themselves. Therefore, the Arabs are strongly attached to their masters. They say that this is the kindest and most loyal breed. In addition, this horse breed has excellent hearing, the horses are excellently oriented in space and always find their way home.

IQs are very high, stallions and mares are perfectly trainable. They are not only smart but also submissive. They will obey the owner with any treatment, although they are best perceived by affection and encouragement. Oriental horses take part in competitions requiring good submission and high intellectual abilities: show jumping, dressage, hurdling, etc.

In addition, modern Arabian Thoroughbred horses are distinguished by their incredible endurance. They are able to ride 160 km a day and repeat this record for 6-7 days in a row. At the races this breed has no equal. Despite the relatively small stallion, the stallion calmly carries on the back of an adult rider. In terms of speed, these horses are now inferior to some modern breeds, for example, a thoroughbred horse. But their qualities are more balanced, they can stay fit and active over long distances.

The Arabian mare is very fertile, females are able to give birth to foals until old age. The life expectancy of horses is about 30 years, they are champions among all thoroughbred horses. They are in good health, rarely get sick. Even poor conditions of detention and poor handling do not affect the well-being of the horses.

Varieties of suits

This racehorse breed has several color varieties. Some suits are quite common, others are considered extremely rare. These are the colors of the horses that are now officially recognized:

• Gray in different shades. This suit is the most widespread, it is considered the hallmark of the Arabian horses. With age, specks or "buckwheat" appear on the coat.
• Chalaya. This suit is sometimes called piebald or sabino, but in horses of this variety it is defined precisely as roan. The color is quite rare, in Europe for a long time this suit was not recognized in Arab horses, the individuals were culled, but the color took root perfectly in the USA.
• White. A noble suit, it happens among the elite representatives of the breed.
• Bay and red. These colors are quite common, but still more rare than grays.
• Black. Black color of Arabian horses is also rare, such horses look very elegant.
• Silver bay. Probably the most beautiful suit of all. Previously, it was considered playful, but now the classification has been revised.

The cost of horses often depends on the color, since now the Arabian horse is often bred for the sake of beauty and prestige. The simplest is considered to be red and bay. Silver stallions are of particular value. White and black are rare, so they are also highly valued. True connoisseurs of the breed prefer gray, less often roan horses.

Exterior varieties

Over the centuries of breeding the Arabian horse breed, many different families have formed. The most famous are the ancient Arabian ones: ateshi, kadishi, kohlani. It is from the kohlani that all modern thoroughbred horses originate. In addition, many European countries have their own stud farms that breed Arabian horses. The most famous are English, French and Polish.

According to exterior qualities, the Arabian horse of pure blood is divided into 4 types:

• Cochelain. Massive Arabian thoroughbred horse, well knocked down with very strongly developed muscles. The chest is extended and the skeleton is extremely strong. The Cochelains are very hardy and often win races. They are characterized by a bay or red color.
• Siglavi. The most beautiful variety of Arabian horses. Their body structure is not as powerful as that of the Cochelains, and their size is somewhat smaller. In terms of agility, Siglavi is inferior to the previous exterior type. But this variety has preserved as much as possible all the external qualities of the old breed of horses.
• Cochelin-Siglavi. These horses are characterized by signs of both conformation types. They retained the beautiful silhouette, the dryness of the Siglavi forms, and acquired the agility and endurance of the Cochelains. In addition, they are distinguished by high growth and high performance indicators.
• Hadban The largest of all riding horses of the Arab breed, they are distinguished by their speed, agility, endurance, they win many races, they can compete with a thoroughbred riding breed. Unfortunately, the characteristic external features of the Arabs are poorly expressed in them.

Breeding of Arabian horses must be strictly within the framework of its conformation type. Unfortunately, not all stud farms adhere to this rule now. How thoroughbred is the modern Arabian horse?

How to choose an Arabian horse

With the decline in the economic importance of horses at the beginning of the twentieth century, many breeds were on the verge of extinction. This did not apply to Arabian horses, since they were preserved in many homes of aristocrats and in the Middle East. In Russia, after the revolution, these horses almost disappeared, the livestock began to revive only in the 30s.

Many breeders believe that the condition of the modern Arabian horse breed is deplorable. Horse farms, in pursuit of profit, pay little attention to exterior and working qualities. It is unrealistic to find real Arabs in Arabia now. The international organization of Arabian horse breeding is engaged in the conservation of the breed. She pays attention to the fact that horses regularly participate in races. A separate championship is organized for the representatives of the breed. Only individuals of pure blood were allowed to breed.

Before buying, you need to consider how Arabian horses look in the photo, and then carefully study all the parameters and breed standards. An Arab purebred stallion must have:

• Elongated lower legs with thighs, as well as neck and forearms, while small in stature.
• Shortened ears, tail, sacrum and head area.
• The chest, croup and forehead are widened.
• The muzzle is narrowed, with a specific concavity forming a characteristic pike profile.
• The tail is always raised in gait.

How much is a horse from the east? The thoroughbred Arabian horse is one of the most expensive horses in the world. The cost ranges from $ 1-2 million. The record price for a stallion of this breed is USD 11 million. In Russia, these horses are bred by the Khrenovsky and Tersky stud farms. You can find horses in the Leningrad, Moscow, Pskov, Tver regions. There are stud farms where you can choose a horse in Tatarstan.

Care and maintenance

The Arabian breed of domestic horses comes from the hot countries of the Middle East, therefore it is sensitive to cold and dampness. Pets need dry stables with good ventilation, heating and no drafts. The litter should always be dry, dry and sufficiently thick. The stall cannot be made cramped, horses love space, because in their homeland they lived almost freely for centuries.

Horses of this breed have sensitive legs and joints, they often suffer from arthritis. This is another reason why the stable should be dry and warm. Stallions should not be allowed to stagnate for a long time. Walking should be daily, lasting at least 2-3 hours. Horses of this breed perfectly tolerate long transitions, therefore they need to arrange "trips" from time to time. Especially in cases when they do not participate in professional races, but are used only for walking and amateur riding.

Horses are unpretentious in food, they are accustomed to scarce feed under heavy loads. The diet can be based on barley, hay, vegetables and various feed additives. Oats are recommended only for sport horses. It adds a lot of energy. If the Arab thoroughbred horse does not go to the races, it can only harm him.

Legends and facts

For more than a thousand years of history, legends have been formed about the Arabian horses. Historians believe that the development of the breed is largely due to the emergence of Islam. It is not for nothing that many retellings about Arab horses are associated with the prophet Muhammad.

• The Arabs believe that the breed of horses was created by Allah himself, having appointed it the main one among all animals.
• They say that once in the oasis, the Prophet Muhammad met mares who drank water. He called them, but only 5 ran up to him. All other Arabian horses originated from them.
• The previous legend has another version as well. The horses were specially taught to stop drinking by the sound of the trumpet.Once they were not watered for several days, and then they were brought to a stream. As soon as the horses began to drink, a bugle sounded. Only seven mares obeyed his sound, and they were selected for further breeding.

Here are some interesting facts about the Arabian horse:

• In Arabia, attention was paid to the breed qualities of mares, and not stallions, as in other countries. It was believed that mothers, carrying foals in the womb, impart more beneficial properties to them than fathers at conception.
• The Arab military cavalry involved mainly mares, not Arab stallions.
• When breeding the breed, special attention was paid to hiding the rider. Because of this, the horses have a long, curved neck (covering the rider from the front) and a bushy tail that rises in the gait (to cover the back).
• Almost all modern breeds have the blood of the Arabs in their veins, even heavy trucks. The most famous descendants of the Arabian horses are the thoroughbred racehorse, the Orlov trotter, the Andalusian breed, the Austrian Lipician, the Portuguese Lusitano.
• For centuries, Arabian horses were considered the best gift for aristocrats. Many famous stallions appeared in Europe thanks to donations from Turkish sultans, Iranian shahs and Arab rulers.
• Most of the Arabian horses in the Middle Ages were not brought from the Arabian Peninsula, but from Syria.
• In the 70s of the last century in the United States, the Arabian horse breed began to be seen as a good way to invest capital, because of this, prices soared to almost $ 10 million per head.
• It was this breed that was recreated in one of the series of the famous computer game "The Sims".
• The head of a riding horse of the Arab breed or the entire horse is depicted on many banknotes in Arab countries.

The Arabian horse is a symbol of ancient horse breeding. She still has not lost her relevance, participates in competitions, lives in prestigious private stables. Perhaps the horse is inferior to many other breeds in running speed and agility, but the beauty and ancient legends associated with horses do not allow the breed to go into oblivion. An expensive oriental horse in the stable is a symbol of the well-being of its owner. Not a single elite exhibition can do without it, so it is worth taking a closer look at these beauties.