History of the Arabian Horse

The ancestors to the modern day Arabian horse are indigenous to North Africa, South Eastern Europe and South Western Asia. These proto-Arabian horses were small, spare, hardy animals that survived and even thrived under the harshest of conditions.

We are unsure of when man first domesticated the horse, but we do know from paintings on buildings, pottery and tombs that we were well into breeding and training horses for our use over five thousand years ago. We may eventually discover evidence that shows of even earlier use. We will probably never know exactly how long ago it was that we domesticated the horse because the earliest tools were probably made from twisted plants and leather both of which decompose easily.

There was an Arabian horse as we know it today two thousand years ago. The various Bedouin tribes had their breeding programs well established by this time. There is a legend that Mohammed furthered the refinement of the Arabian horse by testing all the mares owned by his tribe.

The mares were penned up within sight and smell of water and kept them penned for three days. The mares were then turned loose to get water. Mohammed ordered the horn that signaled the tribe needed to ready for battle blown. Only five mares returned. He chose these five to be the foundation mares for his breeding program.

For many years it was difficult to get a good Arabian horse because the Bedouins did not sell their horses. Thanks to Wilfrid and Lady Anne Blunt, who established The Crabbet Stud in 1878 in England, and served as ambassadors to Arabia we now have access to some of the finest Arabian horses. They were ambassadors for England and established Arabian breeding programs wherever they were stationed. They established studs in Egypt, Poland, Russia and Spain, as well as England. Since 90% of all Arabian horses trace one or more lines back to Crabbet bloodlines it might be said that the Crabbet Stud is the founder of the modern day Arabian.

The Arabian horse has a reputation for being a hot, spooky horse. There is definitely truth to this belief, though it isn't the entire story of the Arabian horse.

The Arab bred his horse to be alert and warn him of impending danger. That alertness runs through the Arabian horse even today. They were bred to wide open areas stretching in all directions for hundreds of miles. There are many legends about how this alertness saved tribes and warriors from their enemies.

Arabian Horses were also bred to stay close to their masters and even slept in the tents with them, which means they can control their hot nature. Another thing many Arabians do is always go to a particular spot to urinate and defecate. Understandable since you really wouldn't want them doing this inside your tent.

Arabians form close bonds with people if allowed to and keep those bonds throughout their lives. Their fine, delicate conformation inspires artists everywhere. Yet for all that fineness they are very strong, sturdy animals with dense bone. All of our light-riding horses have Arabian ancestors. Some of the draft breeds, Percherons for one, and ponies, most notably Welsh, also have Arabian ancestors.

In the past they were premier war horses, today they are splendid show horses bringing pleasure to thousands of people with their elegant beauty.