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52 Pages·2005·7.75 MB·English
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THE CLASSIC ARABIAN HORSE by Peter Upton Published by . . . THE ARAB HORSE SOCIETY UK Windsor House Ramsbury Wiltshire SN8 2PE THE CLASSIC ARAB HORSE The opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the Arab Horse Society THE CLASSIC ARAB HORSE Index Sherifa........................................................................................4 The Arabian -Development of Type ....................5 Characteristics:..................................................................5 Development and Selection:..............................................5 Breeders and the Strains:..................................................6 Variation in type:................................................................6 The Stallion................................................................................8 The Mare....................................................................................8 Note:...........................................................................................9 A six month old filly................................................................10 Mare and Foal.........................................................................10 A 30 year old Stallion.............................................................11 A yearling.................................................................................11 1 The Head..........................................................13 Good heads..............................................................................14 Jibhá.........................................................................................17 Mitbah......................................................................................17 Natural arch of kneck..............................................................18 2 The Neck, Shoulder and Withers....................19 3 Back and Body.................................................23 4 Quarters and Tail.............................................24 Tail carriage............................................................................25 5 Forelegs ...........................................................26 Good forelegs ..........................................................................27 6 Hindlegs...........................................................28 7 Feet...................................................................28 8 Coat, Hair and Skin ........................................31 9 Colour and Markings......................................31 Fleabitten grey.........................................................................32 Unusual face markings...........................................................32 A ‘Bloody shoulder’ mark.......................................................33 10 Height.............................................................34 11 Strength..........................................................34 12 Action and Style.............................................35 Good tail carriage...................................................................38 Excited......................................................................................38 13 The Paces.......................................................41 Walk: 4 time......................................................................41 Trot: 2 time.......................................................................41 Canter: 3 time...................................................................41 paces - the walk.......................................................................42 paces - the trot.........................................................................44 paces - Canter..........................................................................46 10 Skeleton of the Horse....................................48 11 Points of the Horse........................................50 SHERIFA An engraving after the oil painting of Sherifa by Stephen Pearce 1819-1904 Page 4 The Arabian -Development of Type The Arabian is the oldest purebred (asil) horse breed in the world and its blood flows strongly in most modern breeds of horse and pony including the British Thoroughbred. Characteristics: It is a horse of great beauty, full of quality, vigour, elegance, dignity and refined power - an equine work of art. Hallmarks of the breed are its exquisite head and high tail carriage. Without these distinctive characteristics, without type, identity is lost. Type and good conformation are essential, neither alone is enough, and charisma is a bonus. This presence or charisma is a notable feature of all high caste Arabians. The Arabian is of a gentle, kindly and affectionate, though spirited disposition and displays much intelligence. This is possibly due in part to its long history as a close companion of man in war and peace. Stallions should be full of vigour and fire yet tractable and gentlemanly. The breed is also famed for its courage, sound constitution and great powers of endurance. Development and Selection: The development of type, temperament and other characteristics is the result of selection. Natural selection played an important role in the harsh world of the desert where only the strong and healthy survived, but this is no longer a relevant factor. We must however never lose sight of this attribute. Selection through ‘inbreeding’ and line-breeding helps to fix desirable characteristics by reducing variations in type. But too close relationships can affect fertility or produce other undesirable features, therefore outcrossing is also essential. Purity of breeding among the Bedouin tribes was perpetuated by their isolation in the desert. Ghazus “raids” provided an opportunity to acquire celebrated mares and obtain fresh blood, though tribes with very good mares were prepared to travel them vast distances to visit a top stallion of another tribe. Page 5 Undoubtedly, certain lines “nick” well - this may be due to a naturally harmonious relationship between their characteristics. Perhaps mutual attraction, “love”, could also be a contributory factor. Often a mare will stand to one stallion but take no interest in another. Breeders and the Strains: However, the major contribution to the development of the breed was and is selection based on the ideals of the breeder. This led in the past to the family strains, continuing through the mare line according to Bedouin custom. All strains appear to originate in the Keheilet Ajuz. For example the Saglawieh got its name from an old Keheilet broodmare (‘awdah) who was a kicker (sagla). A descendant of hers, one Dalmaz belonged to Ibn Jedran and so she became a Saglawieh Jedranieh. Two chestnut (shakrâ) daughters of hers were purchased by Mansour Ibn Sudan and so we get the Seglawieh Jedranieh of Ibn Sudan or the Seglawieh Sudanieh. Breeding within the strain (inbreeding) seems to have been practised rarely. No doubt in the past certain mares or “lines” bred consistently true and this can be termed prepotency. The same is also true of certain stallions. Indeed ‘family’ likenesses can still be noted, but it would seem that today specific type or colour can not be associated with particular strains, for selection continues and new “strains” are developed. Variation in type: Although type is essential and the definition of type should be standard, it can be ‘all things to all men’, so variation in type is inevitable. But those variations must fall within the same broad concept of what constitutes the ideal. The contributions to the development of the breed through selection possibly explain why today’s horses go back to such a small genetic pool. We don’t really know to what extent the original horses were related, but probably it was very close as each strain came from the same family mare. According to legend, all Arabians descended through the Benat-el-Awaj (Daughters of the Crooked) to the Mare of Baz. He, Baz, was the great great grandson of Noah, a descendant of Adam and Eve, our own legendary genetic pool. Page 6 THE ARABIAN Page 7 THE CLASSIC ARAB HORSE The Stallion The Mare Page 8 THE CLASSIC ARAB HORSE Note: In assessing type and conformation, allowance should be made for sex, age and condition. Conformation must not be confused with condition. A stallion should appear masculine and the mare feminine. Foals and young stock change considerably as they grow to maturity and old horses may be forgiven for the changes due to the natural results of old age. Arabians develop more slowly than the precocious thoroughbred, but are well-known for their longevity and often they will continue breeding well into their twenties - a mare with foal at foot or about to foal may change in appearance due to her condition and the same can be said of a horse in work or racing fit. Obviously a horse in healthy condition looks better than one in poor health, but too much ‘condition’ (fatness) may well serve to disguise faults and perhaps to amplify others. Page 9 THE CLASSIC ARAB HORSE A six month old filly Mare and Foal Page 10

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THE CLASSIC ARABIAN HORSE by. Peter Upton. Published by. THE ARAB HORSE SOCIETY UK. Windsor House .Ramsbury .Wiltshire .SN8 2PE
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