Arabian Horse
To the Arab people, the Arabian horse is called keheilan, meaning 'pure blood, through and through,' which is probably the best and most accurate way to describe the Arabian horse. One of the oldest pure breeds in the world, the Arabian horse has stayed free of foreign blood and has thus maintained its distinctive characteristics. Although ancient drawings and carvings record the Arabian Horses' existence long before the Christian Era, little hard fact is known about their origins, except that they came from Western Asia. They may have originated in Saudi Arabia, but it seems likely that they also had strong ties to Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey. The fact that they are one of the most ancient pure breeds is indisputable, and they are probably descended from the primitive postulated Horse Type 4.
The first Arabian horse in Britain was in A.D. 1121 when Alexander I, King of Scotland, presented an Arabian to the Church of St. Andrews. From that time on, Arabians horses were occasionally introduced to British ponies to improve their speed; in 1616 James I brought a celebrated Arabian from a Mr. Markham. Their popularity in England did not begin until Charles II sent his Master of the Arabian to the Levant to purchase stallions and brood mares and from then their reputation became established.
The purity of the Arabian is maintained today by the Arab Horse Societies, and the World Arab Horse Organization, which lay down strict pedigree standards that must be met in order to register as pure-breds. There are several offshoots from the Arabian, which, while being based on pure stock, do not conform to the pedigree strictures. There is also, of course, the Barb horse, which is a very important breed in its own right, and is further discussed under Barb. The role of the Arabian has played in the development of nearly all modern breeds of horse cannot be underestimated. They are perhaps the singularly most influential breed, not least in the development of the English Thoroughbred.
For centuries, the Arabian has been used to improve and refine other breeds, and is still widely used to this effect. Their popularity is firmly established throughout the world, and this must be in part due to its huge versatility. Not only is the Arabian one of the most beautiful horses to look at, in terms of symmetry and conformation, but also they are one of the toughest and most enduring breeds, a fact that is belied by their looks. They are famous for their stamina and endurance, have an incredible turn of speed, and make an excellent light, balanced riding horse.
The Arabian has an excellent action, being free-flowing and straight, and fast at all paces - they have a floating action, and appear to glide effortlessly over the ground. They also have a particularly fine skin through which their veining is quite visible. Traditionally they are a small horse, standing at approximately 15 hh, although they have been bred to be larger, though they can lose some of their quality. Generally they are bay, gray, or chestnut in color.