Breed a Week: ARABIAN

[Katie]

ARAB
The oldest and purest of all horse breeds, the arab is considered by many people to the most beautiful equine animal in the world. With its refined head and dished profile,expressive eyes,high spirits, and unique floating action, it is undoubtedly one of the most exquisite of creatures.
Although it has ceratinly been bred with great care fo rmany centuries, its exact origins are unclear. Depictions of horses in ancient art suggest that horses of Arab type lived in the Arabian penninsula as long ago as 2,000-3,000BC. Like the desert tribes with whom they have lived so long, Arab horses became superbly well adapted to life ina harsh environment,having extreme powers of endurance, tremendous soundness and the ability to thrive of the most meager of rations.
More than any other horse, it is the Arab which has influenced the development of equine breeds throughout the world. This Arabian influence was initiated in the seventh and early eighth centuries AD when the followers of Islam spread across North Africe and into Spain. The horses they took with them were greatly superior to the native stock of other lands and so began a process of upgrading,though the introduction of Arab blood, that was to go on for many centuries and, indeed, still goes on today.
Pure-bred Arabian horses are now bred thoughout the world. As well as appearing in the show ring, they are particularly suited to the sport of endurance riding. In recent times, too, there has been a resurgence of interest in Arab racing.

********* DESCRIPTION **********************
Height: 14.2- 15hh
Color: Predominantly chesnut,grey,black,and bay.


HOPE THIS HELPS YOU LEARN MORE ABOUT HORSES!!
Any suggestions of what breed you would like to see?????

NEXT WEEK: Andalusians

ANY THOUGHTS?
Katie

[Katie]

Hey guys, tell me what you think...
*Did you like this?
*What breed would you like me to do next?
*Would you like me even to continue doing this?
I would love to hear your input!
Katie

[Wally]

Let's hear it for the Icelandic horse. (not pony!!!) Small, hairy, easy to get on, hard to stay off!
It's a good idea for everyone to get an idea of what breeds are out there and to what use people put their horses.
We have Icelandics, not many folk know about these little chaps. They have extra gaits that have been bred out of modern horses. All have tölt and some have pace. Tölt is the most comfortable gait a horse can do. If you havn't ridden tölt you havn't lived.
They stand anything between 12.2hh and 15hh. They are forward going and have a boatload of stamina, they are the border collie of the horse world, very clever and they need to be kept occupied. They don't do well stabled, keep them out and they're happy. I have never known one to kick or bite a human. They are bred to carry fully grown adults and are up to considerable weight for their height. They have a very high bone density. Their stomach is the smallest of any equine, yet they have a much longer intestine so as to get the full benefit of any thing they eat. They need very little hard feed, good hay or silage with a cool mix if you have to is more than enough. These horses have developed in total isolation due to a law being passed in around 900AD outlawing the import of horses into Iceland, this ban is still in force today, once a horse leaves it can never return.

[Anne]

I love the Icelandic Horse ... and did consider buying one but where I live, although there are a number of yards which have grazing, there aren't that many which have facilities for all-day turnout ... and, it's a terrifically expensive area, so livery is out of reach for many riders who would actually prefer their horses to live out.

The attraction of the Icelandic for me is their personalities, not to mention their looks ... but, sadly, I don't know anyone in my area who rides one ... probably because of the above?

I decided I couldn't risk buying one and then having it become unhappy and possibly difficult because the environment isn't right.

Do you have an Icelandic Wally ... if you have, do you have all-day grazing, and if not, what difficulties have you encountered, if any?

Anne

[Wally]

Yes, we have eight Icelandics all together no to mention a couple of Fjord horses Shetlands, Haflingers and some non descript nags.
We are very lucky indeed as we have our own land on which they can graze all year round.
I do know of some folk that stable their horses in winter and at night, they don't seem to have any trouble, it all depends on the individual horses' temperament. We have one that pines away if he's stables and just fretts the weight off him. yet I think we have some that wouldn't mind being stables part of the time. Any horse should be out as much as possible though. It's not always that easy at livery.

[*Anna*]

I think thats a good idea! How about doing the connemara? (one of my faves)...