Do you have any imforation on arabian horses?

Answer 1

I owned an Arabian gelding that I knew from the time of his birth until his death last year at age 24.

My experience with Arabians is that people tend to either love them or hate them-- there aren't too many people who are neutral on them.

Arabs excell at endurance riding, can do well in some of the Western disciplines, but people who compete at shows on Arabs tend to stay within the breed shows. It's rare for an Arab to be able to compete successfully in open competition for jumpers, hunters, or dressage, or to do well in Western Pleasure when competing under judges who are used to judging Quarter horses.

In general, Arabs tend to be "hotter" than a lot of other kinds of horses. This means that they tend to react more strongly to things and behave in more extreme ways. To cite an example, in general, a stimulus that might make a Quarter horse raise his head and prick his hears, or have a Thoroughbred give a little start of surprise, will have an Arabian doing a full-blown shy.

This is why Arabs tend to not do well in disciplines that require a horse to behave with quietness and submission. Arabs in general just don't have that kind of temperament.

That doesn't mean you can't work with one to achieve quietness and submission, but I can almost guarantee you that you'll have to work a lot harder with the Arab to achieve that than you would with a less "hot" breed.

Arabs also tend to be comparatively high-headed in their carriage, which works against them in disciplines where the judge marks down a high head carriage. Some of the QH judges particularly want to see a horse that has a flat neck carriage, with the neck not carried much higher at its highest point than the horse's withers. Arabs just aren't built that way and their temperament doesn't operate that way, so in open competition with horses that do carry themselves that way, they tend to get marked down.

Hunters/jumpers, there aren't very many Arabs that carry themselves and jump the way judges like to see them in open hunter competitions. They also tend to be a "hotter" ride, which can work against them if the rider isn't able to settle them to a workmanlike hunter way of going.

Arabs just are not able to compete successfully against the warmbloods and Thoroughbreds in jumping competitions. They just cannot jump the big fences the way Thoroughbreds and warmbloods do.

Some Arabs have been successful in open cutting horse championships; Sheila Varian here in California did very well in cutting, but again you run into judges who are used to the way QH's look and act and just will not give an Arab a high score.

Just my opinion, but I'd be very reluctant to recommend an Arab as a first horse for someone without a lot of experience working with horses, unless I knew the Arab was a fairly level-headed individual. And if someone wanted to compete seriously in dressage, hunters or jumpers, I wouldn't recommend an Arab at all, simply because other breeds have more of what the judges are looking for.

But I loved my Arab, and the 20 years we had together as my horse were good years. (I mostly rode him as a trail horse.)

Answer 2

I would totally disagree with this other responder's comments about Egyptian Arabians. Evidently this person has never heard of Serr Mariner, the 3-time national dressage champion at Grand Prix, who was a purebred straight Babson Egyptian stallion. There is NOTHING wrong with Egyptian Arabs, and they are no more flighty or silly than any other horse. I know, I worked for Serr Mariner's owner for 4 years, and during that time handled many other Egyptian horses as well. These horses weren't flighty or stupid- in fact, they were among the gentlest horses I ever knew, and I have been in this business for over 20 years now. I am sorry if the other person in this column has had some bad experiences with horses of Egyptian breeding, but that is hardly a reason to condemn that whole type or subtype. ( It is interesting to note that Serr Mariner was so calm and gentle that his owner's grandchildren, who were 10 and 8 at the time, could and did ride him. Also, he could be put in a stall next to a stall that had a mare in esterus, and he wouldn't even react to that. I have never known a more gentle, sensible, sane animal than Serr. He was calm enough to do grand prix level dressage-and win at it consistently. There are some breeds of warmbloods that have more trouble with that than Serr did. MOST Arabs are like Serr if they are treated right and given a chance- the breed is well known for having horses that make excellent companions. Arabs are also very beautiful to look at, with their upright carriage, dished faces, and short bodies. There is a saying in the Koran, the Islamic holy book, that God created the Arabian breed from the south wind. A similar saying is written in the Bible, in the book of Job. Considering the breed's beauty and gentle, loyal personalities, these authors have it right.

Answer 3

The Arabian horse is a breed of horse with a reputation for intelligence, high spirit, and outstanding stamina. With a distinctively chiseled head and high tail carriage, the Arabian is one of the most easily recognizable horse breeds in the world. See the source for tons more great info.

Answer 4

they have a bad reputation in the horse world especially the egyptians (like what are seen in the movies) if you're considering getting one get a polish arab. They have a more sturdy build and most of them are intelligent with out being flighty and stubborn. It's like the egyptians are too smart for their own good and you have to out think them to train them. I know not all egyptians are like this and you can find great, sound arabs. Just be careful if your thinking of getting this breed as a first horse.

Answer 5

the Arab was the first breed of horse to be riden by humans. thanks to them we have LOTS of other awesome breeds. but... they're really spooky. they also like to keep their tails up high in the air (they look so graceful when they do that) need a lot of exercise (or else they go WILD), are medium (bigger than a pony, smaller than a quarter horse), they have dished heads, and hard GREAT hooves.