For instance, the short, dished head and flaring nostrils promote optimum oxygen intake. In addition to wealth and good luck, most of the Arabian’s traits have a significant physical benefit. The Arabian was also prized for a petite, refined muzzle that could “fit into a teacup.”.Mitbah: The area where the head attaches to the neck-behind the ears along the topline of the neck and the throatlatch.The Bedouins believed that the larger an Arabian’s forehead, the more blessings he brought with him. Jibbah: The bulging forehead was considered a blessing from God.These traits were highly sought after and became the focus of the Bedouins’ selective breeding practices. Many of the Arabian’s characteristics have an ancient religious or superstitious belief attached to them.
A life of travel also required horses with great lung capacity, endurance and stamina. The nomads’ keen horse sense and meticulous attention to proper care and breeding created an animal that could withstand the harsh environment of the desert, surviving extreme heat and cold with little water and the food they shared with their handlers. This link with history is a fun and exciting part of owning an Arabian horse.”ĭespite the Arabian’s long and alluring past, it’s incredible that the breed has remained so true to its original physical traits, and that it has been able to perpetuate those qualities for so long.Īlthough the specific area of the Arabian Peninsula where the breed originated can’t be pinpointed, it is widely accepted that around 2500 B.C., the Bedouin people were responsible for developing the desert horses that became the ancestors of the Arabian horse. “As a result, almost all Arabian pedigrees can be traced back to a horse that was part of a historical event or figure. “Arabians were also prized as spoils of war, and many governments established purebred breeding programs of their own,” continues Meyer. They have also owned, bred and raced purebred Arabians across the United States. She and her husband, Jim, have owned and operated Meyercrest Arabians in North Carolina for 39 years, and have owned, bred and shown horses to championships at the local, regional and national level. “The Arabian horse was used as an ambassador and was often given as a treasured gift to royalty or important political figures,” says Susan Meyer, vice president at large of the Arabian Horse Association, vice president of the Arabian Jockey Club and a trustee of the Purebred Arabian Trust.
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