Between 2011 and 2016, Betty Finke was a regular columnist for The Arabian Magazine. Now some fifteen years down the line, we thought it would be a good time to share Betty’s articles, which remain as pertinent as ever.
The Arabian breed has a unique history and a unique development.
All domestic horse breeds were developed by men to suit their requirements, bred for a definite purpose and defined by their environment. This is equally true of the Arabian. Legend may claim the Arabian horse was created by God from a handful of south wind, but the original Arabian was specifically bred as a warhorse by the nomadic tribes of the Arabian Desert, his unique characteristics shaped both by the men who bred him and by the requirements of survival in a harsh and hostile environment. The result was a horse whose health, endurance, and thriftiness were second to none, with the added bonus of beauty. What we call type and refinement is ultimately the result of desert life burning away any excess flesh. And let’s not forget that many of those original desert horses were not pretty, at least not by modern standards. But seen against the heavier breeds that populated Europe up to the 19th century, even the plainest Arabian must have been a revelation.
What makes the Arabian unique is that from the time he was discovered by European horsemen, he has spread all across the world. While in their homeland, Arabian horses became less and less relevant with the arrival of motorisation and the dwindling of the nomadic lifestyle, they literally conquered the rest of the world, influencing the majority of other breeds along the way.
Of course, taken out of his original environment and away from his original purpose, the Arabian inevitably began to change. Arabians are great at adapting to different environments; if they weren’t, they could not have flourished in the desert, which is hardly an ideal place for horses. More and better food meant that the horses grew taller and developed stronger bone. In order to preserve that special desert refinement, you had to deliberately select for it. In the early days of Arabian breeding, people talked a lot about ‘desert type’, although one might argue what it actually means, or even if there was just one desert type in the first place. But in any case, ‘type’ has remained the first consideration to this day, unless you want to breed for racing.
This search for the elusive ‘type’ has gone into some strange directions. Take the head. The ‘dish’ certainly always existed, but only in modern times has it actually come to be treated as a standard. Many great Arabians of yesteryear had straight faces; nowadays many people actually think ‘typey’ equals a dished head. Today, we expect Arabians to have long, arched necks; but in the desert, Arabians often had short, underslung necks; in fact, Egyptians used to have them well into the 20th century. And as for the straight topline, it’s a bit of a mystery. Arabians have always been noted for their high tail carriage, which in turn is caused by a high and relatively level croup. Why some people should think this also requires a straight line from the withers to the tail is rather strange. Last but not least, there are the legs. Arabians always had lighter bone than other horses, naturally, since they were smaller. This has gone to such extremes that nowadays the legs are so refined even the joints can hardly be seen. The results of this change might be lovely to look at, but they would never have survived in the desert; so, it’s just as well that they don’t have to.
While all this was going on, what was happening in the countries where the Arabian originated? To some extent, the original horses can still be found. The classic importation sources, Syria and Saudi Arabia, still have their own desertbred horses, and there are a few others scattered about. Until recently, Turkey and Tunisia had unique Arabians, tracing in all lines to desert-bred horses. This also goes for Iran and Iraq; presumably there still are some left. The problem is: there is no market for them. They are not ‘typey’, meaning that they do not have dished faces, swan necks, and matchstick legs. They are not particularly pretty. They probably look far more like the 19th century desert imports than their modern descendants.
But you also find another sort of Arabian in the Arab countries today. You might say that the Arabian breed has come full circle. The Arab countries have rediscovered their ancient heritage, the Arabian horse. With the curious result that things are now completely reversed: where in the 19th century, European princes purchased Arabian horses in the Arabian Desert, today it is the Arab princes that purchase Arabian horses in Europe and the USA. In a unique and unprecedented turn of events, the Arabian horse has returned to the lands of its ancestors by way of Europe and the USA. And as a result, the Arabian scene again changed dramatically. Stud farms in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the Emirates have become major players both in breeding and showing. Who would have imagined, just a few decades ago, that one of the leading sires of our times would be a horse bred in Qatar? From American lines, certainly, which in turn contain Egyptian, Polish, and Crabbet lines, all of which go back to horses originally bred in Arabia. Full circle, indeed.
Certainly, one may gripe about a few things, not just the fact that the Arab countries have embraced the Americanised version of the Arabian horse, rather than cultivating and promoting what is left of their original stock. One might also bemoan the fact that so many of our best horses go to the Middle East, and that the Middle Eastern studs keep winning at the shows – which is only to be expected, since they buy the best. But there is more than one side to everything. We should also remember that without the Arabian renaissance in the Middle East, without those horses, and without the sponsoring, we probably wouldn’t have a show scene in the first place. And last but not least, in these troubled times of cultural conflict, anything that brings people from different cultures and religions together peacefully is ultimately a good thing. It is the one thing, the one great passion, that we all have in common, no matter who we are or where we come from: the Arabian horse.
