History of the Arabian Horse Part 2
Introduction Of The Arabian Horse To America
America was built by utilizing horse power and colonists were quick to realize the value of Arabian bloodstock. Nathan Harrison of Virginia imported the first Arabian stallion in 1725. This horse reportedly sired 300 foals from grade mares. Our first President, George Washington, road an Arabian horse. The first breeder of consequence, however, was A. Keene Richard. He journeyed into the desert in 1853 and 1856, subsequently importing several stallions and two mares. However, his breeding program fell victim to the Civil War and nothing survived.
In 1877, General Ulysses S. Grant visited Abdul Hamid II, His Imperial Majesty the Sultan of Turkey. There, he was presented with two stallions from the Sultan's stable, Leopard and Lindentree. Leopard was later given to Randolph Huntington who subsequently imported two mares and two stallions in 1888 from England. This program, limited as it was, must be considered as the first purebred Arabian breeding program in the United States.
The Chicago Worlds Fair held in 1893 drew widespread public attention and had an important influence upon the Arabian horse in America. While every country in the world was invited to participate, Turkey chose to exhibit 45 Arabian horses in a "wild eastern" exhibition. Among the imported Arabians shown were the mare Nejdme and the stallion, Obeyran. Both subsequently became foundation animals No. 1 and No. 2 in the Arabian Stud Book of America (later changed to the Arabian Horse Registry of America and now, Arabian Horse Association). Several years later, two other mares and one stallion were also registered. Many breeding farms today have horses whose pedigrees trace to these 19th century Arabians.
Historical importations from England and Egypt were made soon after the Fair by such breeders as Spencer Borden, who imported 20 horses between 1898 and 1911 to his Interlachen Stud, and W.R. Brown who imported 20 horses from England, 6 from France and 7 from Egypt between 1918 and 1932.
One of the most significant importations occurred in 1906, when Homer Davenport received permission from the Sultan of Turkey to export Arabian horses. Davenport, with the backing of then President Theodore Roosevelt, imported 27 horses which became the foundation of "Davenport Arabians." The Davenport importation of Arabian horses direct from the desert excited the few Arabian breeders in this country. This group of breeders decided that the time was right to form a registry to promote the horse and encourage the importation of new blood. In 1908, the Arabian Horse Club of America was formed (today known as the Arabian Horse Association) and the first stud book published. Recognition of the Arabian stud book by the U.S. Department of Agriculture established the Registry as a national registry and the only one for the purebred Arabian breed. Seventy-one purebred Arabians were registered at that point.
Another significant importation occurred in the 1920s, when the Kellogg Ranch, founded by W.K. Kellogg, brought in 17 select horses from the Crabbet stud farm in 1926 and 1927. Soon after, Roger Selby established the Selby Stud with 20 horses imported from Crabbet between 1928 and 1933. The Albert Harris importation consisted of two horses from England in 1924 and five from the Hejaz and Nejd desert regions in 1930 and 1931. Joseph Draper brought Spanish Arabians into the American picture when he imported five horses from Spain in 1934. J.M. Dickinson's Traveler's Rest Arabian Stud was established between 1934-1937 on an imported mare from Egypt and one from Brazil as well as seven mares from Poland. Henry B. Babson sent people to Egypt in 1932 who brought over two stallions and five mares. This farm still preserves the same bloodlines today.
In the 1940's and 1950's importations of Arabians to America slowed down as American breeding programs evolved from the previously imported stock. With the death of Lady Wentworth in 1957 and the dispersal of Crabbet Stud, importations in abundance were again made from England, and the post-war stud farms of Germany, Poland, Russia, Spain and Egypt were "rediscovered." Significant importations followed from these countries by several groups of dedicated breeders and again a new era of Arabian horse breeding dawned.
Arabians In The U.S. Army
Early in the history of the Arabian horse in America, directors of the Arabian Horse Registry were sure that the best way to promote the Arabian Horse in the United States was to get the Army interested in using and breeding Arabians. They spent a lot of time, money, and energy proving to cavalry majors that Arabians made the best cavalry horses.
In 1919, W.R. Brown, then President of the Arabian Horse Registry, organized the first Cavalry Endurance Ride. The U.S. Remount Service had just been established by the government and there were only 362 registered Arabian horses in the country. It was a prime time to convince the government to breed Arabians. With so few Arabian horses, it was no easy task to find enough to adequately represent the breed in the endurance ride. However, the Arabs made a superior showing taking most of the prizes including first. Mr. Brown won first place on his purebred Arabian mare RAMLA #347. RAMLA carried 200 pounds on the ride.
The second Cavalry Endurance Ride was held in 1920. The U.S. Remount Service, representing the Army, became much more involved in the ride this year. The Army wanted to increase the weight carried to 245 pounds and the Arabian owners agreed. The horses traveled sixty miles a day for five days with a minimum time of nine hours each day. The highest average points of any breed entered went to Arabians, although a grade Thoroughbred entered by the Army won first.
According to Albert Harris (Arabian Horse Registry Director 1924-1949), the (Thoroughbred) Jockey Club gave the Army $50,000 in 1921 to purchase the best Thoroughbreds they could find for that year's endurance ride. Mr. Harris wrote: "With two endurance rides to the credit of Arabian horses in 1919 and 1920, the U.S. Remount, and incidentally the Jockey Club, felt something had to be done to beat these little horses in the next ride..." The Army selected all Thoroughbreds or grade Thoroughbreds which were all ridden by Cavalry majors. The Army also wanted to lower the weight carried to 200 pounds, but the Arabian people, having proved their horses at 245 pounds, objected. A compromise was reached at 225.
In spite of the Army's efforts, the first prize in the 1921 Cavalry Endurance Ride went to W.R. Brown's purebred Arabian gelding *CRABBET #309. Mr. Brown won the trophy once again in 1923 with his Anglo-Arab gelding GOUYA.
Having won the race three times on his Arabians, Mr. Brown gained permanent possession of the U.S. Mounted Service Cup. Albert Harris wrote in his history of the Arabian Horse Registry that after 1923, the Arabian people decided not to enter their horses in the ride. This was done "so that the Army would have a chance of winning the cup the next time."
There was one exception. EL SABOK #276, an Arabian stallion owned by the U.S. Remount, finished first in 1925. He was not given the trophy because of a small welt raised under the cantle of his saddle. However, the U.S. Department of Animal Husbandry noted that of all stallions of various breeds entered in all of the rides, EL SABOK was the first and only one to finish a ride.
By this time the Army was convinced that Arabian horses had tremendous endurance ability and should be used to develop a supply of saddle horses that could be called to service if needed. Unfortunately, Arabians were scarce and difficult to obtain at that time. The Army breeding program was given a big boost in 1941 when the Arabian Horse Registry directors decided to donate the nucleus of an Arabian stud to the U.S. Remount. Each director and Mr. W.K. Kellogg (of the Kellogg cereal company) personally donated one or more horses. A total of one stallion seven broodmares (six in foal), one suckling filly, and three two-year-old fillies were placed at the Fort Robinson Remount Depot in Fort Robinson, Nebraska.
By 1943, the Army owned more Arabian horses than any other breed except Thoroughbreds. While Thoroughbreds were relatively easy to obtain because of the racing market, there were only 2,621 registered Arabians in the United States at that time!
That same year, Mr. W.K. Kellogg, a Registry Director from 1927 to 1940, and Albert Harris, helped the U.S. Remount Service to gain possession of Mr. Kellogg's Arabian stud in Pomona, California. Mr. Kellogg had originally given the stud to the state of California, but during World War II the Remount Service wanted it and they got it (including 97 purebred Arabians).
Only a few years later the Army decided to dispose of all its horse operations to the highest bidder. Mr. Kellogg, with much public support, arranged to have the ranch given to California Polytechnic College which continues to maintain an Arabian breeding program today.
The Arabian Horse Today
Historically the Arabian has maintained a reputation as the horse of beauty, intelligence, courage, endurance, and romance. Because he was bred and reared in close contact with man from the earliest records, and existing in mutual inter-dependence, he developed an unequaled ability to bond with humans. Indeed, his intelligence has been celebrated in thousands of anecdotes. He is gentle, affectionate, and familiar, almost to the point of being troublesome. Foals, for example, have no fear of man, and are usually indifferent to sudden noises. The Arabian gentleness and tractability, while originally the effect of education, is now inherited, and is observed in foals bred in a foreign environment.
Because the Arab often engaged in a form of desert warfare known as "Ghazu," a form of quick mounted foray upon his neighbors, his life and welfare depended upon the endurance and speed of his Arabian horse. These stellar qualities of the Arabian horse were also the natural result of a good original stock, which by intensive breeding in a favorable environment had maintained its purity. His blood is commanding to a remarkable degree, and invariably dominates all the breeds to which it is introduced and contributes its own superior qualities to them.
When imported to England, the Arabian became the progenitor of the Thoroughbred. In Russia, the blood of the Arabian horse contributed largely to the development of the Orloff Trotter. In France, the animal helped make the famous Percheron. And in America, again it was the Arabian horse which became the progenitor of the Morgan and through the English Thoroughbred, to make the Trotter.
As the oldest of all the light breeds and foundation stock of most, the Arabian is unique. The Arabian breed is different in that it does not exist as a result of selective breeding, as were other modern light breeds, where it was necessary to establish a registry prior to the development of the breed, but was a breed that had been recognized for thousands of years and had been maintained and cherished in its purity over those years as much as is humanly possible.
The high intelligence, trainability, gentle disposition and stamina of the Arabian enable it to excel at a wide variety of activities popular today. Arabians are excellent on the trail as well as in the show ring. Show classes in English and western pleasure, cutting and reining, even jumping and dressage provide opportunities for fun and enjoyment at both all-Arabian events and open breed shows alike. As an endurance horse, the Arabian has no equal. The top prizes at endurance events almost always go to riders of Arabians. Arabian racing is another sport becoming more and more popular in recent years. In the past, considered the "Sport of Kings," Arabina racing is now enjoyed by racing enthusiasts at tracks across the country. In addition, the Arabians' Bedouin heritage is evident in their unequaled ability to bond with humans, making them the perfect horse for family members of all ages.
With today's prices comparable with other popular breeds, excellent Arabian horses are now accessible to a broad base of horse enthusiasts. And, with more living Arabian horses in the United States than in all the other countries in the world combined, America has some of the best horses and breeding farms from which to choose.
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