| The Arabian horse has scholars in disagreement about | | | | with no natural pasture available, the Bedouins provided |
| his exact origins. Some argue that the proto-Arabian | | | | their horses with water and food in the form of |
| horse evolved in the northern part of the Fertile | | | | camel's milk and dates. |
| Crescent, where the Tigris and Euphrates rivers run. | | | | Bedouins had a purist philosophy of horse breeding, |
| Others believe the southwestern Arabian Peninsula | | | | maintaining bloodlines through inbreeding and |
| once boasted natural pastures, citing as evidence dry | | | | line-breeding. Over time, prized strains evolved, each |
| riverbeds that date back to the Ice Age. | | | | with distinguishing characteristics. Horses were bred |
| Scholars also differ in their theories about the | | | | for intelligence, speed, agility and endurance. Weak |
| progenitors of the Arabian horse. Some think the | | | | horses were culled from the gene pool. Though beauty |
| Arabian descended from one of the four subtypes of | | | | was not necessary for survival, the Bedouins |
| Equus caballus: | | | | nevertheless selectively bred their horses for |
| Akhal-Teke of western Asia | | | | refinement. Mares were preferable to stallions |
| Barb of North Africa | | | | because they were more tractable and also because |
| Marwari Horse of India | | | | they were quieter, facilitating nighttime raids. Prized |
| Turkoman Horse (now extinct) | | | | mares were often kept inside the family tent to guard |
| Others assert that the Arabian had its own subtype: | | | | against theft, and so a good disposition was vital. What |
| Equus caballus pumpelli. | | | | becomes apparent is that the Arabian horse is the |
| Whatever his ancestry, aside from having grown | | | | oldest human-developed breed of horse in the world. |
| somewhat larger, the Arabian horse has remained | | | | As the Arabian horse spread to the East - through |
| largely unchanged through thousands of years. His wild | | | | trade, abduction, bribery, deception and tribute - he |
| progenitor originally appeared as far back as 2500 B.C., | | | | changed the world. Estranged cultures were united. |
| in rock paintings found in the Arabian Peninsula. By | | | | Empires rose and fell due to the warhorse's prowess. |
| 1550 B.C., an Egyptian painting depicted a chariot pulled | | | | The Arabian horse appears in hieroglyphics, his image |
| by a horse with certain recognizable characteristics of | | | | is carved in monuments and on signet rings, his glory is |
| the Arabian type: a refined head, an arched neck and | | | | extolled in paintings, and ancient documents attest to |
| a high-carried tail. | | | | the fearsome beauty of his thundering hooves. |
| It is doubtful that the horse migrated on his own into | | | | One day, the question of the Arabian breed's origins |
| the desert of the Arabian Peninsula. The area has | | | | may be answered definitively. Archaeologists could |
| been an arid, inhospitable land for some 10,000 years | | | | make new discoveries that upend previous |
| and it would have been nearly impossible for horses to | | | | assumptions about his beginnings. Or perhaps his true |
| exist there without human caretakers, since horses | | | | origins will be forever cloaked in mystery. Until then, we |
| can only survive for 72 hours without water. The | | | | can only marvel at the serendipity that brought us such |
| Bedouins, a nomadic people of the Nejd desert, seem | | | | a magnificent animal. Through the ages, caretakers |
| to have domesticated the Arabian horse prototype | | | | and breeders have preserved his qualities for posterity |
| around 5,000 years ago, shortly after they began | | | | and have passed down this most important bequest - |
| making use of the camel. In the midst of the desert, | | | | the Arabian horse. |