Spanish Arabian Horses

The Spanish Arabian horse, like so many Arabianbay.
horses, has a history that is defined by its usefulnessBetween 1926 and 1936, the fifteenth Duque de
as a war machine. From earliest times, the breeding ofVeragua stocked the Veragua Stud with Crabbet
horses in Spain has been a rigid affair conducted bybloodstock that included five daughters of Skowronek,
the Department of Defense.and the mares from the Marques de Domecq Stud.
THE IBERIAN WARHORSEThe Duque died during the Spanish Civil War and the
Thousands of years ago, the Iberian cavalry wasVeragua Stud was destroyed, along with some of the
already well established as a redoubtable foe inhorses and all of the papers. The military collected the
possession of fine mounts-- horses that could charge,surviving horses in order to preserve the renowned
stop, retreat and charge again with great agility. Withbloodstock. The branded mares could be positively
the invasion of the Iberian Peninsula by Muslims in 711identified and their heredity traced, but the older fillies
A.D. came the influence of Arabian and Barb horseswere renamed with the prefix "Vera," and kept by the
on the Iberian stock. By the middle ages, the Iberianmilitary. The Marquesa de Avella, the Duque's niece,
War Horse had been crossed with heavier draft linesbought the younger fillies, and created a still-thriving
and had become a cumbersome horse with a thickbreeding program of Spanish Arabian horses.
neck and massive hindquarters.A CLOSELY GUARDED GENE POOL
FROM WAR HORSE, TO PLEASURE HORSE, ANDThen as now, the Yeguada Militar maintains tight
BACK AGAINcontrol of the Spanish Arabian bloodlines. About thirty
In the mid 1800's, a 16 year old queen was responsiblebroodmares are kept and the surplus is sold to private
for altering the genetic make-up of the Iberian warSpanish breeders. The military keep one hundred
horse and developing the type known as the Spanishstallions, which are made available for Spanish
Arabian horse. In her quest for an agile andbreeders wishing to improve the local stock. Horses in
good-tempered riding horse, Queen Isabel II took anprivate hands may be requisitioned during a national
interest in purebred Arabians. An expedition wasemergency by the military. Therefore, the Yeguada
dispatched to the desert with orders to bring back theMilitar sets the standard for purebred Spanish Arabian
best bloodstock to be found. She kept meticuloushorses.
records of her horses. So it was that in 1847, thePurebred get must be qualified by a military
Spanish Registry was begun, with the expresscommission to be included in the foal registry. The
purpose of documenting the Spanish Arabian horse.Registro Matricula is the Spanish Stud Book that
The "Golden Books" are kept in the Madrid Archivesrecords purebreds at the age of four. The Military
and include hand written pedigrees in Arabic. TheCommission's Cria Caballar must certify all stallions of
Spanish Registry is the oldest registry of Arabians inbreeding age in order for them to be used at stud, and
existence. Isabel's son, King Alfonso XII, inherited hisdetermines whether they are for public or private use.
mother's love of Arabian horses, importing them fromCLASSICAL SPANISH
France. An 1893 Royal Order established the YeguadaSpanish Arabians whose lineage can be traced to
Militar, with the mission of improving the Iberianentries in the Registro Matricula before 1970 are
Warhorse by crossing it with the Arabians.referred to as Classical Spanish. Due to heavy line
In the early 1900's, the mission of the Yeguada Militarbreeding and a closed gene pool, the Classical Spanish
evolved into a breeding program of a purebredhave remained distinctive in type, and breed true.
Spanish Arabian horse. Buying expeditions were sentOPENING THE BARN DOORS
far and wide, from the Arabian desert to Poland toIn the new millennium, importations of new bloodlines to
obtain founding stock. The description of what theSpain began once more, due to the passing of many
Spaniards were looking for was precise: refinedof the older imported horses.
horses, at least 15 hands in height, and possessingWith the 1975 recognition of the Veragua horses in the
proven stamina. In the Arabian desert, the buyersstudbook, exportations of Spanish Arabians also
found those characteristics in two predominantincreased dramatically. Although the Yeguada Militar
strains:o Hamdani Simridoes not sell stallions, some slipped by in utero, including
Hamdani horses were athletic, large boned and tall.*Barich di Washoe, a leading sire.
They lacked the refined beauty of other strains, andThe exports have been used primarily for outcross
the common colors were grey, or sometimesbreeding, and very successfully. Although Spanish
chestnut.o SeglawiArabians still represent a small percentage of the total
Seglawi horses are finer of bone, have longer andArabian population in the United States, when they are
more refined faces than other strains, are shorter, andpresented in events, they take a disproportionately high
are also known for their speed. The Seglawi colorspercentage of wins.
are mostly chestnut and bay.SELECTIVE BREEDING PAYS OFF
From Poland came the get of a Dahman stallion: theThe strict standards of the Yeguada Militar and Spain's
polish stallion Ursus and the mare Damietta.o Dahman,private breeders have created an athletic and
sub-strain of Keheilangood-tempered horse, noted for its smoothness of line
Keheilans are the fastest Arabians, most closelyand trainability. Worldwide, there are many dedicated
related to thoroughbreds, and the coloration is usuallyowners and admirers of the Spanish Arabian horse.