| Arabian horses are one of the oldest | | | | domesticated, though, the Arabian horse was probably |
| human-developed horse breeds in the world. Rock | | | | used for work and riding. By 1500 B.C., the people in |
| paintings and inscriptions about these horses have | | | | the region had gained a great mastery over these |
| been found in the Arabian Peninsula dating back to | | | | beautiful and intelligent horses. |
| 2,500 B.C. Bedouin tribes, responsible for domesticating | | | | The Arabian horse and its transcendent beauty have |
| the Arabian horse, kept meticulous ancestral records | | | | appeared throughout history: |
| and they trace their common history with these horses | | | | - On seal rings, various monuments, and stone pillars |
| back to 3000 B.C. | | | | with regularity after the 16th century B.C. |
| The Arabian horse, or the prototype of what we | | | | - The horse's high regard is shown in a number of |
| know today as the Arabian horse, is somewhat | | | | Egyptian hieroglyphics. |
| smaller than his counterpart today. Otherwise, the | | | | - The Old Testament in the bible is filled with |
| Arabian has remained essentially unchanged through | | | | references to the Arabian horse's strength and might. |
| the centuries, maintaining the qualities that the Bedouins | | | | For instance, King Solomon, some 900 years B.C., |
| depended on in the harsh deserts thousands of years | | | | praised the beauty of "a company of horses in |
| ago. | | | | Pharaoh's chariots". |
| Some experts have questioned the origin of the | | | | - In 490 B.C., the famous Greek horsemen, Xinophon, |
| Arabian breed of horse. They argue that the ancestral | | | | called them a noble animal whose beauty fascinates |
| Arabian was likely a wild horse from an area that | | | | both young and old. |
| encapsulates southern Turkey, Northern Syria, and | | | | So where did the namesake, "Arabian" breed of |
| possibly the Piedmont regions to the east. This area, | | | | horses, come from? The origin of the name is still |
| the northern edge of the Fertile Crescent, provided | | | | obscure. The word Arab is often linked with nomadism |
| enough of a mild climate and rain to be a suitable | | | | and it gets connected with two Hebrew words: |
| environment for horses. It comprises part of Iraq and | | | | Arabha (dark land) and Erebh, (mixed). Since a |
| runs along the Euphrates River and west across Sinai | | | | nomadic lifestyle was organized but not ordered, unlike |
| and along the coast to Egypt. The majority of | | | | sedentary communities, the word Arab can also be |
| historians believe the Arabian horse breed originated in | | | | linked to the Hebrew root, Abhar (to move or pass). |
| the southwestern part of Arabia. They offer | | | | The word "Arab", is a Semitic word meaning "desert" |
| supporting evidence that the three great river beds in | | | | or the inhabitant thereof, with no reference to |
| this area provided natural wild pastures for the horses | | | | nationality. In the Koran, a'rab is used for the nomadic |
| to live and thrive. This area in southwestern Arabia | | | | Bedouin people who lived in the desert. The first Biblical |
| would have been central to where the undomesticated | | | | use of the word as a proper name occurs in Jeremiah |
| Arabian horse made first contact with early human | | | | 25:24: "Kings of Arabia". Jeremiah lived between 626 |
| inhabitants. | | | | and 586 B.C. The Arabs themselves used the word at |
| The interior of the Arabian peninsula has been dry for | | | | an early date to distinguish the Bedouin people from |
| approximately 10,000 years. It would have been | | | | the Arabic-speaking people who lived in towns. |
| extremely difficult, if not impossible, for the Arabian | | | | This exquisite and amazingly intelligent horse flourished |
| horses to survive and exist in such an arid land without | | | | in a close co-existence with the Bedouins and they |
| the aid of man. Around 3,500 B.C., the nomadic | | | | reached the zenith of fame as the horse of the |
| inhabitants of desert regions, the Bedouins, | | | | "Arabas". The Bedouins were fanatic about keeping |
| domesticated the camel and used them as a means | | | | the blood of the Arabian horses absolutely pure. They |
| of transport and sustenance. Armed with the ability to | | | | accomplished this through line-breeding and inbreeding. |
| survive the perils of life in the desert, they ventured into | | | | This ensured the particularly prized distinguishing |
| the central and southern portions of Arabia around | | | | characteristics and qualities of the Arabian horse. |
| 2,500 B.C. It is during this time that they took with them | | | | Essentially, the horse became the Bedouin's most |
| the ancestor of the modern Arabian horse. | | | | treasured possession. With the harsh desert climate, |
| Experts do agree that the Arabian is a unique breed | | | | only the strongest and most spirited of these horses |
| of horses and remains very pure, even to this day. | | | | survived, giving us the amazing physical characteristics |
| History doesn't really tell us the country where the | | | | of the breed that we see today. |
| horse was first domesticated. As it became | | | | |