6 Fascinating Types of Purebred Arabian Horses

July 15, 2021

Arabian horses are some of the oldest known pure breeds, and even though they may not be the fastest horses in the world, they are known for their endurance and have excelled in endurance races.

The Polish Arabian, the Egyptian, Russian, Crabbet, Spanish, and the Shagya Arabians are the main types of Arabian horses.

Here I will discuss each type's characteristics, history, and what they're best known for.

And maybe you'll ask yourself after reading this article, "how much does an Arabian horse cost?".

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Arabian Horse

Arabian horse with white sockings

Arabian horse characteristics.

The Arabian is a breed of horse believed to have originated from the Arabian deserts.

A study of the breed's genetic diversity also places their origin in the Middle East.

According to Brittanica.com, their existence dates back to the 7th century CE. They were domesticated horses used for war, work, and protection mainly by the Bedouin people (residents of the Middle Eastern deserts including the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, and Syria) before they started spreading worldwide.

Even without advanced selective breeding techniques, the Bedouin people created a breed of hot-blooded horses that could still bond with people and even hang around kids.

They avoided breeding horses that were stubborn to prevent the spreading of these characteristics to their foals. The Arabians we have today are a symbol of the climate they originated from and the culture of the people that kept them.

For instance, they have a bulge on their forehead, which may be an adaptation to the climate. But the Bedouin people believed that it was a sign of blessings from Allah.

Several other superstitions and legend stories surround the origin of this horse.

The modern Arabian is small, with a maximum height of 15 hands (152 cm) and weighing up to 1000 pounds. They are also characterized by arched necks, high-carriage tails, a dished shape face, and a slight bulge on the forehead.

The Arabian horses spread to other parts of the world through war or raids and trade. The respective countries used the original Arabians as their foundation bloodstock, which led to the various Arabian horse types we have today.

Breeders worldwide also used them to develop most modern breeds of horses, such as the Thoroughbred.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-vnX1REw9A

Arabian Horse

Now let's look at each of the types.

Egyptian Arabian

The love for purebred desert horses by Egypt's elite led to importing purebred Arabian stock from the Arabian Peninsula and Palestine.

One of Egypt's rulers associated with importing this breed into Egypt was Muhammad Ali.

He built a stud farm in the 19th century that comprised thousands of Arabian purebreds.

When he died, his grandson, Abbas Pasha, took over. The breeding of these horses suffered major blows after that. First, Abbas Pasha passed away, and his heir sold and gave away most of the remaining purebreds.

Another relative, Ali Pasha Sherriff, took over and imported more pure breeds, but most later died in the late 1870s due to the African horse sickness.

The remaining horses changed ownership to different people, including Lady Anne Blunt, who owned Crabbet Park in England (more on this later).

In the 20th century, Egyptian horse breeders started an initiative to preserve the pure Egyptian Arabian bloodline started by Muhammad Ali, which led to the formation of the Royal Agricultural Society, which later became the Egyptian Agricultural Organization.

The modern Egyptian Arabian is also known as a Straight Egyptian. They are compact-sized, growing up to 15 hands tall, well-built, and they come in chestnut, rabicano, bay, roan, sabino, and black coat colors.

They are also quite rare, making up just 2% of all Arabian horse populations.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDhfGdViJoI

Polish Arabian

I love history, especially war history, because of how it changes the course of events.

And I love how the Polish Arabian breed resulted from wars.

Arabian horses appear in 16th-century Polish writings. When Poland was attacked by various enemies, including the Turkish, the Polish took the horses as war spoils.

Poland and Turkey made a truce, and the Poles could now purchase purebred Arabian horses, which helped improve their horses for pulling carts, farm work, and war.

However, most of the Polish Arabians died during WWI. According to History's Hooves, out of 500 mares that Poland had before WWI, only 25 survived.

Efforts to rebuild their breeding stock started after WWI, and the first Polish Arabian horse registry, the Arabian Horse Breeding Society, was formed.

Unfortunately, all the work was undone in WWII when they still lost most of their broodmares. They still rebuilt their breeding program with the help of Hungary and Russia.

Today, there are two types of Polish Arabians, the Kuhailan, who are excellent athletes, and the Seglawi that are known for their beauty.