01 – The oldest thoroughbred in the world
Arabian horses are the oldest of all horse breeds. They are thought to be at least 3,000 years old, with some sources dating as far back as 5,000 years. Even more amazing is how the breed's appearance has been preserved over time. Thanks to careful breeding, the Arabian's appearance has remained largely unchanged over the centuries.
02 – Source unknown
While we all know this is an ancient breed of horse, their exact origins are somewhat of a mystery. But what we do know is that the Bedouin tribes of Arabia took their horses and guarded their bloodlines with great care. Bedouin tribes prized these horses as a gift from the gods, enabling them to "fly without wings" across the deserts of the Middle East. This is why they are called Arabians because of their close relationship with this horse. In Arabic, the breed is known as "Al Khamsa". To this day, Arabian horses are still valued for their beauty, intelligence and endurance.
03 – The basis of many horse breeds
Arabian breeds have been used to develop several popular breeds. Some of these breeds include Thoroughbreds, Quarter Horses, and Morgans. In the past, these horses were praised for being fast, requiring less feed, living longer, and having more stamina than other horse breeds. When Europeans were introduced to these horses centuries ago, they quickly thought of crossbreeding their horses with Arabs to improve the quality of their horses.
04 – The missing bones
Many Arabian horses have one missing vertebrae on their backs, which accounts for their shorter length. Also, they are missing one of their tails, which is the reason for their famous high tail. For their ribs, they have 17 instead of 18 like other breeds of horses. This unique rib improves their endurance when running long distances.
05 – Home Horse
Arabian horses are known for being human-oriented, and it is believed that this temperament is developed through the way Arabs treat them. It is believed that they raised foals with their children and even took their mare to live with them in tents.
06 – always dark skinned
Another unique characteristic of purebred Arabian horses is their skin color. All Arabian horses have black skin unless they are pure white. The most common coat color for Arabian horses is bay, but they can also come in white, grey, black, horse-colored and even chestnut.
07 – Built for Endurance
Arabian horses are known to have amazing stamina. This is partly due to where they come from - the deserts of Arabia - and partly due to their structure. These horses are thin to medium boned and weigh between 800 and 1,000 pounds. A unique quality of Arabian horses is their abundance of fast-twitch fibers. These horses are genetically engineered to be fast, and their large, flexible nostrils allow them to breathe better while running, too.
08 – Famous mounts
Many of the world's most famous people throughout history have chosen Arabian horses as their mounts. George Washington brought the first Arabian horse to American soil and bred it with other horses to create a more powerful Calvary mount. Genghis Khan, Napoleon and Alexander the Great also all rode Arabian horses. This is a very intelligent horse that also has a desire to please. Because of their loyal and gentle disposition, they have been many people's favorite horses for centuries.
