What do you think of Arabians?

Well I'm another Arab lover so I'm a bit bias. 
I do think the myths that they are all flighty and high strung turns people off and the perception of how expensive they are. 
I love a good quarter horse or TB but I would never trade my 1/2 arabian for the world.  []

I am prsonally a qh and draft lover... although I love the way arabs look... but I have always found them to be high strung and more of like a 'high class' horse... never really a ranch type horse... yes I know there are a lot of good western arabs out there but I am just not into the 'high classish' stuff... I am good with my cow pony... lol

I raised only Arabians in the 70's and 80's and then changed over to foundation Quarter horses because the Arabians had become overpriced, and over bred. Quarter horses were/are selling better.   A lot of folks didn't like the Arabs small size and when breeders tried to add height to their foals, something was lost . I also heard: they are too hot, too spooky, and believe it or not...too intelligent!  You have to be smarter than the horse you are trying to train to get results!
 
Arabians are still my favorite breed and riding horse.   I still stand an Arab stallion.  My favorite cross is the Arab/Quarter cross.  I love the Arabian spirit, beauty, movement, personality and will always have a few Arabians on my place. 

I have owned mostly purebred Arabians (some part-breds too) since 1967..... you won't find a more easy to train and more people-friendly breed.....even my elderly parents and my friend's pre-schooler could handle my Arabians.

I think people have this wrong notion of Arabian looking "frail"..... most are built stocky and have the best hooves in the world..... here are some examples of my Arabs and some friends Arabians too.... frail?  I think not!!  LOL.  Also, I have dealt with other breeds and have not yet ever had an Arabian that kicked or bucked or was spooky.  The first horse and the third horse were my friends' Arabians, they stood about 15.2hh.  Anyway, I guess I hate to see those myths about Arabians still flotaing around out there, Arabs are definitely not frail or hot and spooky..... Both my Arabians in the pics below were used as lesson horses for beginner kids, and my gelding (second pic) was used as a breeding stallion until he was 7 years old.

Gorgeous, sweet, intelligent and athletic!!  Some can have a bit of a pogo stcik ride though-LOL  I bred my Percheron mare to a gorgeous Arab stud and now have my dream horse.  Only worried that she would get the opposite/bad qualities of each breed after the breeding   but she turned out perfect.  I plan to use her for some jumping and dressage, she is coming 4 now.  I am trying to upload a picture but it won't work-grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

NICE pics Renee!!

My limited experience with Arabians has all been positive for the most part.  In fact, the very first horse I ever fell in love with was an Arabian mare.  She was gray - almost white by the time I knew her.  She was very well behaved and owned by a family friend.  When I would go visit my great-grandma in WI during the summer, I would get to see this mare.  I remember one time I got to ride her bareback (double - I was behind the owner) and the mare even did tricks like bow while we were on her. 

The other one I rode was more recently.  An older arabXQH.  He was 27 years old when I rode him and still full of energy.  You had to prove to him that you were serious about going down the trail because he had a whole bag of tricks up his sleeve if you didn't.  Despite that, he was for the most part a good boy and I loved riding him.

However, I probably will never own one.  Why?  Because I am too in-love with the haflingers.  Plus the good ones out there always look like they are too good for trails and should be in the spotlight in the show ring. 

Hmmm...now if it was an arabian X haflinger cross....

I like big butts and I cannot lie...
That being said, when I was younger I was assigned an Arab at a horse camp I went to.  He was wonderful!  I loved that horse the whole week I "had" him.  My uncle also had some type of grade horse that looked like he probably had some Arab in him and he was excellent too... I always chose to ride him when we went riding together.  He lived til he was 37. 
Having heard about them being hot and flighty makes me a little nervous to ever purchase one for myself.  A good friend of mine has an Arab and she LOVES them.  Says they're very very smart.  She also says depending on the bloodlines they can be a bit nervous though too. 
I love the calm, dumb [] drafts best.

Tbs and QH's rock my world.
Sorry, don't like Arabians. They have many wonderful qualities, ( to me their spirit is a plus) and without them we would never have TB's..... but I don't care for their smaller stature and their dishy face that most people think is so beautiful......it looks deformed to me.
 
The first horse you remember leaves a print of what a horse 'should" be I think .... and for me it was a TB.

Guess I am sort of confused as to why so many people think Arabians are "small"?  They are the same height as QHs....  nine out of ten of the Arabians I know are 15hh and over.   

??

LOL...maybe they breed Arabians differently in other areas..... but here is the grandsire of the mare I used to have, he was an honest 15.3hh, and really built! And also a pic of her sire, the first stallion was Kara's sire, he was 15.2hh.

Everywhere I have looked the breed standard on the arabian is quoted as 14.1-15.1 hands.  However, as with all breed "modernization" I am sure they are breeding for taller arabians.  Also, I believe there is a difference in height between Polish, Egyptian, etc. 

All Arabians I know have been around 14.2-15 hands in height.  They look dainty compared to other popular breeds - thinner legs, finer heads, willowy necks, and their hind quarters are not bulky muscle - but rather lean muscle.  I believe this is why they are good at endurance as bulky muscles are very hard to cool down, but it lends to a general view of a smaller, more delicate horse.  I mean, I prefer haflingers who originate from a mountain pony X arabian cross.  However - every arabian photoed here looks extremely delicate compared to my breed of choice.  That may not be the case in reality, but it is the impression their look leaves.

I like Haflingers too, and I especially love their coloring and stocky build.

I think the Arabian breed has been sort of messed up over the past 10 years, like so many other breeds there are people out there who are breeding them to look like skinny little stick figures with tiny feet.

Well, as with other breeds, if you look around you can find something with more substance..... lol..... here is the gelding I used to own.... he was a pretty chunky monkey, and purebred Arabian. He was dirty in this pic, he had just taken a nice dust bath.....lol....

Actually, Polish and Egyptian do not differ at all in height.... same with Crabbet-bred Arabians.  Some Egyptians do tend to be lighter-boned tho.