What do you think of Arabians?

I'm confused by the misconception that Arabs have dainty legs. I was taught as a girl, and my adult life with horses hasn't changed my perception, that Arabs have wonderful, solid legs. When you are looking at legs, it isn't the width of the bone when you're looking at them from straight on, it's the space between the tendons looking at the side that denote strength. That and nice short cannon bones, which Arabs have. I'm not a huge fan of puffed up muscle above the knee/hock.
 
My Arab has been used for cutting, team penning, racing, you name it. She's around 15.2 and easily carries me and I'm over 200 lbs, with very long legs. When I mount, she doesn't move and she's solid underneath me, and can go and go and go without even breathing hard. Her gait is a floating single foot that covers ground and is smoother than any walker I've ever ridden (and I've ridden a lot of walkers).
 
The bulging forehead shield is called a jibbah and according to Arab lore signifies the blessing of Allah. The neck crest is called the "mitbah" and is a sign of courage, the high held tail a sign of pride.
 
Arabs have a larger brain casing than other horses, and fewer vertabrae in the tail and back. The traditional feed for Arabs is camel's milk and figs, and bedouin breeders value mares above stallions.
 
They're courageous and loyal, fast and full of heart. They are considered a "hot" breed, not because they are crazy but because they are spirited and come from the desert, as opposed to coming from colder climes.
 
I've seen more dangerous quarter horses and thoroughbreds by far than I've seen dangerous Arabs. Arabs will protect people to the death, even against other horses. If you have an Arab in the pasture with other horses, the Arab will keep the other horses at bay, and stand over you if you are bent over doing something with your head down (feeding, picking things up, etc.) They love children and are equally protective of them. I've never seen an Arab kick. I'm sure there are those that do, but I haven't run across any yet. And I've seen morgans, thoroughbreds, quarter horses, ponies, walkers, grade horses, you name it, that do.
 
A lot of the trouble people have with Arabs is they naturally hold their heads high, which means that people think they're fighting the bit, or mistakenly think they are out of control. The best way to ride an arab is to keep as little pressure on the reins as possible and let them carry their heads where they will...and don't lean forward or risk being bashed in the face by a tossing head. Relax, sit back and let them do their thing. They have a lot of action, and  that's the way they're supposed to be.
 
Oddly, I run into the same thing with Walkers. People who have ridden quarter horses all their lives get freaked out when they get on a horse that has exaggerated movement and lots of fire. The horse is still under control, they just have a different way of going, and that scares some people into fighting with them, trying to get  them to be something they're not.
 
 
 
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My friend has three nice Arabian mares. All are well-bred and show quality -- very nice! The black mare is a big girl, about 15.1. I think her legs look too fine-boned for her big body, but that's just my opinion. The mare is bred to my foundation Appaloosa stallion. I'm hoping the foal with have his good bone...and spots!

Arabians have greater bone density than most other horses.
Some more interesting stuff:
 
"A common misconception is that the purebred Arabian isn't strong due to its smaller height. Their bone density, though, is much greater than that of many other breeds."
 
http://ezinearticles.com/?Arabian-Horse-Characteristics---Not-Your-Ordinary-Horse&id=3535272
 
"Some, though not all, have 5 lumbar vertebrae instead of the usual 6, and 17 rather than 18 pairs of ribs.[4][/SUP] Thus, even a small Arabian can carry a heavy rider with ease. Arabians usually have dense, strong bone, sound feet, and good hoof walls. The USEF breed standard requires Arabians have solid bone and correct conformation,[5][/SUP] They are especially noted for endurance,[6][/SUP][7][/SUP] and the superiority of the breed in Endurance riding competition demonstrates that well-bred Arabians are strong, sound horses with good bone and superior stamina. At international levels of FEI-sponsored endurance events, Arabians and half-Arabians are the dominant performers in distance competition worldwide.[8]"[/SUP]
[SUP][/SUP] 
[SUP]"[/SUP] A common myth is that Arabians are not strong because of their size. However, the Arabian horse is noted for a greater density of bone than other breeds, short cannons, sound feet, and a broad, short back;[SUP][2][/SUP] all of which give the breed physical strength comparable to many taller animals.[SUP][14][/SUP]"
 
"Only horses with a naturally good disposition were allowed to reproduce. The result is that Arabians today have a temperament that, among other examples, makes them one of the few breeds for which the United States Equestrian Federation allows children to exhibit stallions in nearly all show ring classes, including those limited to riders under 18.[18]"[/SUP]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabian_horse
 
I know it's all wiki but they seem to have the most comprehensive information about the Arab. Just food for thought.

Very true, Arabians are especially known for their good bone, and tough hooves.   I think there are currently a few too-popular lines of Arabians out there that some breeders are messing the legs up..... I have seen some spindly-legged Arabians lately but it is totally the fault of the breeders.....  Arabians typically and always did have good bone.

I've been around horses all my life, but the first horse I rode regularly (and a LOT) and showed was a Welsh mare. Who looked like a Shetland, incidentally. Anyway, I showed her at the Oregon State Fair and at the end of our barn was an Arab stallion named Suomi. He was a beautiful gray, and they would leave the stall door open with nothing but a velvet rope across the front of the stall. When we were looking at the horses, my mom (who is a consummate horsewoman) pulled me back and said, "no, he's a stallion, give him space." The owner was there and she said, "Oh no, Suomi loves children and is our two year old grandson's babysitter." She let me into the stall with him, and he was completely gentle and calm, always had his nose facing me and moved his feet like he was walking on eggshells in order to avoid stepping on me. At one point during the show, his owner dressed in Bedouin attire and put his trappings on and ran him around the arena, without a bridle. I'll never forget it.
 
I had quarter horses later. But when I was 18, my cousin provided me with an Egyptian Arab gelding to ride. He was slight and short, and I was quite skeptical. At 18 I was 5'8" and 160 lbs, not tiny by any means, and used to riding big stout horses. My horse was 16.3 and my mom's was 15.2 and very sturdy.
 
I got on him and believe me, did NOT feel like I was under-horsed. He moved no differently with me on him than he did in the field (like my current Arab as well). His trot was not the comfortable floaty movement that many Arabs have, however. His going gait was a ground covering, bone jarring jog. It was like riding a jackhammer. But he could do it all day long and then some, and never break a sweat or breathe hard. I went for a 15 mile ride on him bareback and had to roll out of bed the next day, I was so sore. But he was a wonderful, strong horse. I've been a fan ever since. I've been on big strong looking horses with no heart or stamina who labored to go up the smallest incline...but I've yet to be on an Arab (or walker, for that matter) who couldn't take me to the ends of the earth and back, cheerfully.
 
Not that I don't love quarter horses, I honestly do. But size is not necessarily indicative of strength, heart or stamina.

The Arabian is my least favourite breed, i won't get one even if it's the last horse left on earth, they're just too spirited, too nervous, too spooky, too emotional, too fast, too difficult to handle for a beginner or intermediate rider, and, for my taste, their flat croups, dished faces, thin arched necks and bugged out eyes are quite ugly
 
Oh, well, my favourite breeds are heavy old school haflingers, stout mules, donkeys and drafts, the exact opposite from the Arabian in the equine spectrum!

well to each his own. I love all  horses and appreciate all their strengths. My mare is neither spooky, difficult to handle, nervous or even particularly dish-faced. She is alert, though, but I prefer a horse you have to ride instead of just sit on. She's Polish, she was bred to race and fight. She's all heart, has a lovely gait, a nice broad back and well sprung ribs, huge girth (that's that big heart & lungs...my legs reach just past her barrel and the cinch I use on her is the biggest one I could get. I used it on my gi-normous Appaloosa, and still had to let it out for her. And though she puts on a little weight in the winter, she's not a fatty).
 
I like the way Halflingers look, but I can't get over the fact that they were bred as carriage horses.

For me, the old school Haflinger's appeal IS that it's a small draft horse, a sort of miniature Belgian, modern type haflingers have been bred as sports horses, they often look almost like an Arabian, and are usually more spirited than drafty haflingers and so are really worthless to me.
 
Anyway, the Polish type is the best Arabian as it's a bit larger and quieter, but still not my kind of horse by any means!
Polish Arabians are rare here in Italy, most Arabians here are of the small, narrow, lightweight type and are absolutely nuts, they just can't keep a steady walk for more than 5 minutes, they just want to run, run, run, and are afraid of almost everything, and stallions are really rank and untractable.
 
cold blooded draft horses are slower, easier to ride, and less prone to spook, and even if they do, their reactions are much slower and predictable, that's why i got myself an Italian heavy draft gelding, when i go out for a trail ride, i want to relax and enjoy the scenery while my horse quietly&nbspacks me around at a steady walk with the reins hanging loose on his neck, something you just can't do with a hot blooded horse.
Drafts also have wide, flat, soft backs and are a dream to ride bareback, and they can be controlled perfectly with a plain snaffle or even just a halter.
 
 

I don't like Arabians. Most of my experience with them has been negative. They also don't have enough of a personality. My Spanish mare is hot and has a TON of personality. Way more than I see in any other breed actually. Most Arabs that I have met also lack intelligence and are pushy when you handle them with no regard to their handler and are more than willing to run over the top of you. 

I love hot blooded horses, but Arabs just don't do it for me. I would never consider owning one. They are also some of the most ugly horses I have seen.

[quote=Jimmyhaflinger]

The Arabian is my least favourite breed, i won't get one even if it's the last horse left on earth, they're just too spirited, too nervous, too spooky, too emotional, too fast, too difficult to handle for a beginner or intermediate rider, and, for my taste, their flat croups, dished faces, thin arched necks and bugged out eyes are quite ugly

Oh, well, my favourite breeds are heavy old school haflingers, stout mules, donkeys and drafts, the exact opposite from the Arabian in the equine spectrum!


I find your description of the Arabian horse very interesting. I own an Arab. I learned to ride on him and I currently teach small children to ride using him. He is the most laid back, easy going, loving horse that I may ever own. Prior to my back injury (not horse related) i was teaching a 4 year old to ride using him. She would go out into my pasture, walk right up to him. he would put his head down so she could put the halter on, let her lead him to the hitching post for grooming. He would even pick up his feet as best he could for her to clean. Her last lesson, she was cantering him down by the river with me riding my barrel horse.

I am not judging your opinion on Arabs. Some people just dont like them. What bothers me is that the things you do not like about the Arab breed are not what the Arabian horses are about. They are practically the opposite. Arabs get a bad rap because of what their handlers make them do in the show ring. if you waved a whip in my face, i would bug my eyes out and toss my head and prance around too.

Again. you have your own opinion, im not trying to bash. I just want you to consider that the Arab may not be what lots of breeders make them out to be and "look"

Attached is a picture of my pure bred Aprabian gelding i use as a lesson horse. This first picture is of my friend and her son. 

I don't think that every Arab is a bad horse (clearly). However, you cannot label every Arab to be good either (there is a bloodline in the breed I have that I wouldn't touch with a ten foot poll). There are bad reports due to many Arab horses (no doubt badly bred) being crazy. The two Arabs at my friend's house have to the be dumbest horses I have ever come across. I like to describe Brandy as having "fish eyes" as when you look into them there is nothing going on upstairs. Oddly, she is actually a descent trail horse. Just not a smart one. There is another Arab at my friend's house that decided it would be a brilliant idea to spook and roll down a very steep hill and landed straight into a bunch of cactus. There was also a news report that up in Topanga Canyon (Malibu) an Arab spooked off a 200ft+ cliff to its death a few years ago. THANK GOD the rider jumped off that stupid horse just in time! There are also reports I have read of Arabs doing the same thing in the Tevis cup ride. 

Those reports accompanied with badly bred horses is not doing the few descent Arabs out there any good and is certainly destroying any kind of good rep that they did have. If all you hear about Arabs is how dumb they are jumping to their deaths and/or injury along with bad experiences with the breed in person... Can't imagine anyone running out to buy an Arab unless they have had previous good experiences with them. 

Your gentle and quiet Arabian might just be an exception to the rule, in the same way you can find a spooky, restless Shire or Clydesdale.
 
Or maybe it's that the Arabians we have here in Italy are poorly bred.
 
What i can tell for sure is that ALL the arabians (tens of them) i've met in almost 20 years of work in the horse trade, trained or not, abused or not, were absolutely cranky, the best ones were just way too spirited, restless and spooky, the worst ones were unpredictably aggressive and downright dangerous, some were so bad they had to be slaughtered directly.
Even old decrepit ones were still high-energy "expert riders only" horses.
 
On the other hand, coldblooded horses are, in my experience, rarely problematic, even abused ones are usually still trusting people to some extent and are easily retrained
 
 
 

Also most Arabians i've seen over here had the same ****** conformation with longish downhill backs, flat croups with protruding cow-like high set tails and weak loins.
 
My way to test a horse to be really suitable for a beginner is to have someone to hold him while i&nbsplace a chair next to his hindquarters, then i climb on the chair and jump straight on his croup sideways, if he bucks me off or gets nervous, it's not a beginners horse, most coldbloods and even quarter horses don't even bother to move, but i can't see an Arabian passing this test.

Just out of curiousity, how many of those who hate Arabs have actually ridden well trained ones?
 
I've yet to see a crazy Arab. It has to do with the person riding them. If you fight with an Arab, they will fight back, they are fighting horses. But if you just ride them, they're wonderful.
 
George Washington rode an Arab, btw. As did....Ghengis Khan, Napleon, Robert E. Lee and others.
 

[quote=Jimmyhaflinger]

Also most Arabians i've seen over here had the same ****** conformation with longish downhill backs, flat croups with protruding cow-like high set tails and weak loins.

My way to test a horse to be really suitable for a beginner is to have someone to hold him while i&nbsplace a chair next to his hindquarters, then i climb on the chair and jump straight on his croup sideways, if he bucks me off or gets nervous, it's not a beginners horse, most coldbloods and even quarter horses don't even bother to move, but i can't see an Arabian passing this test.


Yeah, that must be the reason they're the world's #1 competitive endurance horses.
 
I've never seen an Arab buck. I think maybe you haven't seen many. All the Arabs I've been around protect children, walk carefully while they're on their backs (regardless of how spirited they are) and don't kick. I have yet to see one that reacts adversely to a person approaching them from any angle, because they are tuned into humans.
 
Keep in mind, in the world of showing, the only breed that allows children under the age of 18 to show stallions is Arabian.
 
Halflingers may be great, as may many of the coldbloods. But don't **** on a breed you obviously have no experience with.