ARABIAN TALES
by Monty Roberts
Dear Friends,
Make a historical journey through the genealogy of horses employed in Thoroughbred racing, show jumping and dressage, and you will discover the genetic influence of the past three centuries or so. I recently embarked on research on this topic, and what I have found is a very interesting pattern, which I would tend to call a harmless conspiracy.
The term harmless could be used because no one is detrimentally affected by its presence. The term conspiracy could be used because there seems to be a clear tendency on the part of the early breeders to hide or thinly veil the presence of Arabian blood found in significant amounts in the world-class athletes that we celebrate in the disciplines I have addressed.
An example of these facts is clearly present in the world of Thoroughbred horseracing. In America when the television sets are notifying millions of who won the Kentucky Derby, the presenters are carefully using only the term Thoroughbred. This is reported to the public as a genetically pure individual and no mixture of blood is alluded to.
When we begin to examine the roots of the Thoroughbred, it becomes clear that two-thirds of their genetic makeup is due to pure Arabian influence. When I was a child, I was told that the Thoroughbred originated from three bloodlines: the Godolphin Barb, the Byerly Turk and the Darley Arabian.
The Darley Arabian was always mentioned last, and most breeders indicated that it was quite incidental and less influential than the other two in the genetic makeup of the Thoroughbred. I never knew why there was an attempt to lessen the Arabian influence, but I can assure you that this mindset was clearly in place.
Recent studies including historical research and DNA data have established facts clearly different from those I originally understood. First, let me say that it is now believed that 95 percent of all Thoroughbreds can trace their pedigrees directly to the Darley Arabian. In addition, research has changed the title of the Godolphin Barb to the Godolphin Arabian. It is clear that Godolphin was from pure Arabian stock and not of the Moroccan Barb blood.
Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum has undertaken a study which concluded that the stallion Godolphin was born in what is now Saudi Arabia, and actually very near Dubai, an Arab emirate that he rules. It is with this information in mind that Sheik Mohammed has titled his racing interests Godolphin Racing.
Sheik Mohammed is the world’s largest owner of Thoroughbred racehorses and coincidently one of the largest owners of pure Arabian horses. He is the world’s primary supporter of Arabian endurance racing, and he and his sons actually ride in these extremely large competitions.
These latest studies and new revelations shed a different light on the origins of the Thoroughbred racehorse. Most historians now realize that they are made up of two-thirds Arabian blood. The Turkoman horse surely gave the two Arabian stallions the bone, muscle and substance required of the extreme athlete. The Arabian was responsible for refinement, sensitivity and stamina.
It is often said of Thoroughbreds exhibiting refined heads, light bone and angular conformation that they are showing ‘a bit of the desert.’ Even in this statement we can hear the Thoroughbred enthusiasts hiding the word Arabian. They seem to be unwilling to admit that Arabian blood courses the veins of their precious Thoroughbreds to a major extent.
While today’s breeding requirements would not allow the direct influence of pure Arabian blood, there is no question that the industry reaches out from time to time to favor those animals exhibiting ‘a bit of the desert.’ With no direct, pure Arabian animals used within the Thoroughbred racing industry, one should not lose sight of the fact that without outside influence there has been no reduction in the Arabian influence of the modern-day Thoroughbred.
Leaving the so-called pure Thoroughbred industry and entering the world of the Warmblood, we find the Arabian even more strongly included than in that of the racing industry. The Warmblood exists because of a cross of the European cold bloods (draught horses) and hot bloods (English Thoroughbreds). The pure Arabian was often introduced throughout the centuries when more refinement and sensitivity was desired.
The Warmblood is essentially thought of openly as a crossbreed. With that in mind, there is still the desire on the part of most breeders to slightly cover up the existence of Arabian blood within such breeds as the Holstein, Hanoverian and the Trakehner, etc. While I’m not quite sure why this tendency exists, my research is beginning to open avenues of possibility for me.
The pure Arabian is generally pretty, and while it was bred in many areas of the world for serious work and stamina, it has in the last few centuries been thought of more as a beautiful show breed. Many of the breeders who are serious about producing world-class racehorses, show jumpers and dressage horses are less than enthusiastic about the characteristics of the petite Arabian. Many people on a global basis have come to think of them as a plaything rather than a serious, world-class athlete.
“The pure Arabian is the poodle of the horse world” is a quote that I received while speaking with one of my Thoroughbred breeding associates. “They are a lacey, frilly sissy of a horse,” he went on to say. In my conversation, this breeder pointed out that they didn’t have the strength required to be show jumper or a dressage horse, and that while they raced, their times are consistently much slower than that of the Thoroughbred.
It is the opinion of many serious horse people globally that the pure Arabian often ends up in the hands of leisure horse people without serious intent to compete in their disciplines against all breeds. While this seems to be the common attitude of most of the world, the French breeders speak far more openly about the influence of the Arabian within their Selle Francais.
Many international show records will indicate that the Selle Francais holds an extremely important position in the world of high-level show jumping. French breeders are far more open to exposing the percentage of Arabian blood coursing the veins of their Olympic hopefuls. It’s funny how the poodle and the Selle Francais share a common country of origin. Perhaps that’s why the French are willing to discuss it.
If, in fact, the pure Arabian is so slow, petite and incapable of high jumping, why is its blood so important to the breeds which rule the world in these three disciplines? For the answer I reach back to my university years and to the words of my genetics professor. Dr. Noble was a strong advocate for hybrid vigor. His position was that when two pure breeds come together, the first cross is extremely superior to its parents.
Hybrid vigor is experienced not only in the animal world, but in the plant world as well. When a particular breed is kept pure, it tends to become less and less robust as the centuries progress. The influence of outside genetics then bring out the excellence of that pure breed and produce offspring with what is often extreme athleticism and strength.
When I began this project, I had no idea that I would find it as interesting as it is. I have to ask myself how I could have traveled the paths of this industry for all these decades without realizing the presence of the conditions I am outlining. Since returning home, I have walked through my stable looking at the Thoroughbreds with a very different view than I have in the past.
© Monty and Pat Roberts, Inc. reprinted with permission. Originally published in the Join-Up® Journal.
This Week's Question
I would like to see some follow-up articles that show what you do after the initial saddling and riding. I've seen some of your videos so I've watched days 2 or 3 of the horses' work, but what comes next? How do you start preparing a horse for the work he's going to do the rest of his life?
Thanks,
Janet W
Monty's Answer
I suppose my first inquiry would be if he is an orphan. If he is an orphan, then one must consider the possibility that he knows nothing about his own language. Orphans present us with challenges that are so individual we must use our experience to tailor our training to the challenge on hand.
In the event that this is not an orphan I think it is fair to ask yourself would he be just as independent with me as he would be with you? I think not. As I travel the world I get at least 2-3 horses per month which come to me with a reputation for being impossible to Join-Up with. Granted, some are more difficult than others but I simply don’t have outright failures.
The fact that you have been successful with a large number of individuals would indicate that you are doing a pretty good job with your communications efforts. It is my guess however that there is a tiny flaw in your conversational skills where Equus is concerned. I would guess that if we were able to work together we would find some little defect and you would say “WOW” and then you might say “just that little difference – I can’t believe it.”
It is amazing to me how many times this scenario occurs and it is virtually never a unilateral fault of the horse, but instead, a slight misunderstanding between horse and human. [Editor’s note: Please see “Dear Readers” below]
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