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All of our breed histories were commissioned by Jamal Arabians with Arlene Magid. No reproduction can be made from these without the express written consent of Jamal Arabians and the Author.
Egyptian Arabians History
The Egyptian Arabian Horse
By: Arlene Magid
The Arabian horses of Egypt have inspired many people worldwide to become involved with Arabians. Their extraordinary beauty and long history of committed breeders in their native land have insured their popularity. In America they remain perennial favorites and Egyptian Arabians bred from stock imported to America have made their presence felt in virtually every country where Arabians are bred today.
THE EARLY YEARS 1895-1950
The first Egyptian Arabian to be brought to America was *Shahwan, who came via England and was imported by J.A.P. Ramsdell in 1895. He is found in pedigrees today through his American-born daughter Nonliker, though he has no descent among living straight Egyptians foaled in the U.S. (He is found in many Egyptian pedigrees also through his Egyptian-born son Ibn Yashmak). The next Egyptian horse to be imported fared better at having an unbroken line of descent into modern Egyptian breeding. This was *Ghazala (Ibn Sherara x Bint Helwa), imported by Spencer Borden from the Crabbet Stud in England though she was bred in Egypt. *Ghazala founded a strong female family in Egypt and her American-born grandson Gulastra is found in straight Egyptian horses bred in America through his son Julep.
The history of the Arabian horse in Poland is one closely allied with the fortunes of war. Lacking natural boundaries, Poland was subject to frequent invasions by foreign armies, including those by warriors mounted on horses of Eastern blood: swift, durable, and tough. The Polish nobility responsible for the nation's defense captured many of these horses as prizes of war and they were bred to both native stock and to each other to enhance the horses used in cavalry maneuvers. When a truce was agreed upon with the Turks in 1699, the immediate supply of Arabians was cut off, so expeditions to the desert were mounted periodically to obtain new blood to refresh breeding stock currently in use. Arabians were as useful in peacetime as they were during times of conflict, for upgrading the horses that worked the fields, or pulled the carriages of the nobility.
The Crabbet Stud of England had more influence worldwide than any other individual program since its inception in 1878. Horses bred by the stud's founders, Wilfrid and Lady Anne Blunt, and their daughter, Judith, Lady Wentworth, have been sought after by serious breeders on every continent.
Ironically, the Crabbet Stud was not named for the family that founded it , nor was it initially meant to be an Arabian breeding establishment! The founders of the stud, Lord Wilfrid and Lady Anne Blunt, actually set out to recreate an outstanding foundation sire of the Thoroughbred, the Darley Arabian, in their initial effort to obtain breeding stock. The Blunts had a large estate at Crabbet and Newbuildings in Sussex, England that Wilfrid had inherited in 1872. The name "Crabbet Stud" actually came from the house on the property at the time of the inheritance, which was in shabby shape and which the Blunts tore down and built another in its place. The Blunts, being independently wealthy, were able to make multiple journeys to Egypt, Syria, the Sinai Peninsula, and Algeria in their search for horses of the same strain as the Darley. In 1877, they made a visit that convinced Lady Anne that she wanted to breed purebred Arabians. The first desertbreds arrived in the summer of 1878. Several of this first group would have worldwide influence on Arabian breeding, as among them were Basilisk (whose dam line influence descends through just one daughter, Bozra) and Dajania (foundress of one of the most prominent of Crabbet dam lines).
The history of the Arabian horse in Spain is one much affected by war and revolution in the first half of this century. The Spanish Civil War of the 1930s resulted in lost records and deaths of horses, but the lovers of the Arabian were determined that they survive, and Spanish Arabians are now key elements in many worldwide breeding programs.
The Stud Book Espanol was first compiled by the Horse Breeding Department of the Spanish Army in 1847, and continues to this day. Multiple breeds are registered, including Thoroughbreds, Andalusians, and Anglo-Arabs. The Arabian section of the first volume records 36 stallions and 12 desertbred mares, the latter imported in the name of Queen Isabella II but few purebreds were bred from them and none of their lines have survived. Other imported stallions (mostly from France) were registered in succeeding volumes but none were used for purebred breeding. Finally, in Volume XI of the stud book the imports from the desert and from Poland made on behalf of the Yeguada Militar(the Spanish military) were recorded, and the breeding of purebred Arabians was more established. The horses of the 1905 and 1906 importations are the ancestors of present day Spanish Arabians. Subsequent importations were made from Egypt, France, and Britain (the well known Crabbet stallion Rijm went to Spain but did not breed on significantly) and an importation of seven stallion and 13 mares from the desert came in 1927.
