He is the "classic" Arabian: the perfect little head, the long, arched neck, the flat croup, the high tail, and the spindly little legs. People will look at this picture and identify the horse as an Arabian immediately.Now, look at this picture:
This horse is not the stereotypical Arabian. Besides the unusual color for a purebred, this horse has many non - "classical" characteristics, such as a very deep heart girth and huge lung capacity. He does not have the classic, long, arched neck of the stallion above him, but he does have a nice neck that is well put on. He also has shorter cannon bones than the horse above him and his tail is not raised as high. At first glance, a person with minimal breed knowledge would probably not identify this horse as an Arabian, at least not a purebred. What is the difference? The gray horse won The Most Classic Arabian in The Arabian Horse Times magazine for 2008, and the flaxen chestnut horse has a scope of over 5ft and has won many jumper, dressage, and 3-day eventing awards at open shows. But most importantly, one is feeding breed bias, one is helping to do away with it.
I am trying to be honest, and I do not want to start anything ugly, but it's time to ask the apocalyptic question of centuries: What are we really accomplishing by breeding Arabian horses for looks only? I'm sure most would agree that the gray stallion is stunningly beautiful, and it is clear from his show record that he displays the fire and spirit of the breed. But besides that, what is he good for? For making more of himself? Can he jump? Can he run? Does he have incredible stamina, or superior carriage? That's the point, GOD KNOWS! We will never know how he can perform, only that he looks like a fresh out-of-the-box Breyer horse with "classical" Arabian conformation. And we wonder why people label Arabians as being pretty to look at and nothing else.
I'm going to say this now and get it over with: in order to establish the Arabian horse as a capable performer, Arabian horse owners do not need to start competing in open shows. Horse owners competing in open shows NEED TO BUY ARABIAN HORSES. And marketing the Arabian as a solely "pretty" horse is not doing the job. Now don't get me wrong, there is absolutely nothing wrong about an Arabian horse owner competing in open shows. It helps the breed's image indefinitely. But the sooner we identify the Arabian by its performance instead of its breed, the sooner breed bias will dissipate. Back to the 2 horses: If the first horse was boarded at a local multi-discipline barn, he would be the Arabian. If the second horse was boarded at the same barn, he would be the jumper.
If an Arabian horse wins a level 5 jumper class, the crowd should be commenting: "WOW, that horse can JUMP!" as apposed to "Did you see that Arabian? I had no clue they could jump!" Same thing with the owners! If your Arabian was the one that won, don't go around bragging about how he is an Arabian! This actually draws attention to the negative stereotype that Arabians aren't good performers in open shows, and makes your horse seem like one in a million (even if that was the intended effect, it's not good for the breed's image).
I have worked with Arabians all my life. My first riding lesson was on a little gray Arab gelding named Blaze. I then rode his brother, Shadow. My first horse was the flaxen chestnut pictured above, which I owned and trained. And if you don't think I encountered breed bias first hand at EVERY SHOW I WENT TO, you're dead wrong. We would get snarky comments at dressage shows, weird looks at horse trials, dropped jaws at jumper shows. I only competed on him in one Arabian show, ever. And believe it or not, he performed better at the open shows.
I challenge anyone out there who is looking to purchase a new project or prospect to buy an Arabian horse. If you put the breed aside and focus on performance, I can promise you you'll be surprised.
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