Arab/AT/WB long

[tjones@COINET.COM (Todd & Toni Jones)]

This may be boring for some... now's your chance to use the delete key or
page down...

Here's an interesting bit of "history" that I have no way of personally
verifying that some of you may know and some may not know. I am simply
quoting from an article written by Lazslo Monostory, a Hungarian man who now
lives in Washington state. He is fairly old, but was an officer in charge of
the Hungarian State Studs which bred Shagya Arabians, Kisber, Felvers and
the Furioso/North Star warmblood breeds before WWII and therefore was privy
to knowledge that many people have lost due to time and war and the fact
horses are now more of a pleasure item than a necessity item for our
livelihoods. Lazslo has written articles for several publications and has
given talks at various clubs on this subject and related matters. This
article is related to the origins of the above mentioned breeds and was
originally intended for the Hungarian Horse Association. I will only quote
the first few paragraphs. 

"Before discussing the background of the different Hungarian-bred horses,I
would like to offer you some background on ancient European and Asian horses.

"We know that in the Diluvian era there existed only three kinds of wild
horse: 1) the ancestors of all the European cold-blooded horses, 2) the
Tarpan and Taki, ancestors of East European and West Asian horses and 3) the
Przewalski horse of Mongolia and Southeast Asia. From this third type
developed two varieties: the Equus caballus Mongolicus (the Mongol pony) and
the Equus caballus Arianus, the Arabian and Turkoman (or Akhal Tekke) horse.
Whether the Arabian developed from the Turkoman or the other way around we
will never know.

"The first encounter of Arabian and cold-blooded European horses occurred
during the wars bewteen Greece and Persia. The Egyptians had Arab-type
horses in North Africa, from where they spread to the western shores of the
Mediterranean and then to Spain with the Moors. In the Olympic games in
Ancient Greece the fastest horses competing in chariot races were those of
North African breeding. When the Roman Empire spread to Greece and North
Africa, the fast Greek-North African horses of Arab type became the stars of
the chariot races in the Circus Maximus. The Romans crossed their
cold-blooded Southern European horses (later called Neapolitan) and possibly
the cold-blooded and mixed ponies of the Karst Mountain region with the Arab
type horses from North Africa, the so-called Berbers. Today we find the
village of Lipiza in the Karst Mountains where the stud was established in
1480."


The article then follows the lines to the beginning of the European
Warmbloods, mentions some of the early horses used in TB breeding in
England, and then follows the lines down to the Hungarian Horse breeds
mentioned above, their foundations, state studs and to the present. If it
interests anybody, email me your snail mail and I'll send it to you.

Toni Jones and Shagya O'Biwon
tjones@coinet.com
Central Oregon
Prineville Ride
Bandit Springs Ride