January 16, 2007 @ 8:08 pm
Horse Breeds - Arabian
My horse is half Trakehner but there is a strong influence of Turkish Arabian in his Trakehner bloodline. This is reflected in this Arab-like head and feet.
I knew that the Arabian horse is one of the oldest breeds of horse and 93% of all thoroughbreds can be traced back to 3 Arabian stallions.
I was surprised to find out recently that some Arabian horses have five lumbar vertebrae compared to the the normal number of 6 and 17 rather than 18 ribs. Apparently their head also meets the neck at a different angle. While Arabian horse are quite unique in their looks, I did not realise that there were such major differences. I understand that the shorter back has developed over time to make it easier to carry heavy riders.
For more information on Arabian horses take a look at this great site - MiKael’s Mania - Arabian Horses
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3 Responses to “Horse Breeds - Arabian”
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January 20th, 2007 at 2:20 am
Hi there!
Very nice looking blog! Arabians are indeed a gorgeous breed, aren’t they? Interesting piece and information there… if most thoroughbreds were derived from the Arab, do they also have less ribs/lumbar vertebrae?
I’ve a Quarter Horse x Arab gelding… wonder how many he’s got (can’t see myself finding out too soon… he’s always on the plump side - bit hard to count them!) Keep up the good work!
Chris
January 31st, 2007 at 8:56 pm
I think your question about thoroughbreds having a lesser number of vertebrae/ribs is interesting and I’ll have to do some more investigation. I assume that thoroughbreds have the usual number as their three Arabian ancestors had a standard number.
My horse is nearly always plump too. I think we saw his ribs once at the end of long showjumping season when he’d moved up through the classes more quickly than we expected. After a day back in the field eating and resting they had disappeared again!
December 12th, 2007 at 5:14 pm
It’s my understanding that the shorter back is directly related to being minus one vertebrae and one rib as well as the substance of the breed. However, I’ve also been told that not all Arabians are minus one vertebrae and that characteristic might be indicative of particular strains within the breed.