Blue Heritage

An Introduction to the Blue Star Arabian

 

The Blue Star Arabians are a group of horses descending entirely from the original stock of the Bedouin tribes. The Bedouin trea­sured their horses for their hardi­ness, thrifti­ness, swift­ness, endurance, compan­ion­ship, and beauty. These unique horses of the Bedouin were honed in the crucible of the desert; only the strongest and most reli­able survived. The breed devel­oped char­ac­ter­is­tics that partic­u­larly suited them for the desert

 envi­ron­ment where water and food were scarce. They had to endure the long migra­tions, yet be ready for wars and raiding that often took them great distances. One hall­mark of Bedouin breeding was their insis­tence that only pure, asil, horses would be bred onward. The Bedouin under­stood that limiting breeding to known stock yielded the best horses, and there were strong taboos against crossing asil with outside horses. Euro­peans used these desert horses to improve local breeds, at least from the time of the Crusades onward. Kings and Princes sought them to improve royal studs. The attrib­utes of the Desert Arabian were incor­po­rated into virtu­ally all light breeds of horse. Each breed was based on a different ideal, but none repli­cated the orig­inal Desert Arabian.  After gener­a­tions of crossing Arabian stal­lions on local mares, West­erners devel­oped the modern Arabian breed. A few breeders, however, recog­nized the impor­tance of retaining some of the pure genetic stock as orig­i­nally devel­oped by the Bedouin. The Pashas and, later, Kings of Egypt collected and bred horses of exclu­sively Bedouin origin from the early 1800s until the mid-​1900s. Lady Anne and Wilfrid Blunt in England estab­lished studs based only on desert stock and supplied horses to virtu­ally every conti­nent. Other studs in Europe did the same, only to see their programs ravaged and lost to war. Through efforts of the Blunts, Carl Raswan, Mrs. John and Miss Jane Ott, and others, the remaining stock in the West that could reli­ably be traced only to Bedouin origin were tracked down and recorded in the Blue Arabian Horse Catalog in 1960. Small groups of breeders in the US and Europe followed breeding that adhered to ancient Bedouin practices. Today, fewer than 8 percent of regis­tered Arabian horses world­wide can claim exclu­sive descent from the orig­inal horses of the Bedouin. Ask anyone who owns a Desert Arabian horse and they will tell you, “there is a differ­ence.” Conserving and perpet­u­ating this genetic resource for the future is the mission for the few devoted breeders that remain. However, merely breeding them is not enough! These horses need to be used and knowledge of their existence to increase.

 

Without imme­diate inter­ven­tion, we could lose the Blue Star Arabians within the next generation

 

• The Desert Arabian horse is one of the oldest of breeds, devel­oped by the Bedouin who bred them pure for thou­sands of years.

 

• The Desert Arabian horse provided the foun­da­tion stock to create almost all other light breeds of horse.

 

• Fewer than 8 percent of the 400,000 modern Arabian horses regis­tered world­wide descend exclu­sively from the orig­inal Bedouin horse: these are the last Desert Arabian horses.

 

• New births of Desert Arabian horses have declined over the past decade

 

 

Once lost, this precious genetic pool can never be restored. Only imme­diate inter­ven­tion can save this breeding popu­la­tion for the next generation.

 

 

Why Ride Desertbred Arabians ?

 

Do you want a horse that has the qualities to succeed in any discipline? Is having an Arabian horse with a good disposition, strong hooves and a solid conformation important to you? The bloodlines of the original Arabian horse continues to thrive today in the Desert Arabians. These versatile horses are resilient and have excellent conformation. They have spirit, while at the same time being gentle and easy to work with. These qualities of the Desert Arabians are why they are excelling in multiple disciplines. They are athletic, sound, and sane. They have not been subjected to decades of show ring fads, and they are the same horse that was used in the desert for thousands of years. They can jump, preform dressage, work cows, and of course, endurance race. They have good bones, great feet, and amazing temperaments. A Desert Arabian is truly an exceptional horse. They also cross very well with other breeds, which only make sense since they have been used to create and improve upon almost all other light horse breeds in existence. There are many sub-groups within the Al Khamsa Umbrella, but the Blue Stars have the highest standards of purity and because of that, they are also the smallest group. They are far outnumbered by groups that allowed possibly impure horses to be included, or that valued different things besides the authentic horse of the Bedouins. Unfortunately, due to lack of effective education and advertising, the Blue Stars have dwindled into obscurity and are now on the verge of extinction. This would truly be a tragedy, as they are so unique and versatile.

 

The more people owning, competing and breeding the Blue Star Arabian, the better their chance of survival! Below is a list of ways to get in contact with Blue Star Breeders who would be happy to answer any questions you may have and to introduce you to their amazing horses, and websites that also provide more information.

 

Find Us on Facebook – The Blue Arabian Horse Catalog, The Institute of the Desert Arabian Horse, Canadian Arabian Preservation Group, and Blue Heritage Arabian Stud.

 

Google Institute of the Desert Arabian Horse to Learn More! Credit for much of the info here goes to them