Arabians as Riding Horses
In this issue, you will once again find a new article from the series ‘What are the Germans breeding?’, in which we shed light on German Arabian horse breeding. Among other things, it emerged that the number of foal births has decreased drastically since 2017, while during the exact same period, foal registrations in RIDING horse breeding increased by 15%. What does this tell us?
On the one hand, it shows that there is currently no lack of a sales market for RIDING horses, as warmblood breeders cannot afford to be stuck with their horses either. On the other hand, it indicates that the Arabian is clearly not benefiting from this trend and is apparently no longer perceived as a riding horse by the wider (leisure) riding public. This is a shame, because it was originally introduced from the Orient to improve riding horse breeds. However, it also highlights the mistakes that were made in the past.
Now, the reputation of the Arabian horse was not ruined just yesterday. But what used to be the glossy magazines back in the day are now the various social media platforms—and there, images of shows from all over the world are washed onto one’s timeline daily, featuring rearing, wildly thrashing stallions, heads distorted to the point of caricature but deemed ‘extremely typed,’ and horses that can hardly show a proper trot anymore. All of this shapes the image of the Arabian horse, including in the minds of riders. However, on social media platforms, you can also find groups dedicated specifically to the ‘old type,’ where (for example, under a head portrait of Wisznu Ibn Sawih *1975) you read comments like: ‘Beautiful! Those were still the heads of horses, not seahorses!’, ‘Those were still real Arabians’, ‘I used to be an Arabian fan, they were always my dream horses, today I don’t find them so beautiful anymore…’, ‘He still has that gorgeous old Arabian head. What actually happened that today’s Arabians have such a seahorse head?’
Yes, what did happen there? The direct influence of the show ring on breeding is one thing. But there was also a failure to establish the Arabian as a riding horse at the same time. Although an Arabian tournament has been held in Aachen for years, it takes place largely in the background, only for ‘insiders.’ For years, the association withdrew from horse expos because they were deemed too expensive, even though that is precisely where you meet the ‘ordinary riding crowd.’ Commendably, this is set to change again for 2025, with appearances planned at ‘Partner Pferd’ in Leipzig and ‘Eurocheval’ in Offenburg, among others. This is both important and right, because with appealing presentations, we can hopefully convince one or two people that the Arabian is more than just a show horse. We must go public with our horses, because horse lovers whose prejudices about the Arabian are already firmly established will not visit a breeder’s yard to be convinced otherwise; they won’t even come to Kranichstein. But at an expo, in passing, so to speak, they have the opportunity to watch an Arabian and get information on the spot.
But that is not enough; all of us who care about the breed must become more involved, go public, and preferably with our horses! Leaving ‘likes’ in the right places on social media platforms can only be the beginning.
Gudrun Waiditschka
