Breed Characteristics
Arabian horses have refined, wedge-shaped heads, a broad forehead, large eyes, large nostrils, and small muzzles. Most display a distinctive concave or "dished" profile. Many Arabians also have a slight forehead bulge between their eyes, called the "jibbah" by the Bedouin, that adds additional sinus capacity, believed to have helped the Arabian horse in its native dry desert climate. Another breed characteristic is an arched neck with a large, well-set windpipe set on a refined, clean throatlatch. This structure of the poll and throatlatch was called the mitbah or mitbeh by the Bedouin, and in the best Arabians is long, allowing flexibility in the bridle and room for the windpipe.
Other distinctive features are a relatively long, level croup and naturally high tail carriage. Well-bred Arabians have a deep, well-angled hip and well laid-back shoulder. Most have a compact body with a short back. Some, though not all, have 5 lumbar vertebrae instead of the usual 6, and 17 rather than 18 pairs of ribs. Thus, even a small Arabian can carry a heavy rider with ease. Arabians usually have dense, strong bone, sound feet, and good hoof walls. They are especially noted for endurance. Thus, all Arabians, regardless of height, are classified as "horses," even though 14.2 hands is the traditional cutoff height between a horse and a pony. Because many horse owners in Europe and the Americas prefer taller animals, the Arabian has been bred for increased height, and many Arabians today are between 15 and 16 hands (60-64 inches at the withers).
Colors
The Arabian Horse Association recognizes purebred horses with the coat colors bay, grey, chestnut, black, and roan. Bay is the most common color, followed by grey, and then chestnut. Black is somewhat rare. As noted below, true roan may not actually exist in Arabians; rather, roaning in the Arab could simply be a manifestation of the sabino or rabicano genes. All Arabians, no matter the coat color, have black skin, except under white markings. Black skin provided protection from the hot desert sun.
Chestnut
Chestnuts are a copper color, varying in shades from a light golden-red to a dark brown, known as "liver chestnut."
Occasionally, a chestnut will have a "flaxen," or blonde, mane and tail. Sometimes, the mane and tail will be a mixture of blonde and chestnut hairs or brown and chestnut hairs. Quite often, the mane and tail will be the same color as the body coat.
Chestnut foals often have light blonde baby hair on their legs. This hair should not be confused with true white markings. If you aren't sure, wet down the hair and look for pink skin.
The rule of genetics followed by the Association is that the mating of two chestnuts always results in a chestnut foal.
Bay
Bay horses come in a variety of reddish-brown hues, and are distinguished by black points (mane, tail, legs, ears, knees, hocks, or any combination thereof). If there are white markings on the legs, there will usually be black above the markings.
Light bay horses may seem to resemble chestnuts in some cases, but the distinguishing difference will be the presence of black points.
Grey
A grey horse's coat color is a mixture of white and dark hairs growing out of dark skin. Rarely is any Arabian foal born as a distinctly recognizable grey. They are usually born chestnut or bay, and within weeks will begin showing signs of grey around the eyes, flank, and below the elbow. Occasionally, grey splotches will develop on the body, croup, or thigh before they are visible around the eyes. The rule of genetics followed by the Association is that a foal will not turn grey unless at least one parent is grey.
During the greying process, a horse may show varying shades of grey. Some may appear steel grey, a mixture of black and white hairs. Others may be rose grey, a mixture of chestnut and white hairs, or bay grey, a mixture of bay and white hairs. Dappling is common. As grey horses age, their coat colors lighten, sometimes appearing to be white. Oftentimes, older grey horses grow tufts of reddish brown hair. This coloring is called "flea-bitten." All of these combinations are registered "grey."
Although many Arabians appear "white," this is the natural action of the grey gene. Grey horses are born bay, black or chestnut, then get progressively lighter as they age, until their hair coat eventually turns pure white or becomes "flea-bitten" grey. Their skin is black and remains so throughout their life. Therefore, virtually all "white" Arabians are actually greys. There is no such thing as a genetically "white" Arabian, although there is an extremely small number of Arabians registered as "white" for other reasons, including fewer than 20 Arabian horses in the world who appear to have "maximum sabino" traits that include a white coat from birth. (see "Sabino in the Arabian").
Black
The entire coat, including the muzzle, flanks, and legs, must be black with the exception of white markings. If any doubt arises between black and dark bay, black can be determined by noting the fine black hair on the muzzle.
Black Arabians are not common. There are assorted and contradictory myths about black horses alleged to come from the Bedouin. Some areas considered black Arabians to be a bad omen, in other areas they were a valued treasure. One scientific reason that black is not common is that the black gene is genetically suppressed by the more dominant Agouti gene that creates the black points of a bay horse. Some breeding farms now use DNA testing to increase the probability of producing black Arabians.
The Bedouin had other assorted beliefs about color. It is also said that a particular type of "flea-bitten" grey with localized aggregations of pigment, known as a "bloody-shouldered" horse, was prized as a superior animal, particularly if a mare. Yet another myth is that the first "bloody shouldered" horse was a mare who mourned her rider, killed in war, and forever kept the stains left from the blood of her long-lost companion.
Most everyone has a soft spot for a horse of a particular color. Maybe a dappled gray catches your eye. Perhaps a beautiful bay does it for you. The Bedouins had their own thoughts when it came to the color of a horse. They viewed color as an indicator of a horse's personality and quantities. According to the book, 'The Horses of the Sahara' first published around 1850 by General E. Daumas, translated by Sheila M. Ohlendorf, the most highly regarded colors to the Arab people were white, black and bay. A white horse should be'…like a silk flag, without bare patches, and with a black ring around the eyes,' A black horse should be '…as night without moon or stars,' and a bay 'almost black or golden.'
As far as characteristics of color go, Daumas wrote, 'white, that is the color of the princes, but cannot stand the heat. The black brings good luck, but fears rocky ground. The chestnut is the swiftest, if someone assures you that a horse flew, ask what the color he was, and if you are told chestnut, believe it.' He goes on to report that, 'The bay, he is the hardiest and the most sober. If someone tells you that a horse leapt to the bottom of an abyss without injuring himself, ask what color he is, and if you were told bay, believe it.
To illustrate the point, Daumas goes on to recount the following tale:
Ben-Dyad, a chieftain renowned throughout the desert, found himself one day being pursued by Saad-el-Zanaty, sheik of the Oulad-Yagoub. He turned towards his son and asked: "Which of the enemies' horses are in the lead?"
"The whites," answered his son.
"That is well. We'll get on the sunny side and they will melt as if they were butter."
A little later, Ben-Dyab turned to his son and demanded, "Which are the horses now that are closest to us?"
"The blacks," his son shouted to him.
"Good. We'll take to the rocky ground and will have nothing to fear..."
They changed their course and very soon the black horses were outdistanced. A third time Ben-Dyab asked, "And now which horses are in the lead?"
"The liver chestnuts and the brown bays."
"In that case," yelled Ben-Dyab, "Sweat, my children, sweat and heels to our horses, for those horses could easily overtake us if, during the entire summer we had not given barley to our own!"
