Syria, home of Arab horse

The original Arab horse is the most ancient, highborn and charming kind of horses. It took root in the Arab region and didn’t mix with other descents from out of the region.

What makes the Arab horses distinguished from others are their complete competence, patience, courage, intelligence, loyalty, fertility and small size. Its head expresses the extent of his beauty, originality and energy.

According to researchers, this horse is the most ancient descent of fast horses in the world.  It belongs to the Arabs because of the special care they accorded to it to keep its ancestries, and to maintain the unique relationship between the horse and its owner.

The Arab horse appeared four thousand years ago. Researchers had different views about the first home of the Arab horse, but most ancient and modern sources said that the Arab horse grew in the Arab world and didn’t come from abroad. Some researchers assumed that it grew in Syria after entering it from the northwest in the 11century B.C

Away from historians’ stories, experts of the present time considered the Damascene horse as the best of Arab horses. Describing the Damascene horses, experts say: “they have beautiful colors, wide eyes, big irises, soft hoofs and bald forehead, and they are thought to be the best and most pure kind of horses.”

Syria took many steps to keep the original ancestries of Syrian horses. It established the Arab Horse Department at the Agriculture Ministry in November of 1994. The department published many books that included the names of the original horses and the newly born ones in Syria.

The horse section is tasked with documenting horse information including their ancestry, characteristics, numbers, color, names of the mother and father, and the date of birth.

Later, Syria joined the 60-member states World Arabian Horse Organisation (WAHO).

 “By Syria’s membership, the association completed its form, because Syria is the origin and source of the Arab horse.”James straight, the association chairman said.

In order to keep the originality of the horse, breeders have prevented the male original horses from mixing with female ones of unknown genealogies.

Khaled Falhoot