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November 2007 - by Linda Warburton
Arabian Stud
A Warhorse in Woodmancote
An Arabian horse is generally accepted as the purest and oldest
of all horse breeds. Its origins are in the Middle Eastern
deserts where the Bedouin tribesmen used it as a warhorse,
abandoning any animal which could not carry him at speed across
miles of open desert with little food or water, he favoured the
mare because, unlike the stallion, he could trust her to keep
quiet!
Today, almost every breed and type of horse has traces of Arab
blood and all English Thoroughbreds are descended in the male
line from the Byerley Turk, the Darley Arabian and the
Godolphin Arabian which were all imported into Britain in the
early 1700s. The resurgence of Pure Bred Arabians in Britain
started when Wilfred and Lady Anne Blunt travelled extensively
throughout Arabia, befriended tribesmen and selected the best
bloodlines to import 29 desert-bred mares and stallions in
1881.
The Arabian horse averages 15 hands in height. The stallion has
great presence whilst the mare gives an impression of elegant
gentleness. They have a distinct outline and are of perfect
proportion. The coat has an iridescent sheen. The head is
slightly dished, tapering to a fine muzzle; the eyes are large
and low placed while the throat is fine, with a well shaped
arched neck. The back is short and the loins strong and
muscular, the croup is level and the tail carried high. To
these must be added dense flat bone and hard feet, acute
eyesight and hearing, purity and prepotency coupled with a
gentle temperament and ability to survive. These are the
hallmarks of the Arab.
They are the most comfortable riding horses, with great
stamina, their paces are light and free with an elevated trot
capable of great extension. They can carry disproportionate
weights whether jumping, racing or, in particular, over
endurance distances where Pure and Part Bred Arabs excel
against other breeds. The Anglo Arab (any percentage of Arab
and Thoroughbred blood) is an excellent hack and competition
horse, combining the size and scope of the Thoroughbred with
the courage and intelligence of the Arab. When crossed with
other breeds and those of unknown breeding, they produce very
good riding and performance stock and they are eligible for
entry in the Arabian Part Bred Register.
For this introduction NagMag would like to give thanks to the
Arab Horse Society of Great Britain of which Adam Reeves is the
company secretary.
Although involved with Arabian horses for most of her life,
Caroline Reeves has for the past nine years been based at AV
Arabians, tucked away in the South Downs, just north of
Brighton. People know Caroline through her bubbly personality
and her compassionate way of showing, but in the past Caroline,
a self confessed Arabitis sufferer raced Arabs prior to
breeding and showing.
The breeding programme at AV Arabians is based on Russian
bloodlines which Caroline has successfully crossed with
Egyptian/Spanish lines. Their first purchase was made in
Holland with Russian mare Magdalina (Gwizd*xMoskwa), who became
famous worldwide in the show ring. As Caroline says “Magdalina
is one of those rare horses that put a smile on your face,
which then remains there for as long as you watch her.”
Magdalina is the alpha mare at the stud and so endearing that
we shall be including a separate article on her in a future
issue of NagMag.
As well as buying further Russian mares, it was the purchase of
DA Sandala and Om El Bahreyn from the famous Om El Arab Stud
which helped to progress AV Arabians. Om El Bahreyn at rising
eight has an aura about him which sets him apart from others.
He plays with Caroline in the school and followers her to the
fields and around the yard without the need of a headcollar. He
has a smooth topline, good head, neck and legs, all the
attributes of a top stallion. “Bahreyn just has the most
incredible nature,” enthuses Caroline. “We didn’t realise just
how amazing he is until one day when the colt foal AV Krakatoa
went into Bahreyn’s stable when it was raining. He just went in
as we were shutting the door and we panicked!
“To our complete astonishment Bahreyn let Krakatoa rub himself
dry against him before the foal lay down in the corner of the
stable and went to sleep. The vet just happened to be visiting
and she couldn’t; believe it, saying that in all her years
practising, she had never seen anything like that before.
Already a multi champion in the UK, next year Bahreyn will be
shown around Europe, culminating in the World Championships in
Paris. Bahreyn really is a fantastic paradox of a sensitive
stallion with all the pizzazz that you could wish for in a show
horse. Currently he has been allowed five mares a year and so
far produced two fillies for every colt, many of whom have gone
on to achieve show status.
In 2006 four of their homebred horses AV Amore, AV Montoya, AV
Scahrlet and AV Vodkah all took top honours at British
Shows.
Caroline with her abundant energy and bubbly personality is
born to show her horses. Maybe it’s her enthusiasm which shines
through constantly placing her and her foals at the top of
their game. Caroline explains “Although only a small stud,
breeding four or five foals a year, we do very well with our
homebreds. I still can’t believe it and every year just keeps
getting better and better. We have some lovely homebred
youngstock who will be appearing in the show-ring and I can’t
wait to show Magdalina’s first foal for us, a grey colt out of
Narim which was born this year.”
At her very relaxed yard Caroline has achieved, through a good
foundation of broodmares and a stallion with the exceptional
personality and attribute to stamp his foals with the right
qualities, a haven for foals through to the grand old dams.
Caroline and her Stud Manager Kath Holmes, keep their horses
happy, healthy and respectful so that each horse knows its own
place and feels relaxed enough to go gently about its own
business.
Caroline on Training
Our show horses get worked in the sand school and the mature
horses are worked quite hard with interval training. The
youngsters get a shorter amount of “playtime” so as not to put
too much strain on their soft joints. Training lessons are kept
very short and must always end on a good note. Great emphasis
is placed on the horse being absolutely clear of what is wanted
from it and the commands given must be consistent. There is no
point in trying to take a short cut in training; the horse MUST
understand what you want at each stage before moving on to the
next and it must be rewarded immediately it gives you what you
are asking for.
Courtesy of Arab Horse Society of Great Britain
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