Volume 8 | Issue 2 Article 6
1945 The Arabian Horse John W. Britton University of Califormia, Davis
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Recommended Citation Britton, John W. (1945) "The Arabian Horse," Iowa State University Veterinarian: Vol. 8 : Iss. 2 , Article 6. Available at: https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/iowastate_veterinarian/vol8/iss2/6
This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals at Iowa State University Digital Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Iowa State University Veterinarian by an authorized editor of Iowa State University Digital Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. The Arabiall Horse
John W. Britton, D.V.M.*
OINCIDENT with the increasing in bar vertebrae instead of the more usual C terest in light horses during recent six, this was held as indisputable evidence years, the Arabian horse has assumed an that Justin Morgan was of Arabian des important role in the development of this cent. Other Arabian enthusiasts stoutly industry in California. His versatility, en maintain that the lack of a single verte durance, docility, and romantic history bra is the reason for the short back and have appealed to many breeders and own extreme weight-carrying capacity of the ers and the demand has far exceeded the breed. Such claims are considerably supply. At present California has nearly dampened by reminding the orator that four times as many owners of registered all horses of all breeds have seven cervical Arabians than any other state. The vast vertebrae, yet the difference in length of majority of these owners have from one neck is indisputable. Cold, scientific, un to two Arabs maintained either for breed romantic fact as recorded by Sisson teaches ing or pleasure purposes. In addition that there are rarely seventen thoracic there is an ever increasing number of vertebrae, frequent reduction of the num farms devoted to the breeding of pure ber of lumbar vertebrae to five and from bred Arabian horses, headed by the famed 14 to 21 coccygeal vertebrae. Sisson does Kellogg Institute at Pomona now main not state the breed of horses used in this tained by the U. S. Remount Service. The work; however, it can be regarded as scarcity of the product in relation to the highly improbable that a very large per demand has served to keep the sales price centage were purebred Arabians. Finally, at a highly satisfactory level as far as the several Arabian skeletons have been au breeder is concerned and as a result one thentically described with a vertebral is frequently consulted for veterinary serv formula equal to less royally bred equines. ice on Arab horses which would be neg Another common misconception about lected on less valuable animals. the Arabian horse is his ability to survive long periods without either feed or water. Heredity This belief, obviously stemming from his Because of the many exaggerated ideas desert heritage, has led a few owners to held about the Arabian horse arising from be extremely negligent about the feeding his romantic background, one of the prin and watering of their hapless charges, re cipal services to be rendered by the vet sulting in the usual mortal effects of erinarian to the owner of an Arab horse starvation and malnutrition common to is to explain some of the false impressions other breeds maintained under similar held by many about these animals. For conditions. To cite the easy keeping quali example, it has long been maintained that ties of an Arabian horse one breeder main the Arabian has one less lumbar vertebra tained a mature 1100 lb. stallion for 31 than other breeds. Thus, when a Mor days on a daily ration of 12 lbs. of grass gan horse was found with only five lum- hay, 4 lbs. oats and 3 1bs. bran. During University of California. College of Agr .• Davis. Calif. the month he was kept off pasture and
88 The Veterinary Student ridden daily to approximate the conditions teredo In general it can be stated that the under which a saddle horse is maintained. fertility of the Arabian horse is good. The horse gained five pounds during the test. Morrison's feeding standard for 1200 Unsoundnesses lb. horses doing light work consists of 16 Some Arab enthusiasts have claimed Ibs. grass hay and 6 lbs. oats. Thus, it that the Arabian horse is free from many can be seen that the particular Arabian of the common unsoundnesses such as in question performed favorably, though roaring, heaves, spavin, ringbone, side not outstandingly. bone and so forth. No figures are avail In contrast to the ballyhoo of circus able to support such a contention and the ringmasters and traveling horse traders, author knows of at least three Arabians purebred Arabians are not white, palomino with spavin, a half dozen with ringbone, or pinto colored. They are found in the and at least one that has such an inspira various shades of chestnut, bay and gray tory dyspnea as to make a diagnosis of with an occasional black or brown and roaring at once apparent. The Arab is very rarely pure white. Regardless of coat noted for hard, dense bone and strong ten color, the skin is always dark. dons. During the U. S. Army endurance rides Arabs and grade Arabs furnished the Longevity highest percentage of horses finishing and Important claims have been made for had the lowest percentage of leg trouble the longevity and fertility of the Arabian of any of the competing breeds. The tests horse. It is true that many Arabs reach consisted of 300-mile rides with the horses their 25th birthday with little or no loss carrying 225 to 246 pounds, amounting to in vigor; however, it must be considered almost one-third of the weight of some of that by and large they lead an easy life. the Arab entrants. In an endurance ride In a recent survey of the breeding records of 40 miles conducted in the Netherlands of 35 Arab brood mares conducted by in 1935, an Arab stallion carrying 248 pounds covered the distance in 3 hours 16 minutes with 26 minutes taken up in three halts. His condition was described as perfect at the finish by a board of veterin arians and he showed no increase in tem perature. The other 44 entrants, all of which showed much slower time, had temperature elevations of 4 degrees or more and all but 8 were rated as being in bad conditions at the finish. Such feats of endurance offer support to the claim that these little horses are great weight carriers and unusually sound of wind and limb. Some Arabian Yearling Stallions on pasture. Resistance To Disease In general the Arab horse has no more Prof. C. E. Howell of the Animal Hus resistance to disease than any other breeds bandry Department and the author, the of horses although one many times gains fertility was not so notoriously poor as the impression that a sick Arabian puts that of the thoroughbred nor so fantas up a gamer struggle for existence and re tically perfect as that reported for the sponds to careful nursing more completely wild horses of the western plains. These than do other breeds. Most veterinarians 36 mares produced only 17 dead or dis are familiar with big phlegmatic horses eased foals in the 16 years covered by the which fail to respond to treatment for report. However, irregularities in the painful, but not particularly serious, dis estral cycle were rather commonly encoun- eases and often simply give up and die
Fall, 1945 89 for no apparent reason other than lack parasitic, metabolic, deficiency, hereditary of will to live. In contrast, many Arabians and sporadic diseases encountered in other fight corageously to live and frequently breeds. It is best to accept the Arabian succeed in spite of serious illness. The horse as he is, neither expecting him to author has attended two Arabian mares exist on sagebrush and sand nor to sur with prolapsed uteri, parturient laminitis pass other breeds in their inherited spe and metritis that seemingly recovered cialties. only because they never gave up. They respond to nursing so satisfactorily that A histopathological study of specimens this phase of treatment should never be of cattle affected with endemic bovine neglected in handling any acutely ill Arab hematuria revealed the following: The horse. lesions are confined to the mucous mem Use Today brane of the urinary bladder. The early This paper is not intended to depreciate damage results in hemorrhage and mild the value of the Arab horse but rather to inflammation of the mucosal stroma. attempt to correct some of the more com Later vascular channels form in the mon misunderstandings about them. He hemorrhagic areas, and finally develop to is after all a horse and not some figment form hemangiomata. Two types of angio of the imagination out of the Arabian mata are described. One where the vascu Nights. He is essentially a useful, versa lar channels are thin-walled and supported tile horse capable of many accomplish by connective tissue stroma, the other ments. In California, Arabians are used where endothelial activity has resulted in chiefly as pleasure and working stock the formation of chordae that surround horses. In addition they are becoming in the canals and penetrate into the epithelial creasingly popular in crossing on palo and muscular layers and to some extent minos and pintos to add style and quality destroy and replace them. Occasionally to these colorful parade horses. The Arab the angiomata extend above the surface should not be expected to compete with of the mucosa and form pedunculated other more specialized breeds but rather growths. These are covered with transi should be considered in view of his merits tional epithelium continuous with that of versatility and quality. Arabs have over the normal musoca. been raced considerably in England, France, Poland and Egypt and established Paralytic rabies transmitted by the vam the following records: % mile, 24 seconds; pire bat has been observed in Brazil, % mile, 51 seconds; 6 furlongs, 1 minute Paraguay, Uruguay, and Argentina. Dur 18 seconds; 7 furlongs, 1 minute 32 sec ing the past six years, a number of human onds; 1 mile, 1 minute 46 seconds. These cases were reported in Trinidad. The times do not of course compare with those infection was acquired from the bites of established by the thoroughbred but they infected vampire bats. These bats harbor do indicate the speed of the Arab. Like the rabies virus in their salivary glands wise, many Arabs have been trained to for a long period of time without acquir perform five gaits, but they obviously ing the disease themselves. lack the extreme hock and knee action characteristic of the American saddlebred Within five years after the discovery which has been bred for this performance that phenothiazine was effective for worm for generations. Many Arabs possess the ing livestock, this synthetic coal-tar chem running walk which characterizes the Ten ical became more widely used for worming nessee Walking Horse and in fact two than any other drug. Arab stallions have been officially ap Phenothiazine is now worth $10 million proved for breeding purposes by the a year to the U. S. livestock industry. Yet Walking Horse Association. the cost of the discovery of phenothiazine In summary, the Arab horse is a use·· was only $10,OOO-payment for the part ful, sound, much maligned horse that time work of three government scientists suffers from all of the common contagious, over a five-year period! Research pays! 90 The Veterinary Student