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Muslim
Spain from the 8th to the 15th century
Expansion of the pure bred Arabian from the 15th to the 18th
century
Beginning of organisation of the
purebred Arabian breeding in the 19th century
Muslim Spain from the 8th to the 15th century
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Spain was occupied by the Moors who brought with them not only their culture and their architecture, but also their ancestral breeding techniques, giving the most important part to the selection of the broodmares. Spain discovered these prestigious little war horses : Arabian horses.In fact, the Moors would leave a large number of them at their departure. They would put their mark on the Iberian Peninsula and contribute to the creation of new breeds : Andalousian , Lisutaniens, and Lippizans. (breed created from horses imported in Yougoslavia in 1580) |
Expansion of the pure bred Arabian from the 15th to the 18th century
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The Army, convinced by its qualities as a sire, breed improver, war mount, racing horse, made the Arabian horse one of its fundamental piliar and wouldn’t let anybody else control its development. New “Arabians from the desert” were bought or confiscated as war loot by the nomade tribes which, having preserved a very sharp sense of breeding, regularly came to improve and regenerate the Spanish Arabian bloodlines. However, the Army authorized the private breeders to use some stallions for their own mares |
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Beginning of organisation of the purebred Arabian breeding in the 19th century
The
first permanent stallion depot was created in Cordoba in 1834.
The Yeguada Militar, which
headquarters were in Jerez de la Frontera, created in 1847 the
“Spanish Arabian Stud Book”,
the first record of purebred Arabian horses.
(the first one in the world)
The first recorded Arabians were horses imported from the desert and owned by Queen Isabel II who took an active part in the establishment of this register. The first horse registered was ABAYOUL, a dark-bay stallion. The following importations from the desert were organised, first on the Spanish gouvernement's behalf, and then by the Duke San Carlos, and finally by the General Marchesi, but the contribution of this new blood was particularly intended to improve the existing breeds. |
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| The first volume of the Spanish Arabian Stud Book, which started in 1847, was published in 1885, but none of the first Arabians' bloodlines would survive. In 1893, the Yeguada Militar settled in Cordoba. They were depending of the Ministry of War. The army imposed a very strict control over the registration in the Stud book (certificate of origin and proof of the excellence of the bloodline), the horses imported from the desert were not accepted unless they were coming from certain parts of the desert or certain tribes that had proved themselves. However, facing increasing difficulties to find good breeding stock in the desert, the army decided to establish in Spain a serious purebred Arabian breeding program. They had at their disposal few stud farms and few stallions stations. The Yeguada Militar only preserved the best stallions, selected after a presentation in front of senior officers, and the best mares : the one producing good males (the main objective being the use of the Arabian as a war horse); the other ones were leased or sold by auction to private breeders. | |
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