Why do you hate Arabs

Hm personally im not a fan - but i dont hate them. Most people say they dont like them temperament wise because they are flighty but actually personally for me its purely cosmetic - i just dont like the look of an arab - i much prefer a hefty irish sport horse any day
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I went off Arabs having to look after the two most pathetic creatures when I was training. They wouldn't go in puddles, rain, wind, over poles, on the walker etc etc. I don't think their owners helped much as they were completely ditzy but I would prefer something tough that just gets on with life myself.
 
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I have an arab yearling who I am looking forward to doing some long distance riding with. So far she has been an angel to handle and no different from t.b's.

I must say that I am shocked to read how many of you dislike arabs and say they can be difficult. I hope this is'nt the case for me.

When I was looking to buy a pure bred, they seemed like gold dust, yet reading the posts, if I ever come to sell, it sounds like it would be quite the reverse.

Rather worrying reading. I hope there are some arab lovers out there.

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At the risk of repeating my post on the earlier thread, I used to be a TB fan until I got my first 3/4 bred Arab for endurance. He could do anything I asked including showjumping, dressage and cross-country and went on to represent Scotland in endurance. Now he's retired I have a pure-bred Polish Arab, lots of bone and substance, who I hope to go as far in endurance as I'm capable of. Both mine are tough as old boots, easy to fit saddles to, intelligent, responsive, live out 24/7, have great temperaments and I think they're beautiful.

So there!
 
Hi i am new to this forum and i will introduce myself, my name is Claire and i own a 14'3 chestnut arab mare of Crabbett breeding, Pye which is her 5 month old foal who is by Country Top Gun, Maddie 15'3 3 year old anglo arab filly out of Fairlyn Finesse (more tb than arab mores the pity) and Foster 20 something connemara x, oops nearly forgot i have just had on loan a 7 month old egyptian arab colt. I love my arabs they are hardy, hardly need hard feeding in the winter and are lovable. Im sure that we all have our favourites and horses which we dislike but i wouldnt call any horse ugly in particular the arab and as somebody replied earlier the arab is the oldest breed of horse and has influenced alot of breeds of horses. Dont knock them until you know one up close and personal.
 
I never used to be an Arab lover until I rescued an Arab stallion 4 years ago and my my how my opinion has changed!!!

Before I had my boy I never particularly liked Arab's, they just weren't my thing. I'd see them at shows doing in-hand classes spinning around like loonys, but from what I now understand this is what the judges like to see, and they wonder why Arab's get such bad press!

My friends all said what the hell do you want an Arab for but once they actually saw him in the flesh and got to know him they all fell in love with him. He's well built, tough and has such as amazing temperament, the kids can do anything with him. Arab's are highly intelligent, a bit too intelligent at times for their own good I think!

I can appreciate people disliking Arab's as I was the same once, but actually owning one has given me a completely different opinion of them, I'd certainly have another one!

I also have an Irish Sport Horse who I show as a ridden hunter, talk about chalk and cheese! Like someone once said, it must be like having a 4 x 4 and a ferrari and they're not wrong!
 
i think that some are quite pretty but i am a chunky cob lover like to be able to feel the horse i am riding (makes me feel safer lol) and all the ones i have come into contact with have either been scatty,spooky or just dangerous (my aunties broke nearly every bone in her body but she wouldn't sell him, he got into alot of fights with other horses and even though you could stroke him all day(i was 7 the last time i rode him in walk mind!) he would just go off on one lol not my sort of thing but each to their own i personally wouldn't buy one. I went to look at a my new boys field mate (didn't even know bout woody) he had a very arab like head so as soon as i saw him my brain just screamed no at me and i came home with the other one lol
 
He he my horse is an Arab cross Warmblood so I'm not able to comment on either breed except I'd never have a pure Arab but I would have a Warmblood mainly because most of the Arabs I've known are very beautiful but the most accident prone and silly horses I've ever met and all the Warmbloods I've known have been lovely
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Axel is mainly lovely but will have a silly 5 mins which I'm sure is the Arab coming out
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Sam x
 
I had a part bred as a child and he lacked guts so that probs put me off!
In general, I dont have anything against them but they certainly arent designed to do my sport so I'd never have anything with more than 25% arab
 
are you kidding!! i love arabs! the more "extreme" they look the more i like them, i think alot of people are put off because of how sensitive they are but if you can work with that then they are on your side for life.
 
I wouldn't said I hated them but I just am not keen on them, the way they look, dished face and fine build. I like heavy horses and cobs but then there are plenty of peeps out there that don't like them!

Horses for courses........
 
I absolutely love arabs, i think they are very beautiful and have the most wonderful temperaments.. I would have a purebred anyday!!
 
Like hussar, at the risk of repeating my post in the other thread, I have to defend arabs... anyone who thinks they are (a) fragile (b) good for nothing but prancing about in the show ring (c) lacking in personality, needs to meet my boy.

A lot of people won't get on with them because they are very bright, won't be bullied (unlike most dumb bloods I've met) and want to work with you instead of for you. All good qualities if you want a horse that will bond with you then always try his hardest for you but you can't tell them what to do... and I think a lot of people find debating with a horse more difficult than simply being the boss full stop.
 
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Actually, it's hardly surprising that the first impression of them isn't too inspiring when all most people see is them boinging around the ring on the end of a bit of string and posed in photos like this.

When, in fact, they are quite capable of doing this:
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Given the correct training, an arab, and indeed any horse or pony, can do so many things within its' physical limitations.

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How can anyone not love them?
Intelligent, Pretty and tough..just like me
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Arabs are surely one of the most intelligent breeds? Ive only had part breds but blimey were they clever! They learnt new things in 2 seconds flat and were lovely and light to ride. However I personally wouldnt have a pure bred and wouldnt choose a part bred..... simply because I prefer something more chunky under me - that floaty action is just too dainty for me! (one of my horses is a 15.2hh tank of a Welsh D for example!). And because their so floaty Ive never seen an arab be a natural jumper! I know very few arabs who jump (without an arguement)..... Look-wise, some I dont like, the ones with the dipped backs.... But show ones are stunning. Wouldnt want one but lovely to watch!
 
I love their floaty trot - there's nothing like them to watch in the field. Have you ever sat on a purebred when it's trotting? It might look floaty from the ground but it feels amazingly powerful when you're in the saddle
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lol if my yo could read this now, he has 22 pure bred arabs not one of them have had a rug on. and the russian mare thats being broken atm is as wide as a brick **** house.most of the young ones have been broken and sold on. we still have 2 of them on livery that were bought by complete novices and they are coming on in leaps and bounds.
i only wish i was smaller as the best horse i ever had was sydney my arab gelding. he was a bu**er when he wanted to be but boy could that horse gallop and jump and turn on a sixpence . lol there was no point even entering a jumping class if we were in as we would clean up every time.
 
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And because their so floaty Ive never seen an arab be a natural jumper!

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well go look at my pictures in the gallery then!
 
I've just always found them a bit poncy & prissy. I know this is humanising an animal too much, but they just seem totally up themselves! Very high maintenance daaaarling.

That said, the Arabs I've had contact with/ridden haven't been top class nor owned by particularly competant people - I do think that may have a lot to do with it. They are clearly highly intelligent & probably need very competant owners to get the best out of them - maybe I've only seen the ruined ones...
 
This has been interesting reading! I personally like Arabs - used to have a pure bred and she was the toughest little horse ever - she was also a great jumper. Each to their own - some people like chunky breeds whilst some people like finer breeds (like me!).

I feel that 9 times out of 10 its usually our fault if a horse has problems - particulary temperment problems! And that goes for any breed! Horse on my old yard was brought out of a show yard after it blemished its leg and was to be re-routed to an endurance career. Sorry to offend anyone on here that shows Arabs, I'm not tarring everyone with the same brush here, but I would hazard a guess the only reason it 'bounced around on the end of a rope with its head in the air' was because it was scared sh*tless and head shy. Poor boy was only 3 and took months to turn around.
 
I love my little 60% arab misty, she kicks butt! lol i hate show ponies- they are all identical! [image]http://www.blue-print-studios.co.uk/Gallery/horse/2006/Hatton%20Show%209th%20September%202006/event.php?p=WF4V4434.jpg&album=Ridden+11-1.00[/image] how can you hate that little lump of love?! x x x
 
i spent 8 years working with thoroughbred racehorses and eventers but also got the chance to ride out a 4yr old arab stallion endurance horse. i would have an arab over anything else. they are sensible, intelligent, independent, have hearts of lions and the stamina of a train. people are the biggest problem with an arab, in the wrong hands they are turned into all the bad things people say they are. i can take my arab gelding anywhere and trust him to stay calm if all hell broke loose, a thoroughbred would dump you and run.
he can jump, do dressage, has just won a local in-hand championship, we go to local sponsored rides and have the best fun togther.
 
I don't hate Arabs, but I have views about them.

There are many good, experienced Arab breeders in the UK now, but for many years there was widespread indiscriminate breeding producing poor quality inferior stock that there were few suitable homes for and not that many suitable jobs.

The old standing joke was that the problem with Arabs is that they are more intelligent than the people that own them. That was another way of saying that Arabs are very intelligent but can be very challenging to train for performance, so boatloads of people bought them because they are pretty and nice natured but ended up keeping them as virtual pets because they did not have the horsemanship skills to train them for a discipline, or often even ride then at all. If you do get a well put together, amenable Arab, and have the skill to train it, you have a wonderful partner.

With the increased popularity of long distance and the introduction of Arab racing into the UK they started to become more valued as performance horses rather than 'a pretty thing on a string' on the show ground. This increased the esteem in which the breed is held generally and encouraged breeders to invest in decent stock. However there are still far too many people breeding very mediocre and poor quality animals and flooding the market so that the mean breed prices remain low and the decent breeders make a loss on their animals and give up.

In my 44 years of involvement with horses I think I have me three Arabs that I would have been happy to take home. One was an endurance stallion I met many years ago on a dressage course (he was multi-tasking!). The second was in Portugal and was trained as a bullfighter, and the third was a young colt in the field of one of our largest breeders in the UK.

So no, I don't hate Arabs but they aren't all for everyone.
 
I don't hate arabs - don't hate any horse!

I do hate posts like this though - I know, I know, why did I click on it? Because I'm a nosey cow that's why!

So I'll always wave the flag for hotbloods x
 
i dont hate them either, i used to livery at an arab stud and they didnt do anything for me, i prefer a cleveland bay or ID, something along those lines, but each to their own eh?
 
I don't hate them. They just don't suit my purposes. Some arabs are absolutely stunning, and others just too 'fragile looking' for my taste. If I had a mare needing a bit of refinement, I'd certainly consider breeding to an arab stallion.
There have been 2 arabs at my latest yard; one was rather sweet and had wonderful paces, the other (generally perceived to be the superior animal) is a complete flake with very dogdy legs and problems with his sight... He's only 2!!
 
I love Arabs, I think they are beautiful. I've only ever ridden two, one was lazy but had a cracking jump and the other put on one of the most awesome rodeo displays I've ever had the (mis)fortune to sit LOL.

I don't think you can generalise too much but the one's I've met all seem to be really sweet natured and gentle. The unbroken 4yr old arab stallion we had on the yard was a complete angel even though he'd seen mares. You could snuggle and pet him, he was calm and gentle, which is more than I can say for a lot of stallions I've known.

Trouble is that a lot of Arabs seem to be on the smaller side and I'm quite tall so I don't think I would ever buy one. I used to dream of owning arabs when I was a girl though.
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