Registration numbers from AHA datasource. Statistics compiled by Carol W. Mulder. Updated 3/5/2008

With permission from the author, Sheila Varian.

          “I think that unless our Association recognizes that the Arabian is the pure breed, and that they must promote it more heavily than they do the Half-Arabian, we could lose the Arabian,” Sheila Varian reflects. “The Half-Arabian is not a breed. It is a type.”

          “I think that to say things like, ‘we’re going to have the Half-Arabian English class on Saturday night because they can trot higher than the purebred’ is a huge mistake. We must always give the purebred Arabian the spotlight and the headlines, because that is what our breed is.”

          “She emphasizes that it is not that she doesn’t like Half-Arabians; she does, and she breeds them. “But I recognize that the purebred Arabian horse is what we are,” she explains. “And it’s very possible that if AHA does not take on the responsibility of really acknowledging the purebred Arabian as the number one effort, we might not have a breed in 20 years.”

          “I understand the argument for putting Half-Arabians in the prime show times - that they can ‘trot bigger’ - but I will not accept it as a valid reason. In a race, if the purebred runs against itself, there is a winner; the Arabian cannot outrun a Thoroughbred, but it is just as exciting if he runs against himself. It is the same thing in the show ring. I don’t want to hear that the Half-Arabian can trot a lot bigger. I want to hear who was the best horse. That’s what a horse show is all about.”

          “I don’t necessarily think that all Half-Arabians are going to trot higher than purebreds,” she continues, “but many do, because they are bred for it. That’s fine, but put them at a different time on the show schedule. If we put the Half-Arabian classes at the first part of the week and the purebreds in the second, there would be no conflict. We also need to acknowledge that in Half-Arabian classes as they are now, the horses aren’t being asked to look like Arabians; they’re being asked to look like Saddlebreds or Quarter Horses. By minimizing the comparisons, we could stop making purebreds try to trot as high as Saddlebreds or stop as hard as Quarter Horses.”

          “She details that problem’s impact. “Because of the influence of the Half-Arabian, we are trying to make our breed something that it is not. The purebred Arabian is important for its versatility. There is no breed as versatile as our Arabian, and we should not be asking it to compete against Half-Arabians. If we continue that, then eventually we will lose our purebred.”

          “That covers the performance divisions, but what about the halter classes?

          “The writing is on the wall,” Sheila says. “There were about three times as many horses entered in the open senior stallion class at the Sport Horse Nationals as there were at the U.S. Nationals in 2005. It was the same for the mares. What is it telling us? It is telling us that the Sport Horse people are more interested in Sport Horse halter, because they feel it is more fair and that their horses are looked at as individuals for their beauty and useful conformation - form and function. Thirty horses (versus nine), and how long has the Sport Horse Nationals been going on? Three years and it’s already tripled what’s happening at the U.S. Nationals. This is really telling us something, and, actually, it’s a wonderful thing. The Sport Horse is growing as fast as it can grow. The (non-Sport Horse) halter classes will either step up and see the writing on the wall or they may disappear.”

          “The baby classes are still full,” she acknowledges. “That tells you that they are monetarily driven. It is not something people are doing for the pleasure of competition; they are simply showing their horses in the hopes of marketing. Way too often, if the horses aren’t successful as yearling, we don’t see them again. Where are they going? Are they being discarded?”

          “This is not all a question of her opinion, she argues. “You can prove it by going to any show. The yearling classes, while not 40 or 50 anymore, are 16 or 17 - but then the stallion class and mare class will be seven, eight or five. At the Sport Horse shows, outside in the rain, they run all day long. The Sport Horse is a big and wonderful area that is becoming important, and I’m sure that AHA is thinking about it. But our National Championships, which are our signature event, must begin to really set the purebred up to have all of Friday and Saturday night. Put the Half-Arabians in the afternoon if you want to. Every time there is a choice of the best money, the best time, it needs to be our breed, and the Half-Arabian is not a breed.”

          “We could get 20 years down the road and have just a whole bunch of Half-Arabians,” she says, taking the scenario to its logical conclusion. “Then where would we be? We’d be breeding Half-Arabians, and pretty soon we’d just have Quarter-Arabians, and so on. The number of purebred foals being bred every year cannot get much lower than they are now; we are down to producing only about 8,000 Arabians a year. We now are running out of horses, and the average age of our horses now is not young. AHA can tell you.”

          “If we don’t make a place for the purebred, he becomes a second-rate citizen. He cannot be a second-rate citizen or even equal - we have to put him on a pedestal. He has to be a purebred, an Arabian horse. We have to put that extra importance on a purebred. It has to be the desired thing if we want our breed to go on and be successful.”

          “The sport horse phenomenon yields another lesson as well. “People want to ride,” Sheila says. “People want to do. Give them the reasons to say they want to do it on an Arabian.”

          She considers the situation. “I think AHA is making a real effort in promotion in other areas, but I think they have not looked down the road far enough yet. They need to recognize the importance of their own purebred breed and what they are about.”

May 14, 2009

by Carol W. Mulder

Both the American Arabian horse population and market are shrinking. Following is a synopsis of my observations and conclusions of the reasons. This is presented in more or less chronological form; however, I am offering few precise dates - just generalities of approximate time periods.

PHASE 1

The old American Arabian horse bloodlines (dating from 1879 in the U.S.) began to take "a hit" with the advent of the import craze that began in the 1960s.

At about this same general time the rapid growth of modern type American Arabian horse shows began to evolve, soon creating bloodline fads (which seldom featured the old bloodlines very prominently), and eventually became show practices so objectionable and with perceptions of the Arabian horse so distorted (wild-eyed, dangerous, and useless) that the image of the Arabian, in the eyes of non-Arabian horse people, was seriously damaged. These factors eventually began to hurt the market for Arabian horses - but that did not happen for some years.

At first the import craze and the shows attracted big money people and the population of the Arabian horse in the U.S. expanded amazingly. Indeed, we probably had more Arabian horses than any other country in the world. The show and fad horses (which were the playing field of many imports) ended up sometimes fetching huge, prices - ridiculous prices. I still wonder about the authenticity of some of the prices. Conversely, the old American bloodlines sold for a lot less, but there was still a market for them, at fair prices; they remained, in large part, the family and pleasure horses, and certainly the endurance horses.

PHASE 2

Closing of tax loop holes in about the late 1980s.

Some people seem to believe that the problem with the market today, in 2009, is over production of Arabian horses. I do not see this as a reason. The population of the Arabian horse in the U.S. has been steadily falling for some years (since the tax loop holes of the 1980s were closed). Information about this, with statistics, can be read on the web sites of both Diablo Vista Arabians and Van Gilder Arabians. I suggest that everybody interested check out this ACCURATE information.

With the closing of the tax loopholes, the shows and breeding by “big breeders” (usually meaning the ones with lots of money) continued, but things rather suddenly slowed - including the overall market.

PHASE 3

Arabian horse owners failed to do much to counter the negative public image of the Arabian horse created by the gross and objectionable practices of the modern American Arabian horse show ring. Thus, the outlet market for Arabian horses was hurt more and more.

It is my opinion that the old Arabian Horse International, which I understand regulated Arabian shows in the U.S., is to blame for allowing the grotesque image of the Arabian horse to grow by not regulating the shows and prohibiting some of the worst offensives against the noble Arabian. However, blame now does no good. The damage is done.

Somehow, for the survival of the Arabian horse in a very poor marketplace, this damage needs to be remedied, even at this almost too late date.

Some people with the old bloodlines did and do try to counter the false and undeserved image of Arabian horses as created by the show world - and by the glitzy Arabian horse magazines of today. These owners get their horses out in endurance and other events where Arabians can show their true selves and true desirability.

For some time, breeders of such horses were able to keep a certain market with people who knew and appreciate the superiority of Arabians for family, pleasure, trail, and endurance horses, as well as for other endeavors.

PHASE 4

International took over the old Arabian Horse Registry of America (founded in 1908, under a slightly different name) and then things began to change rapidly - in my opinion to the detriment of the Arabian in the U.S. The old International used to keep the half-Arabian registry and they brought the half-Arabian mind-set with them in operation of the newly named Arabian Horse Association (AHA), which is now the name of our American Arabian registry.

This brought too much focus on half-Arabians for the good of the parent breed. Shows had already contributed to this by provided too many half-Arabian classes on equal footing with classes for purebreds. Thus the market for purebred Arabians gave way to a market for half-Arabians.

In one very important aspect half-Arabians can never be true equals of purebreds; for the Arabian breed half-Arabians are dead-ends because they cannot breed on purebred Arabians. Yet they take up homes that, in these hard times for the Arabian horse, probably should be occupied by purebreds who CAN propagate for the future of the Arabian breed. Half-Arabians, in many cases, draw the market away from purebreds. There are only so many homes these days, in 2009 - and purebreds should be held in their true value as potential propagators and thus deserving of preservation.

Yet, the AHA does not appear to hold the purebred as more important than half-Arabians. They no longer keep the name databases of purebreds and half-Arabians separate; one cannot name a purebred any name previously given to a half-Arabian. This is a huge denigration of the purebred and blurs the line between purebreds and half-Arabians - in the eyes of the registry.

In the AHA’s magazine, half-Arabians are given equal billing with purebreds, as though the purebreds were nothing special. Even horses without a drop of Arabian blood are allowed to be advertised - because of their ability to get half-Arabians on the ground.

To my knowledge, this is the first time a breed registry has deliberately worked against the best interests of the breed it is supposed to represent.

I see this as a meaningful part of the loss of the purebred Arabian horse market (as outlined above).

In my opinion, the American Arabian horses’ breed registry has badly let it down and has hurt the market for purebred Arabians.

PHASE 5

In several ways this phase is contemporary with Phase 6, below.

The situation in which the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) finds itself with regard to wild Mustangs has put considerable pressure on the U.S. horse market. Protective laws enacted in 1959, 1971, and 1976 have enabled the wild Mustang population to mushroom to overpopulation that threatens range land and/or fragile lands. Mustangs have few predators and herd sizes often multiply rapidly. BLM tries to control this population explosion with a capture program.

Most captured Mustangs are offered for “adoption,” but there are a great many more captured Mustangs than available homes. By 2009 the BLM is being forced to indefinitely maintain, in several different holding facility locations where there is no more room, some 33,000 captured Mustangs and burros at a cost to American taxpayers of approximately $28,000,00 per year. With increased numbers and rising costs, this figure is expected to rise to $77,000,000 by 2012. This is hardly fair to American taxpayers.

Many of these horses are useless animals due to various reasons, including such things as age and/or temperaments unsuited for domestication; some might be downright dangerous to inexperienced horse people, particularly to children. This situation has reached such desperate measures that in 2009 the BLM is offering to pay people “adopting” $500 of taxpayer money per horse (but only for ones over 4 years of age) if only the horses can be placed. Prior to this, there was an “adoption” fee ranging from $25 to $124. Mustangs “adopted” out are still covered by the protection acts and cannot be resold in the first year and cannot be sold for meat. This is very restrictive and further cuts down on the number of people willing to “adopt.” However, the BLM hopes that the $500 tax paid incentive will expand the number of people willing to take these horses.

This not only further hurts the U.S. horse market, but it also puts the Government in competition with private breeders, and forces tax payers to pay for this seriously flawed situation.

During the time since the 1970s laws protecting Mustangs were passed, the BLM has placed more than 250,000 wild Mustangs in “adoptive” homes. The BLM apparently hopes that the $500 incentive will increase this volume of “adoptions,” but if so that will further decrease the already very depleted market for American horse breeders and further hurt some purebred stock, including Arabians.

When I was a girl, the wild Mustang population was kept in reasonable check by periodic “roundups” that captured animals, partly for purpose of shipment to slaughter facilities where they were utilized for many products, including pet and zoo food. This outlet for the overpopulation of Mustangs has been gone since the protective acts of the early 1970s and the result has been extremely unfortunate for several reasons - including the current impact on the U.S. horse market.

As with many laws, those who passed the Mustang protective laws of the 1970s did not look ahead to foresee the negative results that have proven so damaging to the U.S. horse market by 2009.

PHASE 6

This phase is more or less comtempory with Phase 5, above, although Phase 5 began many years before Phase 6.

The closing of the U.S. horse slaughter houses has hurt the American Arabian horse - it’s chances of viable survival in all of its bloodlines and its market - in very negative ways that were evidently foreseen by only a few.

Evidently there are still functioning European horse slaughter houses in Poland, Germany, and France (there may be others, but those are the countries that have been identified to me as having slaughter houses in 2009), and also in Australia. Canada has horse slaughter too. There is no doubt that these horse slaughter facilities help maintain stable horse populations in Europe, Australia, and Canada, enabling breeders to continue breeding new generations of precious bloodstock so that breeds and bloodlines will not die out.

However, the United States has eliminated this protection for its horse “industry.”

Evidently the last year that U.S. horse slaughter houses were in full operation was 2007. I have learned two different figures for the number of horses slaughtered in U.S. slaughter houses in 2007 :

46,000 (the figure I consider the most reliable) and 53,000

I not know which figure - if either - is correct, but here I will use the 46,000 figure.

That means that approximately 46,000 surplus horses each year are now left with no outlet in the U.S. We were told that horse rescue places would absorb them. I do not know how many horse rescue places there are in the U.S. - but somehow I doubt that 46,000 animals, annually, can be absorbed by them.

I have heard that some horse rescue places are just inundated - but I do not know if that is true or not.

I do know that few of the horses slaughtered were Arabians. Some were, of course - but not many. Also, I know for a fact that some of the relative few Arabians that went to slaughter were unfit; this was probably true of a great many of the 46,000 of all breeds and no breeds - although I do not know that for sure either.

Horse rescue places try to find homes for the horses they rescue - very few of which are Arabians. They are mostly other breeds, or no breeds. The point is, that every rescue horse that is placed in a home takes a potential home away from a deserving Arabian whose owner cannot market it now because too often the people wanting a horse get a rescue horse.

This is, from what I see, a very serious part of the demise of the market for our Arabians. There are only so many homes for horses and now too many of these sparse homes are being taken up by non-Arabian rescue horses.

I also know of two Arabian horse people who have rescued Arabians.

One rescued several from a farm where they had bred together unsupervised for some years and had not received proper care. They were unregistered, unregisterable, and stunted. Each and every one of these unsuitable animals rescued meant that some suitable animal, with registration papers and perhaps good breeding, was expendable and now potentially homeless (to be turned loose on the range, or whatever).

The other Arabian horse person I know who rescued Arabians rescued two (neither with papers). After she got them home she learned one seems to be in her late 20s and is not people friendly. The other is a handsome young gelding with a terrible glitch in his brain - as she has learned to her horror. He is fine for certain periods of time - easy to handle and friendly - but then, he inexplicably, EXPLODES and becomes very DANGEROUS. He is not afraid and does not appear to have been abused - he seems to have violent schizophrenia or something like. Now the woman who rescued him says, “I see why his previous owner got rid of him.” Now this woman is stuck with these two horses which, she recognizes now, should have gone to the killers if we still had killers. There were very real and good reasons why they needed rescuing. They are also taking up her limited resources that could better be spent on viable, useful Arabians that as a result might well go homeless.

Closing of the U.S. horse slaughter houses is frightening as regards the very real prospects of American Arabian horses, by the circumstances of reduced homes, losing more of the breed’s precious old bloodlines which are getting scarcer and scarcer - and already, far too many have been lost.

I believe that the closing of U.S. slaughter houses is a very real and very significant reason for the almost total loss of large segments of the American Arabian horse market. It is not the show or fad bloodlines which are going to disappear - there are enough of such bloodlines, both here and in other parts of the world, to survive. It is the old, precious, and treasured American lines that are most likely to suffer greatly.

PHASE 7

The present economic situation of 2009 seems to have delivered the coupe de grace to the American Arabian horse market. Many people who would like to own an Arabian, enough to seek one out, can no longer afford to have any horse at all.