# Egyptian Arabian (horse)

The Egyptian Arabian (Arabic: الخيل المصري العربي (Al-Khayl Al-Masri Al-Arabi); English: Straight Egyptian Arabian Horse) is a line of the Arabian horse originating from Egypt. These horses come mainly from the selective breeding program launched by Abbas I Hilmi in 1848 and continued to this day at the El Zahraa stud farm. Although of Egyptian origin, the breed is defined by Euro-American breeders who imported a large number of these animals during the 20th century, then imposed their standards and selection criteria, in particular with the formation of the Pyramid Society in the United States in 1970. The Society's marketing strategy made the Egyptian Arabian a luxury animal, attracting wealthy investors by associating the concept of "purity" in this breed with knowledge of its genealogy.
The Egyptian Arabian is distinguished by its highly concave head profile, with a short nasal bone, and its very high tail carriage. The breed's particular conformation is likely to make it vulnerable to specific health problems affecting its head. The Egyptian Arabian is mainly bred for model and gait shows.
Egyptian Arabian breeding has gone global, with breeders' conflicts crystallizing into an opposition between the Western world, where American breeding has dominated the world market since the 1960s, and the Muslim world, where equine breeding was revived after the Gulf War. The majority of horses are bred in the United States. Breeding is still present in Egypt and has spread to European and Arab countries such as Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Dubai.

## Definition

Cultural anthropology researcher Christoph Lange defines the Egyptian Arabian as "a breed within a breed"; all individuals described as "Pure Egyptians" are included in the larger breed of Arabian horses. All Egyptian Arabs are considered Asil (pure) and seen as the "essence" of Arabian horses bred by Bedouins in the desert.
Another particularity of the Egyptian Arabian is that it has been defined through the collaboration of various breeders, most of them Euro-American, who have imposed their vision. According to Lange, the origin of the notion of Egyptian Arabian can be traced back to the second half of the 19th century when controversies erupted over the genealogy of horses imported into Europe and the USA from Arabian countries. These controversies centered on purity, authenticity, and the definition of what an Arabian horse should be. The result was a reappropriation and reinterpretation of the notions of breeding developed by the Bedouins to define ideals of genealogical purity, which were influenced by the vision of American breeders. According to Lange, this mechanism resulted in the recovery of an Arab heritage for the benefit of these Euro-American breeders.
The breeding manuscripts of Abbas Pasha (Abbas I Hilmi), written in the 1850s, are particularly important sources for Egyptian Arabian breeders. Partially translated from literary Arabic into English in 1935, they are considered to be the oldest pedigrees of Arabian horses written in the cradle of the breed, and as such represent its founding documents. Another important work is that of American breeder Judith Forbis, The Classic Arabian Horse (1976), which provides the canonical definition of the Straight Egyptian Arabian.

## History
### Origin of the Arabian horse in Egypt

It has been historically established that the ancestors of the Egyptian Arabian were horses bred in the Arabian desert and Syria by Bedouins. The horse was a draught animal present in ancient Egypt around 1600; while anthropologist Pita Kelekna described it as a "proto-Arab" at the time, Egyptologists Lonneke Delpeut and Hylke Hettema point out that equating Egyptian Arabian with the "horse of the Pharaohs" is a mistake, borne of re-invented orientalist representations and commercial communication.
According to data from the DAD-IS database maintained by the FAO, the Arabian breed originated between the fourth and seventh centuries, when it was imported from the arid steppes of the Arabian Peninsula. The first Muslim campaign to conquer Egypt began in 639 and involved cavalry. Abd al-Rahman ibn Ziyad (en) begins his description of the arrival of Muslim troops in Egypt with his delight at having found good grazing grounds for horses. Subsequent dynasties, notably the Umayyads, integrated cavalry into their military forces. Under the Abbasids, the horse remained a decisive military element. The existence of honorary structures dedicated to these animals in the mosque he had built testifies to the importance accorded to them under Ahmad Ibn Touloun. The place of the horse was preserved under the Fatimids, when the caliph arrived in Cairo, he was accompanied by 500 horses. Under the Ayyubid caliphate, Crusaders from Western Europe discovered Arab horses in Egypt for the first time and brought some home. The literature available for the period under the Ottoman Empire shows a continued presence of the Arabian horse in Egypt.

### Under Mehemet Ali and Abbas I Hilmi

Major changes in Arabian horse breeding coincided with Mehemet Ali's rise to power. Because he conflicted with the Saudi royal family. After his defeat, Abdullah of Saudi Arabia offered the Egyptians more than 200 of the most valuable Arabian horses. Ibrahim Pasha in turn obtained horses from the Arabian Nejd, then reputed to be the best in the world, after his capture of Dariya in 1818. Although few of these horses are thought to have reached Egypt, they made such an impression on the Egyptian ruling family that they began selective breeding of Arabian thoroughbreds. From the 19th century onwards, several missions from various countries purchased Bedouin-bred Arabian breeding horses, to pursue their breeding programs. Egypt was one of these importing countries from the beginning of the nineteenth century; the change in environment and the pursuit of specific selection criteria led to the gradual emergence of characteristics specific to Egyptian bloodlines.
The Egyptian Arabian is particularly associated with the breeding of Abbas I Hilmi. He made great efforts to obtain the best horses from the Arabian desert. According to manuscripts preserved by Abbas Pasha, the founders of his stud were all Arabian desert horses (known as "DB" for "Desert Bred"). Abbas Pasha is often cited as the first Arabian horse breeder to carefully document the origins of his breeding stock, which would play a central role in the future definition of the Straight Egyptian breed, some one hundred years later.
During his reign, from 1848 to 1854, Abbas Pasha imported Arab Bedouin horses from the Arabian Peninsula to his private stud, carefully documenting the origins of each horse according to oral tradition. Rumor has it that he paid 7,000 pounds in gold for a Jellabieh mare, and 11,000 pounds for a mare of Saklawi lineage. After his death, his successor Mohamed Saïd Pasha sold the horses at public auction, abandoning the stud. Ali Pasha Sherif managed to keep most of his predecessor's horses in Egypt.

### Dispersal and later preservation

Ali Pasha Sherif's stud was dispersed after his death in 1897, with some of his best horses purchased by Englishwoman Anne Blunt and placed at her Sheikh Obeyd stud near Cairo. The stud played an important role in the export of the breed out of Egypt from the end of the 19th century.
Members of the Egyptian royal family also recovered some of the dispersed horses: Abbas II Hilmi managed to maintain a stud farm, many of whose breeding stock came from that of Ali Pasha Sherif; Prince Ahmad Pasha Khamal, and his son Yusuf Khamal, were among the reputed breeders of Egyptian Arabians; Kamal al-Din bred many horses that are still found in modern pedigrees; Muhammad Ali Tawfiq owned four stables, the most famous of which was at the palace of Manyal, on the island of Roda; he also wrote two reference books in the mid-1930.
From the beginning of the 20th century, various selection programs were set up for the dispersed Egyptian Arabian herd, in Egypt as well as in Europe and the United States. These programs took place against a backdrop of early definitions of the Arabian horse (as the "horse of the Arabs") by European and American travelers such as the Blunts, Major Roger Upton, and Homer Davenport. Their focus was on genealogy, and how to preserve the "purity" of such horses outside their native environment.

### Action by the Royal Agricultural Society

The Egyptian government had been involved in horse breeding since 1892, to breed cavalry mounts, but it was above all the Royal Agricultural Society of Egypt, founded in 1908, which took charge of horse selection, under the leadership of King Hussein Kamal and King Fouad. Its breeding program is often associated with the Egyptian Arabian. In 1908, the El Zahraa breeding center was created, and soon became a must, as did Prince Mohammed Ali's private breeding operation. After 1914, this program concentrated solely on breeding Arabian thoroughbreds, collecting horses dispersed among the private studs of the princes of the royal family, and purchasing certain animals from Sheikh Obeyd's stud from Lady Anne Blunt. In 1920, the company imported horses from Blunt's Crabbet Arabian Stud. In 1930, all the company's horses were placed at the Kafr Farouk / El Zahraa stud.
The royal stables of Kings Fouad and Farouk, the Inshass stud, numbered up to 150 horses at their peak.

### Action by the Egyptian Agricultural Organization

El Zahraa suffered the consequences of the Second World War but then began to grow again. The situation for livestock farming changed abruptly in the 1950s. The Royal Agricultural Society, renamed the Egyptian Agricultural Organization (EAO), was managed by General Pettko von Szandter, a Hungarian refugee who chose to promote the breeding of the Nazeer stallion, previously little esteemed for breeding. With the fall of King Farouk in 1952, the EAO recovered its good horses from the Inshass stud.
With political instability, Egyptian Arabian breeding became uncertain. Public opinion was very divided as to the fate of these animals, considered symbols of monarchy and luxury. Pettko von Szandter organized the export of "pure Egyptian" horses, particularly to the United States, from the late 1950s. Between 1895 and the mid-1980s, a large number of Egyptian Arabian horses were exported to this country. Egypt's role as a central export hub encouraged the gradual globalization of the Arabian horse breed. Nazeer's descendants soon enjoyed immense success in the USA, with one of his sons becoming pre-eminent in Germany.
Egypt is the only Arab country to be a founding member of the World Arabian Horse Organization (WAHO), created in 1970.

### Action by the Pyramid Society in the USA

In 1958, Judith and Donald Forbis founded their Ansata Arabians Farm, then imported horses exclusively from Egypt. In 1968, Doug Marshall of Gleannloch Farm, Texas, decided to concentrate on breeding Arabian horses of Egyptian origin, declaring that he wanted to keep this line "pure" of any outside influence. He was joined by other like-minded American breeders who owned Nazeer descendants. In 1970, together with Judith Forbis and Richard Pritzlaff, he founded the Pyramid Society, tasked with selecting a "new" type of Egyptian Arabian, while preserving the "ancestral" qualities of this line. The three pioneers were joined that same year by Jarrel McCraken of Bentwood Farms. It was the exported horses that formed the breeding nucleus. McCraken's interest in the "purity" of Egyptian horses led, in the words of Margaret E. Derry, to a "devotion to the breed".
The Pyramid Society soon proved effective in marketing the Egyptian Arabian. By the 1970s, the notion of the Straight Egyptian Arabian was widely known. The Forbis played a pioneering role, becoming one of the most influential American horse breeders of the second half of the 20th century, with Ansata Arabians Farm becoming the leading Egyptian Arabian stud in the United States. This marketing relied on the cultural appropriation of Bedouin imagery, with the Forbis appearing in turbans, organizing Arabian falconry shows or Saluki greyhound exhibitions, attracting a vast community of admirers and new breeders.
* 2009 and 2010 editions of The Egyptian Event, in Kentucky
* Group of Egyptian Arabians, 2009
* Saddleback gray horse presented in hand in 2009
* Head of a bay horse presented in 2010
* Head of bay filly Miss Staar AC, shown with Arabian halter in 2009
During the 1960s, the Forbis stallion Ansata Ibn Halima, a son of Nazeer, became known throughout the United States thanks to his appearance. In 1977, McCraken became famous for the syndication of a Nazeer son stallion for $4 million. At its first auction in 1982, the Pyramid Society sold horses for several hundred thousand dollars. By 1985, around 65% of the horses sold by the Pyramid Society were to first-time buyers, usually for investment purposes; one mare achieved a record sale price of two million dollars. The covering of a pure Egyptian stallion is negotiated for around ten thousand dollars. Richard Pritzlaff is disillusioned by this transformation of breeding into a market, pointing out that preservation of the breed has become secondary, and that the definition of what constitutes a "Pure Egyptian" has been adapted to suit the commercial interests of certain breeders. In 1985, the Egyptian Arabian market was hit by a tax reform, which led to the bankruptcy of Bentwood Farm and a severe drop in horse sales prices.

### Globalization of breeding

At the same time, the European and American markets were coming together, as illustrated by the birth of El Shaklan in Germany, a stallion from Spanish and Egyptian bloodlines. Stonebridge Farms in Ontario began breeding Egyptians in the 1970s. This led to a globalization of breeding, driven by the search for authenticity on the part of breeders, who relied among other things on the writings of Carl Raswan. However, the Egyptian Arabian bred for the American market remains highly distinctive in type.
Since the 1990s, Egyptian Arabian breeding has been gaining ground in the Gulf States, particularly Kuwait. The recent success of the Egyptian Arabian throughout the world, including in Arabian countries, can be explained by the motorization of transport and the disappearance of the traditional Bedouin way of life, which have severely affected the breeding of quality Arabian horses. Egypt has thus emerged as a sanctuary for the last pure-bred Arabian horses. A recent illustration of the Gulf countries' entry into this global breeding market is the sale of the stallion Ansata Hejazi in 1999, the top sire of the American Forbis stud, to Mohammed Al Marzouq, one of Kuwait's leading breeders. His status as a top stallion was the occasion for a celebration in 2017 in Kuwait, attended by officials from WAHO and the Pyramid Society. However, Lange describes this as imperialism on the part of breeders' associations, who wish to capitalize on the investments of wealthy buyers from the Gulf countries.
Since the beginning of the 21st century, the global Egyptian Arabian breeding industry has been part of a conflict between the Western and Muslim worlds. Breeders in Arab countries are trying to regain the authority to define the breed. Although they retain most of the definitional elements of the WAHO and Pyramid Society, they try to emphasize the Arab origin of the breed. According to Lange, the closure of the Arabian studbook by the WAHO is a good illustration of this conflict, as small Egyptian breeders such as the Tahawi no longer have any possibility of having their horses recognized as Arabian Thoroughbreds, nor of gaining access to the world breeding market. He identifies the Euro-American breeders' approach as neoliberal and steeped in Orientalist romanticism.

## Description

According to the CAB International dictionary, the Egyptian Arabian ranges in height from 1.44 m to 1.54 m. Measurements carried out by Mohamed Machmoum's team in 2019 confirm that, on average, the Egyptian Arabian is smaller than other Arabian horses. This average is 148.8 cm, 4 to 5 cm below that of the Polish Arabian and Desert Bred.
Birth weight is between 40 and 43 kg. Adult weight ranges from 350 to 550 kg.

### Morphology

The Egyptian has the conformation of a typical Arabian horse. Inbreeding has most probably contributed to the morphological closeness of the breed, as well as environmental, nutritional, and climatic factors, and the effect of selection. The horses of the El Zahraa stud are known for their great "distinction". There is a certain morphological proximity between the Egyptian Arabian and the Polish Arabian, no doubt due to the inclusion of Egyptians in Polish breeding programs. The maternal family has no measurable effect on the morphology of Egyptian Arabic.

#### Head

The head is triangular, with a frankly concave profile, a "particularly remarkable expression" of this type of facial profile, highly prized by breeders of this breed. This head morphology significantly distinguishes the Egyptian Arabian from other Arabian horses. Horses from the El Zahraa stud are particularly renowned for this head profile, sometimes described as "extreme".
* Egyptian Arabian head
* Portrait of Imperial Baareg, bay stallion
* Young grey Egyptian Arabian, seen in profile
* Mature gray Egyptian Arabian, side view
* Young bay Egyptian Arab, front view
* Young gray Egyptian Arab, front view
* Detail of nostrils
The muzzle is small, the nostrils wide, and the eyes large and dark.
The Egyptian Arabian's facial morphology complicates veterinary procedures on the head, particularly for access to the maxillary sinus. Indeed, the head is short and small compared to the body mass (average length 60 cm), this impression stemming above all from the very short size of the nasal bone. This led veterinarian Endrigo Pompermayer and his team to compare the Egyptian Arabian's facial morphology with that of brachycephalic dog breeds.

#### Body and limbs

Arched neck, short back. The height at the withers is significantly higher than the height at the croup. The croup is flat, with a high tail carriage. Horses from the El Zahraa stud farm are renowned for their high tail carriage.

### Coat

The coat is usually bay, chestnut, or gray, a particularity of the Egyptian Arabian being the possibility of sabino coat patterns.

### Selection

To be recognized as a pure Egyptian, a horse must have absolutely all its ancestors traceable back to horses bred by Bedouins in Arabia. The majority of Egyptian Arabian breeders resort to inbreeding.
There are separate breed societies and pedigree registers for Egyptian Arabians in various countries. Egyptian national breeding is managed by the Egyptian Agricultural Organization, which is still closely involved in the selection of this breed. However, it is essentially the Pyramid Society, based in Lexington, US, that defines the Straight Egyptian Arabian as a horse whose pedigree can be traced back to ancestors recognized by the studbook it maintains, and who lived in Egypt. These horses must also be registered in the American Arabian Horse Registry. The Pyramid Society excludes the Egyptian stallions Registan and Sharkasi, as well as their descendants, from the registry it maintains.
In addition to the Pyramid Society, the Al Khamsa registry also maintains the pedigrees of these horses in North America.
According to various groups of researchers, the Egyptian Arabian may be under strong selection pressure to participate in presentation shows, favoring the morphology preferred by judges at these competitions, notably the exotic head and charisma. Lange underlines the existence of discourses critical of this selection operated by Euro-American breeders of Egyptian Arabians, these breeders emphasizing the aesthetics of this breed of horses to the detriment of its functionality and performance, which were nevertheless two great qualities of the Arabian breed originally.

### Genetics

The Egyptian Arabian is genetically somewhat distant from other Arabian horse populations, resulting in a cluster that is relatively separate from that of other Arabian horses (see diagram opposite). It shares the same genetic origin as other Arabian horse populations but began to diverge from them in the relatively recent past. It is also the only Arabian horse population analyzed that does not have a complex genetic origin. It is, however, genetically closer to the Polish Arabian than to the Desert Arabian. This is probably due to the contribution of Egyptian maternal lines in the Polish breeding program.

#### Genetic features

It has specific genetic characteristics that differentiate it from other Arabian horses, notably concerning the morphology of its head. Among these specific genetic modifications, TMEM163 codes for a transmembrane protein with a putative zinc transporter function; markers at TMEM163 in humans have been linked to the width of the face between the eyes and the relative height of the eyes on the face, echoing the features often prized in the Egyptian Arabian such as the distinctly concave nasal bone and domed forehead with large eyes. Another putative Egyptian-specific selection signature is identified on ECA18.

#### Inbreeding

Genetic analysis also shows an average heterozygosity level of 0.26, lower than in other Arabian horses, and an average number of 7 alleles per locus, the same as in Polish Arabian and Desert Arabian. The inbreeding coefficient is established at 0.14, which is higher than in Polish Arabian (0.11) and Desert Arabian (0.9), confirming the heterozygosity deficit. The Egyptian Arabian has also lost a great deal of genetic diversity. This genetic diversity is lower than that of the Thoroughbred, a breed well known for descending from a very small number of founding ancestors. Cosgrove et al. believe that this loss of genetic diversity may be too great to guarantee good health in this breed.

### Health

Hematological analysis of 20 pure Egyptian Arabians in Qatar showed a high degree of homogeneity in hematological profile, making it safer to perform blood transfusions between individuals of this breed without prior compatibility tests. However, horses that have traveled beforehand present a greater risk of alloantigen presence, making transfusions dangerous.
Analysis of brood mares concludes that nitric oxide and dominant follicle diameter play a crucial role in improving conception rates during foaling heat. There are cases of endometritis in mares of this breed, leading to accumulations of intraluminal fluid, and infertility.
An Egyptian Arabian has been the subject of a case study concluding in pseudohermaphroditism.

#### Genetic diseases

Because of its inbreeding, the Egyptian Arabian is more at risk of certain genetic diseases than other breeds of horses. These diseases often affect the head (guttural tympanic pouch and atlanto-occipito-axial malformation), suggesting a link with the particular facial morphology of this breed of horse.
It is affected by juvenile idiopathic epilepsy, studied in 22 foals born between 1985 and 2005. Uterine torsion can occur in brood mares, with 12 cases published in 2019; laparotomy through the flank is a reliable surgical treatment.
Lavender foal syndrome (LFS), an autosomal recessive neurological disease, is fatal in homozygous cases; heterozygous carriers show no signs. Caused by a myosin deletion, it mainly affects Egyptian Arabs.

## Uses

The vast majority of Egyptian Arabians are bred solely for showmanship. Indeed, the breed is bred primarily for its beauty and value on show grounds. It is in great demand for these activities and is highly prized. Compared to the small number of Egyptian Arabians worldwide, the breed is very successful in this type of competition, with titles won at the Paris Horse Show and the Aachen Nations Cup. According to Lange, its breeding has become a real "business", through the gradual establishment of an economy based on prestige and luxury, the Egyptian Arabian being a luxurious gift exchanged between cosmopolitan elites.
This horse could also be ridden, whether for equestrian sports or leisure, as well as in flat races.
The Egyptian Arabian has influenced many other horse strains, including the Spanish Arabian. Crosses with the Egyptian strain are numerous throughout the world, notably in Poland, at the Janów Podlaski National Stud and the Michałów Stud.

## The spread of breeding

The Egyptian Arabian population represents only 3–5% of the total Arabian horse population. Although the number of Egyptian Arabs is therefore limited internationally, their influence in breeding is significant. The breed is present in many countries, including the United States, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Denmark, Qatar, and Egypt. Interest in the breed has recently increased in the Arab countries of the Gulf.

### In Egypt

According to Philippe Barbié de Préaudau (1987), Egypt is "perhaps [the country] where quality Arab breeding has best survived". In 1993, between 1,500 and 2,000 Arabian horses were registered there. This breeding is concentrated in Lower Egypt and the Nile delta, notably around Cairo, and in the eastern part of the delta, towards Charkieh. There are also farms in Middle and Upper Egypt. Al Zahraa is the world's largest Arabian horse farm. The stud is still under the control of the EAO, which publishes an official studbook and supervises the identification and import-export of horses.
The DAD-IS database indicates the existence of three Arabian horse families in Egypt: Kuhailan, Saklawiet Hamdani.
Nasr Marei, who owns the Albadeia farm, is one of Egypt's renowned breeders and show judges.
After an 8-year ban, the export of Arabian horses from Egypt was once again authorized to Europe in May 2018, then to Jordan in November 2018, and finally to Kuwait in January 2019. These lifts led to a sharp increase in exports, corresponding to the Egyptian Ministry of Agriculture's desire to become a platform for investment in the Arabian Thoroughbred.

### In the USA

The United States is home to the largest number of Egyptian Arabians, known as Straight Egyptians, bred by a very active breeders' association, the Pyramid Society. Every year, the Pyramid Society (whose logo represents an Arabian horse inside a pyramid) organizes The Egyptian Event, a show featuring its horses in settings reminiscent of ancient Egypt, with sphinxes, columns, and numerous decorative replicas such as hieroglyphics. This event serves as their annual convention.
Breeder Judith Forbis has built up a circle of Egyptian Arabian breeders and enthusiasts around her; some have become experts on the breed, including artist Karen Kasper, equestrian journalist Lisa Abraham, and authors Cynthia Culbertson and Joe Ferriss. This group has acquired immense influence in Egyptian Arabian breeding. Lange points out, however, that Judith Forbis's work was very much resented in Egypt, where her breeding was compared to an alteration of the traditional Egyptian Arabian breed type. The addition of the breeding prefix "Ansata" and the change in the horse's name after its importation are "considered an insult to the traditional breeding practices that underpin Egypt's sense of national pride".

### Other countries

Since its creation in 2007, the Dubai Arabian Horse Stud has acquired a reputation as a breeder of Egyptian Arabians.

## In culture

Egyptologists Delpeut and Hettema believe that nineteenth-century orientalist representations, followed by Pyramid Society marketing, created the misconception that the ancient Egyptian horse was an Arabian thoroughbred. This idea is not scientifically defensible from an archaeological point of view. Ancient Egyptian iconography is made up of symbolic representations, not naturalistic ones.
Lange points to the existence of a reverence for the genealogy and blood value of horses, illustrated at an event on April 14, 2016, the presentation by Egyptian breeder Omar Sakr (president of the′Egyptian Arabian Horse Pyramids Foundation, local correspondent of the Pyramid Society in Egypt), of a gold-bound book containing the pedigrees of 2,349 horses born before 1969, with their registration numbers and the names of their breeders, financed by Saudi breeder Sheikh Khaled Bagedo. During his presentation, Sakr emphasized the superiority and greater purity of the Egyptian Arabian compared with the horses registered by WAHO. The cultural valorization of Egyptian Arabian represents an important issue for Egypt's international reputation.
The anthropologist also notes a different perception of Arabian horse ownership by Euro-Americans or Arab breeders, as these Arab breeders no longer sell foals as in the past; Lange concludes that "the modern Egyptian Arabian horse no longer embodies the hierarchies of power associated with Euro-American orientalism, but rather signifies the very different register of historical rivalries between Arab aristocratic families and tribal factions".