Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1907-02-28
BLUE FLOODED ANCESTRY
Theories as to Origin Of
the Arabian Horse
HAS IMPROVED STOCK
In England Their Inflnence Has Re
suited in the Modern British Thor
cughbred--insroduced in Russia
IN the Reign 81 Peter the Great.

Robert Seweli. a well known artist
and horse fancier who has made
study Of the subject, says that the
ancient breed of so-called Arabians
10 which most 81 the improved mod
ern racers own many OF their best
qualities IS in imminent danger of
becoming extinct For hundreds Of
years the horse breeders of all ma
lions have been drawing on Arabia
for stations and mares TO improve
the common stock and this constant
drain on a country having compare
lively few horses in proportion to It's
population has IL Is said, lowered
the standard besides depicting the
numbers
In England the influence of the
Arab has resulted iii the modern
British thoroughbred, whose super
iority as a racehorse aeFnorsl-
edged throughout the world Though
recent researches have exploded the
famous dictum Of Admiral Rous that
"the British racehorse is a pure
Eastern exotic. whose pedigree can
be traced 1000 years. the true son
of Arabia Deserta, without a drop OF
English blood In his veins" Il cam
not be denied that the Oriental
horses imported into England for
racing purposes at least rs early rs
the time Of Henry VIII. t1509) and
probably during the crusades were
the dominating element ia the for
nation of the thoroughbred typo,
which in turn. has been an important
factor in building up the breed OF
American trotting horses.
In Russia Arab blood was intro
duced in the imperial stud as early as
the time of Peter the Great (16S2),
and from its use have come the pres
ent day breed of Orloff trotters,
which excel the American in purity
of action and In uniformity Of type,
If not in speed. and the Russian
breed of carriage horses.
In France, Germany and other
countries Of Continental Europe
Eastern blood has been engrafted on
the horse stock to an extent as great
as In England and Russia, while
Spain, Hungary and Austria, which
were overrun in the middle ages by
the followers of Mohammed, acquired
thousands of horses of Oriental an
cestry by these invasions. The gray
Arabs have left their mark on tho
horses Of France, where the trappy,
active. rapid walking Percheron
Daughters inherit the color as well
as other characteristics of their re-
mote Arabian ancestors. It is a COM
mon occurrence to see Percheron
horses in New York that weigh up
ward Of 500 pounds, with the clean
cut heads, wide throttles, sharp
pointed ears and beautiful, mild eyes
characteristic of the true Arab.
The type of horse that is common
" called Arabian has been found in
different ages in various countries
bordering on the Mediterranean Sea,
notably in Turkey, Asia Minor,
Arabia, Egypt the Barbary States
and Spain. From time immemorial
until very recent period horse his
torians were agreed that Arabia was
the original habitat Of this superior
breed which refined the horse stock
OF the world
The long accepted belief was
based chiefly IL not wholly on the
traditions and legends of the Arabs
themselves. who assumed to trace the
pedigrees of their fine horses straight
back without faint OF foreign blood
TO five famous mares owned by Sheik
Salaman, who was fourth in descent
from Ismael, son OF Abraham, and
who lived about $500 years ago.
These Ave famous mares belonged
to Mohammed until a few years ago,
when Major Roger d. Upton, an Eng
lish traveller in Arabia, taught the
world their true history. 1t Is an old
story that In order to select mares
worthy of becoming the dams OF the
best horses the Prophet shut up
herd in plain sight Of water and kept
them there until they were almost
famished with thirst Then theywere
all released at once, and when rush
ing headlong to the water the war
trumpet was sounded as test of
obedience and discipline. Only FIVE
out Of the herd obeyed the signal and
turned, in spite of their suffering, to
line up in battle array. These alone
we're chosen to peTpetuate the breed,
and they became known as the
Prophets mares"
From the earliest dawning Of his
tory until the Middle Ages the
horses most renowned for purposes
of war, religion and display. seem to
have been white or gray OF THIS
color were all those chosen for dedi-
cation to the gods Of Persia, Seythia,
Rome and Greece White horses
were always demanded as tribute,
and white horses always drew the
chariots of the kings. They figured
prominently IN triumphal marches
as a sign of DOmD luxury and pride