RSSAs anyone who has been to a race course knows, to watch an Arabian horse in action is to witness poetry in motion.
For thousands of years, the Middle East and Arabian Gulf have enjoyed a unique relationship between the desert, man and his horse: a bond born of love, respect and loyalty.
Even before the beginning of Islam, horses were a symbol of power and prestige. Battles were waged from the backs of horses or from the chariots they pulled.
The earliest known treatise on the horse is believed to have come from Mesopotamia. The Hittite Hippologica Hethitica, which was inscribed on clay tablets about 1360 BC, deals with the care of horses used for war and racing chariots.
Yet horses were often the cause of war. One ancient dispute that waged over many years was between the Abs and Thubian tribes. The cause of the conflict was a disputed horse race between two famous equine contenders - Dahis and Gabra.
Even when not for battle, the acquisition of equines indicated wealth and standing, beauty and ceremony. The birth of an important foal was cause for celebration and their special status was reflected in Arabian poetry -- in fact horses were considered of equal importance to poets and soldiers.
Ismail bin Ajlan wrote: "Only horses I consider as money, although I am so wealthy I share with her my food and prefer her to my children".
Horses are mentioned throughout the Holy Quran and Prophet Mohammed urged his followers to show special respect for horses. He also said: "Good will remain in the foreheads of horses till the day of resurrection."
The Arabian horse is a descendant of the early horses of central and western Asia which evolved many centuries prior to the Christian era. They traditionally ran with the wind, fleeing from their enemies. An early Bedouin term for horses was "Drinkers of the Wind".
Noah's great-great grandson Baz (or Bax) was one of the first to have captured these free spirits in Yemen and went on to initiate a long line of fine breeding descending from the stallion Hoshaba and the mare Baz.
King Solomon also adored his horses and is described by one notable author, E H Edwards, as "the greatest horse dealer of all time". He was reputed to have had 1,200 saddle horses and 4,000 chariot horses.
Taking a brief skip through Bahrain's archives, horses are depicted in some Dilmun seals dating back more than 4,000 years. Archaeological excavations at the Al Hajar site revealed a horse skeleton which is also thought to date back to 2000 BC, and excavations at Bahrain Fort on the north coast unearthed a stable which is believed to have been built around the 14th century AD.
Bahrain's premier native Arabian horses originated from the founding-stock of five pure-breds transported over from the Arabian Peninsula. The famous five were Koheilah, Obeyah, Dhahma, Shuwaimeh and Saqlawieh. Under the guidance of Bahrain's Amiri Arabian Stud and using these five as founding stock, bloodlines have since remained pure and untainted and have resulted in a total of 21 specific strains of Arabian horses presently bred in accordance with the AAS. In particular, those animals of the Koheilah Jelabieh strain are thought to be special.
"They have so much soul and character, they are almost human," one breeder told me.
Pure Arabian horses are renowned for their stamina and strength. They are hardy, good "doers" familiar with the searing temperatures of their native climes and can excel over the difficult, frequently hard and rocky terrain.
The Bedouin rode their beloved horses over long distances in the desert. The first recorded race took place in the year 4 of the Hijrah ending at Saniyat al Wuda'a in Saudi Arabia.
Horse sports, principally racing and show jumping, are extremely popular in Bahrain. The governing body for racing is the Equestrian and Horse Racing Club (EHRC) in Sakhir, which organises weekend races from October to March. Not all horses raced are of the indigenous Arabian breed. Modern racehorses are usually tall, intelligent, stately thoroughbreds, a distinct and separate breed descended from the progeny of three Arabian stallions imported into England in the late 17th and early 18th century.
Bahrain's ruling Al Khalifa family is passionate about the sport and plays a fundamental role in monitoring the breeding programmes of both traditional Arabian horses as well as thoroughbreds.
There are four official stud farms, breeding around 1,500 registered thoroughbred foals annually. There are more than 100 brood-mares being serviced by 41 stallions, two of the leading local thoroughbred sires being Enharmonic and Jazz Ballet, whose grandfather was the famous Mill Reef.
