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The term oriental horse refers to the ancient breeds of horses developed in the
"Oriental" horse, was a tall, slim, refined and agile animal arising in western
The term oriental horse refers to the ancient breeds of horses developed in the Middle East
The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...
, such as the Arabian
The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plat ...
, Akhal-Teke
The Akhal-Teke ( or ; from Turkmen ''Ahalteke'', ) is a Turkmen horse breed. They have a reputation for speed and endurance, intelligence, and a distinctive metallic sheen. The shiny coat of the breed led to their nickname, "Golden Horses". ...
, Barb
Barb or the BARBs or ''variation'' may refer to:
People
* Barb (name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or surname
* Barb, a term used by fans of Nicki Minaj to refer to themselves
* The Barbs, a band
Places
* Barb, ...
, and the now-extinct Turkoman horse
The Turkoman horse, or Turkmene, was an Oriental horse breed from the steppes of Turkoman desert. Its closest modern descendant is thought to be the Akhal-Teke. It influenced many modern horse breeds, including the Thoroughbred horse. Some h ...
. They tend to be thin-skinned, long-legged, slim in build and more physically refined than other types, but with great endurance.DeFilippis, p. 4 Oriental horses, sometimes referred to as "hot-blooded" breeds, have a level of intelligence that allows them to be athletic, versatile, and learn quickly. They are bred for agility and speed and are generally considered spirited and bold.
History
"Oriental" horse, was a tall, slim, refined and agile animal arising in western Asia
Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...
, adapted to hot, dry climates, and thought to be the progenitor of the modern oriental breeds.Bennett, p. 7 Original classification of ancient horse phenotype
In genetics, the phenotype () is the set of observable characteristics or traits of an organism. The term covers the organism's morphology (biology), morphology or physical form and structure, its Developmental biology, developmental proc ...
s was originally based on body types and conformation, prior to the availability of DNA for research, and has since been superseded by modern studies. Prior to these developments, the Four Foundations theory suggested the existence of four basic "proto" horses developed with adaptations to their environment prior to domestication
Domestication is a sustained multi-generational relationship in which humans assume a significant degree of control over the reproduction and care of another group of organisms to secure a more predictable supply of resources from that group. ...
by humans. Another theory suggested that the Oriental horse was a separate species or subspecies (once proposed as ''Equus agilis'' though modern taxonomy disputes this ever was a true subspecies). However, modern genetic evidence now points at a single domestication event for a limited number of stallion
A stallion is a male horse that has not been gelded ( castrated).
Stallions follow the conformation and phenotype of their breed, but within that standard, the presence of hormones such as testosterone may give stallions a thicker, "cresty" nec ...
s, combined with repeated restocking of wild mare
A mare is an adult female horse or other equine. In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse three and younger. In Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more than fo ...
s into domesticated herds, making the later divergence of body types a landrace
A landrace is a domesticated, locally adapted, often traditional variety of a species of animal or plant that has developed over time, through adaptation to its natural and cultural environment of agriculture and pastoralism, and due to isolatio ...
or selective breeding
Selective breeding (also called artificial selection) is the process by which humans use animal breeding and plant breeding to selectively develop particular phenotypic traits (characteristics) by choosing which typically animal or plant ...
adaption.
Over the centuries, European breeders imported oriental horses from the Middle East and Northern Africa for breeding when they wanted to incorporate characteristic traits into their best horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic pr ...
and light cavalry
Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from "cheval" meaning "horse") are soldiers or warriors who fight mounted on horseback. Cavalry were the most mobile of the combat arms, operating as light cavalry in ...
horses.Henry,' pp. 59-60 Breeders' use of Arabians, and possibly Barb and Turkoman horses, was instrumental in developing the Thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are ...
breed. Analysis of mitochondrial DNA
Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA or mDNA) is the DNA located in mitochondria, cellular organelles within eukaryotic cells that convert chemical energy from food into a form that cells can use, such as adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Mitochondrial D ...
(mtDNA) in the Andalusian horse
The Andalusian, also known as the Pure Spanish Horse or PRE (Spanish language literally translates to “Spanish pure breed”. This name is sometimes capitalized when used in English-language publications, but is all lower-case in Spanish, wh ...
shows a clear link to an influx of Barb breeding. Nearly all other breeds of light and warmblood
Warmbloods are a group of middle-weight horse types and breeds primarily originating in Europe and registered with organizations that are characterized by open studbook policy, studbook selection, and the aim of breeding for equestrian spor ...
horses have some oriental ancestry, usually through the Arabian.
See also
*Domestication of the horse
A number of hypotheses exist on many of the key issues regarding the domestication of the horse. Although horses appeared in Paleolithic cave art as early as 30,000 BCE, these were wild horses and were probably hunted for meat.
How and when ho ...
References
Sources
* * * {{cite book , author= Henry, Marguerite, title= All About Horses, publisher= Random House, location= New York, NY, year= 1967, asin=B000H1MRGW Types of horse