04/09/2026
Let’s talk Arabian horse!
Now that we have Aladdin on our property for the purpose of adding him to the riding school, it’s important that our riders and families understand what this means.
Arabians aren’t “just another breed” of horse. Arabians are a little different to most other horses; not just in their conformation but esp in their temperament.
Many people don’t like Arabians and they can be hard to sell in the pleasure horse market, as many people believe them to be hot tempered, difficult, smart Alecs, crazy, hard to manage, spooky, reactive and unmanageable.
Nothing could be further from the truth. We have owned many Arabians over the years, in fact, we owned Arabians long before we got into other horses. While it is true that we couldn’t believe how quiet other horses are in comparison to Arabs, we never thought they were crazy or unmanageable. In fact, when Christina and Andy test rode Aladdin on Monday, the fire of love for Arabians was relit and he promptly came home with us. 😬
Here is how we feel about Arabians:
- they are highly intelligent
- they are sensitive
- they are loving and people oriented
- they are hyper aware
- they suss you out before you suss them out
- they are forward and energetic
- their gait is second to none
- their endurance over long distances is second to none.
- their ability to carry weight is surprising despite their fine stature
Arabian horses are a bit like driving in a Ferrari after having a Holden for many years.
Many people believe that you don’t tell Arabians what to do, you invite them to participate in your plans.
You don’t hit horses with a crop, but you especially don’t do it to an Arabian.
You don’t pony kick an Arabian to go, you think go and he will go a millisecond before you think you actually told him to.
You want to be your best at riding Arabians as they will show you that they aren’t happy if you don’t.
As far as we can tell, our little Aladdin ticks all those boxes. He is stunning, sensitive, brave, and he watches you every single move you make and he evaluates you. Aladdin reminds us of the very first Arabian horse Andy ever had. He was a very fiery, highly strung endurance horse whose battery never ran out. He carried Andy through many endurance rides and after 40km of continuous running, could have gone one more round.
He was incredibly good to Christina when she was little and looked after her, despite his highly strung nature. He carefully carried many of Christina’s school friends on his back and regulated his energy to theirs. He was a very special horse and Aladdin gives us the same vibes. He has possibly got THE smartest eyes we have seen in a horse since that first Arabian Andy had back then.
As we test him out more and check all of his buttons, we hope that he will be suitable for some of our riders who want to excel and become good horse people and ride something a bit more special. He will be universes different to super quiet Pearl.
