Introduction

Belgians used to be rather unfamiliar with the noble Arabian horse till some forty years ago. In the late sixties of the 20th century some horselovers ‘discovered’ the fascinating purebred Arabian at shows in the United Kingdom. Consequently, horses were imported, especially from the U.K. and from the Netherlands. Some of these owners started up stud farms with mixed bloodlines (Crabbet-Russian, Polish-Russian, Spanish-Egyptian, etc.). Also horses of straight Russian bloodlines were popular, especially for their spectacular movements.

From the early ‘80s onwards Belgian breeders went along with the trend of ‘pure’ line-breeding (Egyptian, Polish, Spanish, or Russian) and, for this reason, a lot of good horses were imported from neighbouring countries or from the respective national studs.
A few years later, Arabian horse owners started participating in national and international shows. For this reason professional trainers were often called upon.

Every year, the European Championships and the Paris Worldchampionships are the highlights of the international show scene. Belgian participants with their magnificent horses have already won the highest titles at various editions of these show contests.

All this should not make us forget, though, that the Arabian horse is not just a pretty horse, but that it  primarily is a versatile breed : many stud farms aim their breeding programmes at the use of their ‘products’ in racing, in long distance riding, in dressage, in western riding, in carriage driving, or, simply, in recreational riding.

Purebred Arabians are also in demand for cross-breeding Anglo-Arabians and part-bred Arabians (or Half-Arabians). These can also be admired at shows, but are mainly used in various horse-related activities.