Background

The ancient Arabian horse breeding philosophy created nobility not known in any other animal. It is the result of centuries of pure breeding and selection for temperament, endurance and the capability of carrying man for long distances at great speed. Due to circumstances of long distances and only occasional stallions (stallions could not be used in wars and raids because they were noisy and would betray the warriors' positions) inbreeding and incest breeding was practiced over the centuries to such an effect that the ancient or pure (asil) horses became inbreeding resistant and developed an extraordinary prepotency. It was this prepotency that created the world-wide use of ancient Arabian blood to upgrade the local stock of countries all over the world. Virtually every horse-race in the world got a substantial injection from ancient Arabian blood. In South Africa, like elsewhere, pure asil horses were imported and used to upgrade local stock, but very few breeders had the insight and knowledge to preserve this powerful and valuable source of pure blood for further generations.

With the discovery of oil, the horses in the Arabian world became disposable, and just as the Arabian world was dedicated to building up their stock, just as easily they allowed the demise of this valuable race. It was only due to strenuous efforts by determined Egyptians that asil horses were preserved in the Egyptian Agricultural Organization and the later El Zaraah. The result was that only 1,5% to 2% of all Arabian horses were 100% pure and had been kept asil.

The value and uniqueness of the asil horse surfaced again when the Arabian countries suddenly realized what they had lost, with the increasing awareness of the value of endurance riding as an exploding sport. It is not uncommon for Arabians to come to South Africa and buy horses at higher than market-related prices due to their preciousness. There are about 137 pure asil horses in South Africa divided more or less equally between eight breeders. The value of the mares averages at R80 000 while colts are available at R30 000 to R40 000. These breeders are fanatical about keeping the blood pure for further generations. They are willing to share their knowledge and some of their stock to new breeders, and the vision is that the strong core of asil horses in South Africa may lead to a prosperous industry and be a source to the asil-hungry Arab world, which at the moment seems to prefer buying from South Africa rather than the USA.