Spirit

Look at this guy! Isn't he awesome? I just love this picture (in case you couldn't tell). :-) Seriously, though, isn't this one of the things we love about horses? I don't mean the runaway, disobedient ones...and please don't evaluate this painting by Western civilization's natural horsemanship standards. I like those, I generally use them, but look at this for its sheer beauty, its spirit.

In a lot of ways, this painting shows the quintessential old-style Arabian horse -- nobly bred, fiery tempered, exquisitely made. For my part, I've always loved the Spanish and Barb types and have long defended them against the apparently global preference for the Arabian and Thoroughbred. Yet no one can deny the glory of the other. While I still don't think it's fair to claim that the Arab is the most beautiful (beauty is in the eye of the beholder), it certainly is a gorgeous animal in its own right.

Then too, there is an awesome quote, probably meant to describe the Arab and accurately so, for while other breeds may qualify as well, this definitely describes the purebred Arabian horse, especially as seen in the painting above:

"As old as time itself and as fleet as its flying moments."