The distinctive descriptive characteristic of the Arabian Horse is that it is “Pure”. What is “Pure”? Among the Bedouin breeders from which we have these horses, the term “pure” is related to the concept of “asil.” To these people it was extremely important that a horse be asil. The trouble is that asil is even harder to define than pure. It is related to nobility of breeding and can be used in regard to creatures other than horses, including people. According to the literature, the Bedouin themselves did not agree as to what the term meant. A horse might have been asilto one tribe and not to another, or asil might simply mean that a horse’s ancestors had been owned by one family for many years: “My grandfather owned this family of horses and his father owned them before him. Of course, the horse is asil.” Chances are the Bedouin owners of horses are inclined to consider their own horses asil. Maybe there is some tendency for horses to be described as asil when sold to western countries. An interesting illustration of this is given in Davenport’s book where a pretty filly is offered for sale. Questioned, the seller said the filly was pure to Davenport, but not to God. [The…