A simple framework for assessing the purity of desert bred Arabian horses

Just reposting this old article, to stimulate a new discussion around it. It is slightly revised, to reflect the evolution of thought on this issue. —————- The idea of an international registry for Asil Arabian horses has been gaining momentum over the last few years, not only within Western asil breeeders’ circles, but among Arab breeders as well.  Such a registry is long overdue and would be the purists’ answer to WAHO, in my  opinion. Several Western organizations have come close to establishing such a registry. The largest effort so far is that of the Asil Club in Germany, which in addition to bloodlines represented in Western breeding [Egyptian bloodlines, various bloodlines from the USA, the remaining asil lines from Crabbet in the UK, Weil-Marbach in Germany and Babolna in Hungary] also includes the horses of the Royal Arabian Studs of Bahrain and those of the Saudi Arabian government stud of Dirab.  In the 1970s, the Asil Club also considered adding the Tunisian horses to its list, and is currently considering adding the Syrian horses (more on this move later, and what I think of it). Then there is Al Khamsa. While their roster is not the most inclusive (indeed,…