What is an Heirloom Arabian?

Heirloom Egyptian Arabian horses descend entirely from the Al Khamsa Foundation Horses and their predecessors exported from Arabia Deserta before 1914 that figure in the pedigrees of the Root Mares and the Root Stallions of the Royal Agricultural Society (RAS) preservation breeding program. In Al Khamsa parlance, they carry only the Egypt I and Blunt ancestral elements without admixture of later blood.

The RAS was the first official organization to attempt the preservation of the Desert Arabian as it had been bred in Egypt. It began its purebred program in 1914. On pages 33-44 of the RAS History (also sometimes referred to as the RAS studbook, volume I) are listed the Root Mares and Root Stallions for the RAS purebred program. The Al Khamsa-eligible RAS Root horses descend from desertbred horses exported by Lady Anne and Wilfrid Blunt (with the exception of Ferida, who does not figure in the pedigrees of the RAS Root horses) AND from stock exported from the desert by the pashas (Abbas Pasha/Ali Pasha Sherif, Prince Ahmed Pasha Kemal, the Khedive Abbas Pasha Hilmi II, Ahmed Bey Sennari). Therefore, Heirloom horses carry only the oldest available Egyptian bloodlines without admixture of later blood.

Heirloom horses have been champions of national and international stature in Western Pleasure, Endurance, Dressage, English and Park classes, competitive Trail, and Halter. And many of them have temperaments and an intelligence that has to be experienced to be believed.

This is a quote from Debra Schrishuhn with "The Heirloom Research Group" for more on Heirloom Arabian History visit
http://www.heirloomarabianstud.com/history.html