The Arabian horse had every attribute needed to survive in the harsh desert and, because the Bedouin tribes considered them to be a gift from God, the breed was religiously, kept pure through the centuries. Arabians today remain exceptionally similar to their ancestors, and are considered to be the oldest pure breed.
The face of an Arabian is slightly dished with large eyes and a delicately tapering muzzle. Averaging near 15.0 hands high, with a muscular build and gracefully arched neck, these animals exude spirited courage, elegance and gentleness. Unique to the Arabian is one fewer ribs, one fewer lumbar bones and two fewer tail vertebrae than any other horse breed, resulting in a gracefully curved back and a tail proudly held high.
A well known example of the Arabian horse is the star of The Black Stallion. In the 1979 movie, the Black was portrayed by a champion Arabian stallion from Texas. Cass Ole had white markings on his face and legs which had to be dyed for the movie and he had to wear hair extensions in his mane so that it flowed with that "wild horse" look, but he was chosen for his beauty, floating movement, and charisma. Actually two horses played the Black in this movie but El Mokhtar, the Egyptian Arab racer who was used in the racing scenes, died tragically of colic before the film was completed.
Nine different black stallions played in The Black Stallion Returns, in 1983. Some did close ups, some were for racing, and others were for different stages in Black's life.
In 2003, more than forty Arabian horses were used in the making of The Young Black Stallion. For each featured horse, two stand-by horses were used, that matched the featured horse exactly, Many of them needed dye touch-ups. All came from a stud in Upington, South Africa owned by Fanie and Jack Maritz.
Images of these magnificent, black stallions glistening in sunlight, galloping over white sands, and rearing on powerful hindquarters were first born in the mind of a young boy growing up in New York in the 20's. Walter Farley did not own a horse until adulthood but the horses in Central Park and on the racetrack at Belmont, as well as his horse trainer uncle cultivated his appreciation of the splendid animals. One of his favorite books was Black Beauty by Anna Sewell. From the age of 11, he began writing his own imaginary stories featuring horses. At the age of 36 Farley published his first of a long series of Black Stallion books. He went on to author 34 of these children's favorites, three of which became the movies mentioned above.
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