Horse: Shagya Arabian
This variety of the Arabian breed is presently bred in Hungary, The Czech Republic, Romania, Austria, U.S.A. and Croatia. In 1978, the W.A.H.O. (World Arab Horse Organization) established that all horses bred according to the Babolna, Radauti and Topocianky methods will be considered Purebred Shagya Arabian Horses.
Shagya Arabian History and Origins
The origins of this breed(Shagya Arabian) can be traced back to the end of the 17th century, to the herds of Babolna and Radauti which belonged to the Austro-Hungarian Empire. It is here that the breeding of some distinctive specimens of Arabian horses began, not only for the development of a superior breed, but also for the imperial cavalry, for traction and for the improvement of other local breeds. The Shagya breed did not serve only the cavalries of numerous European powers during wartime, but the Shagya Arabianhorses also highly appreciated parade horses for the kings of Europe. The elegant specimens of theShagyabreed were the studs of choice for the Imperial Guard of the Habsburgs of Wien. The courage, the endurance, the docility and the riding capabilities of these Shagya Arabian horses were proverbial among the horse breeders of the time. They even had a saying: tough as a horse from Radauti. Ridding on aShagya Arabian horse was considered a privilege by any officer in the imperial guard. The basis of thisShagya breed was laid in 1836 when the SHAGYA stallion was brought to the Babolna Stud. This specimen is considered the founder of the variety; it was not only a morphologically perfect stallion, but an exceptional breeding stallion as well. Together with this breed, other breeds, like GAZAL, KOHEILAN, BAJAN, MERSUCH, AMURATH, JUSSUF, KEMIR, SIGLAVY etc, contributed to the development of this variety. The most significant difference between the Shagya and the Purebred Arabian consists of the blood it received from other breeds, which contributed to its physical development, and to the improvement of its ridding capabilities. Thus, a breed whose elegance, beauty and endurance resemble those of thePurebred Arabian was developed. The genealogical register of this variety was opened in 1789 at Babolna and breeding stallion exchanges were made with the Radauti Stud.
