While the purebred Arabian has been around for thousands of years, specific breeding of Half-Arabians eligible for recording in studbooks is much more recent. According to the Arabian Horse Association (AHA), in 1951, the International Arabian Horse Association (IAHA) acquired the official studbooks for the Half-Arabian and Anglo-Arabian horses from the American Remount Association.

The Half-Arabian and Anglo-Arabian Horse Registry were subsequently established by IAHA for the purpose of registering, transferring, and maintaining the official registration records concerning Half-Arabian and Anglo-Arabian horses. The Half- and Anglo-Arabians are treated as different breeds within the registry.

The Anglo-Arabian is a cross between a purebred AHA or Canadian Arabian Horse Registry (CAHR) Arabian and a Thoroughbred registered with the Jockey Club or other approved foreign source, or two registered Anglo-Arabians. They cannot be more than 75 percent Arabian blood or less than 25 percent. Those over 75 percent can be registered as a Half-Arabian.

A Half-Arabian is a cross between an AHA- or CAHR-registered Arabian and another breed of horse. The number before the A in the registration number indicates the percentage of Arabian blood in the horse.

The AHA says the two most popular Half-Arabian crosses are American Quarters Horses (for western and working western disciplines) and American Saddlebreds (for English, country English, park and saddle seat equitation).

Current registration numbers as of 2023 are 357,119 Half-Arabians and 10,096 Anglo-Arabians.

All-Around Half-Arabians

Amy Pike had always ridden purebred Arabians and says she didn’t make the switch to Half-Arabians consciously. A trainer offered her a Half-Arabian gelding (75 percent Arabian and 25 percent Saddlebred), Megas Four Onthefloor+++/ (aka “Four”), after the tragic loss of a young purebred Arabian she owned.

“I’d ridden some wonderful Half-Arabians previous to Four and had great experiences,” she shares. “I had ridden and shown a National Show Horse (Saddlebred cross) named Rohara Marc Twain for a few years in the mid-2000s and loved him. After Marc, I was open to a nice horse to ride and show, whether purebred or half. These days, though, I find I really love my Half-Arabians, and they’re very special.”

Pike also owns a 3-year-old 50-50 Arabian/Quarter Horse Half-Arabian named Johnny Paycheck+ (aka “Whalen”), and is part owner of Uncle Buck Dunit, a 16-year-old 50-50 Arabian/Quarter Horse Half-Arabian.

With her Half-Arabians, Pike has done a bit of everything, including showing in reining, dressage, western dressage, hunter, western, ranch horse, cow sorting, trail, backwoods trail riding, and camping.

“I even packed out an elk from a hunting trip with Four,” she says. Four has several national titles in dressage and sport horse in hand.

“But I think the most special thing about him is his love of people,” Pike adds. “He went to the Oregon State Fair and carried a young lady to several placings in her State FFA Horse competitions this last summer. She lost her horse just weeks prior to fair, and Four was able to step in and carry her. They practiced three times before hitting the show arena.”

Drill Team

Marlene Manuel was looking for a purebred Arabian that would be a smooth ride for her bad back when she saw Joe Fabulous G, a 50-50 Arabian/Quarter Horse Half-Arabian, at a drill clinic.

“I fell in love with his way of moving,” she says. “Although he was big and had a Quarter Horse build, he moved like a graceful Arabian.”

Being a drill team member herself, Manuel needed a horse with a lot of athleticism and stamina.

“His athleticism allows him to easily accelerate, decelerate, and quickly change direction, all very smoothly,” she says. “This has not changed over the years, and you would never know he is 18. He’s got that hardy Arabian blood, yet is sturdy and strong, like a Quarter Horse.”

Reining In Wins

Melissa Shaver, DVM, grew up showing purebred Arabians, but now she competes in reining with her Half-Arabians. Why did she make the switch?

“Having always been drawn to the working western events, especially reining, the Half-Arabian and Quarter Horse cross is perfect,” she says. “They are pretty, strong, and athletic, and we can show in the open reining shows as well as the rated Arabian shows and be competitive in both.”

Her mares, Bee My Bucks+/ and Megas Dunnit in Gold, have both been shown to National Reserve Champions in reining and multiple regional titles.

This article about appeared in the June 2024 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!