Quarab

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The ideal Straight-type Quarab combines the grace of the Arabian with the strength of the Quarter Horse. Hans-Peter Marquardt

International Quarab Horse Association

P.O. Box 263

Hopkins, Michigan 49328

www.quarabs.org

The classy grace of the Arabian horse and the substance of the Quarter Horse or Paint—that is the Quarab. For many years, breeders have been combining this unbeatable mix to produce one of the world’s most amazing equines. When the Arabian and Quarter Horse type are brought together, it creates qualities that are the best of both worlds. The Arabian’s endurance and spirit uniquely blends with the body, usability, and stability of the Quarter or Paint Horse, producing a superb all-around horse in the Quarab.

Additionally, Quarabs display interesting varieties of coat coloring. The Quarter Horse and Paint side allows breeding for colors like palomino, buckskin, grullo, and pinto, plus all the basic colors.

Quarabs have the typical Arabian intelligence with the Quarter Horse calmness, making a great combination. They are extremely trainable and not “spooky;” they are smart, calm, and easy to handle. As an example, there are instances of Quarabs that were just started under saddle and were already doing figure eights in all three gaits.

Quarabs are talented and versatile in every discipline, in the show ring, on the trail, or on a working ranch. The stamina from the Arabian and the muscling of the Quarter Horse or Paint enables them to excel in reining, cutting, and long distance riding.

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Quarabs are compact and athletic, excelling in reining and long-distance riding. Hans-Peter Marquardt

Quarabs are always eager to please and willing to keep trying. They are extremely smart, easy to handle, and love to be with people. Owners like to talk about their Quarab’s compatibility and willing dispositions. Some Quarabs enjoy trail riding so much that they cry with anticipation whenever they see or hear a horse trailer pulling up to the stable.

One Amish farmer who borrowed a Quarab remarked that it was the best ever for either pulling in harness or riding. Considering all the working horses the Amish are familiar with, this is a significant statement about the Quarab. Long time breeder Ginny Hanks, states, “The breeding of this cross for over forty years gives me the experience to say it is truly the only breed that can do it all!”

History

The breed has been around longer than its registry. American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA) records show that in the 1950s, the Arabian stallion, Indraff, sired two Half Arabians (Quarabs) that were registered as Quarter Horses: Indy Mac and Indy Sue were both out of the Quarter Horse mare Cotton Girl.

Indy Sue was foaled in 1953 and earned forty-four AQHA open performance points in six events, including Western Pleasure, Reining, and Hunter under Saddle. In 1960, she earned an open Performance Register of Merit and had earnings with the National Cutting Horse Association as well. She was then bred to produce three registered Quarter Horse foals. Her brother, Indy Mac, became a champion on the hunter circuit. There are also reports of a few purebred sabino Arabians that were inspected and registered in the American Paint Horse Association before its book was closed in the early 1980s.

Registry

The United Quarab Registry was the first registry and studbook specifically created to register the offspring of a purebred Arabian and a registered Quarter Horse. Founded in 1984, by 1989 the Painted Quarab Index was added to register those horses having a Paint Horse sire or dam. It was a privately owned studbook that was transferred to another individual and eventually went out of business.

In 1999 a new association, the International Quarab Horse Association (IQHA), was founded by Lisa Striegle, who kept the direction of the original guidelines set in place by the United Quarab Registry in 1984.

Many owners were interested in registering their Half Arabian/Quarter Horse or Paint blend horse with the IQHA because it went beyond the Arabian registry, which only recorded the Arabian half of the pedigree. A registered Quarab had its full heritage recorded, a definite asset for those who appreciated the total breeding of their horse to be recognized.

Since the inception of AQHA, the Quarab’s popularity has expanded to new generations as more and more are introduced to, and appreciate, its outstanding characteristics. The registry has spread to international proportions, now including Alaska, Germany, and the Netherlands.

International Stars

An example of the international interest in Quarabs is Tishyno, an IQHA U.S. registered Quarab stallion in Germany that is the most successful in Europe in sport and breed. Having passed Germany’s strict stud performance examination, he was registered in the First Stud Book by Zuchtverband fur deutsche Pferde (ZfDP), the breeding association of German horses. (Although Quarabs are registered in the United States, many foreign countries also offer other registry options.) To be registered in Germany’s ZfDP First Stud Book, the horse is judged to be a perfect stallion with good bone, hip, movement, and other qualities. If a stallion is judged to be not quite perfect, but still very good, he is registered in the Second Stud Book. So the First Stud Book holds the ultimate prestige for those who qualify, such as Tishyno.

Tishyno’s wins include championships in Open Reining and Horsemanship. He has won several distance races, and one victory was in a 60-kilometer distance race (37.28 miles), which he finished in 3 hours and 10 minutes.

He has sired over one hundred foals, many of which are now premium mares, stallions, and geldings, and for eight years in a row they have won at the breed shows. His most famous son, Nahbay Ibn Tishyno, has won many Reining classes and was Arabian-Trophy-Reserve-Champion, Germany, in Reining in 2007, competing against twenty-six Quarter Horses. In Kreuth, Germany, the same year, he won the National Reining Horse Association (NRHA) Jackpot Open with a score of 71.0, along with achieving many other placements.

Tishyno is famous in Germany, has been featured in various magazines, and has established a foundation to the breed in Europe. He and his progeny typify the wonderful diversity of the Quarab and the excitement the breed is creating as its influence continues to spread throughout Europe, as well as North America.

Breed Standard

The Quarab is a breed that has solely Arabian and Quarter Horse or Paint Horse blood. Crosses of one-eighth to seven-eighths of either breed type (Arabian or Quarter Horse stock type) are allowed, but they cannot have any other breed crossed with them.

Quarabs should display the conformation of a good saddle horse. They should appear well muscled, yet smooth and refined, and they are generally compact and of medium length. Quarabs should exhibit a degree of refinement that will vary with their type—Straight, Stock, or Pleasure—however, refinement should always be present in the head and legs.

The overall appearance of the Quarab should be pleasing, never coarse, and exhibit good substance. The body should display good strength with sufficiently dense bone and well developed joints and tendons. The coat should be fine and smooth.

Size: A mature Quarab will generally range from 14.2 to 16 hands, although rare individuals may be slightly shorter or taller depending on the breeding. Weight is generally 900 to 1,200 pounds.

Color: Quarabs may be virtually any color and may exhibit the white markings common to Arabians or Quarter Horses. Recognized colors include: chestnut, black, bay, palomino, buckskin, cremello, perlino, smoky creme (double creme dilution on a black base), red dun, dun, grullo, sorrel, brown, and champagne (of various shades). Roans and grays are designated with their base color: bay gray, black gray, sorrel gray, and so on.

Recognized patterns include: roan, gray, tobiano, overo, and tovero. Roan and gray are uniquely listed as patterns. For example, a Quarab may be described as sorrel gray tobiano, meaning “born sorrel, but turning gray with tobiano superimposed.” This is especially helpful to those who are specifically breeding for certain colors. (IQHA has a registered champagne roan horse, the first documented of this color combo in any American breed. They also have black tobianos, black grays, and a black roan [blue roan in Quarter Horses].)

Head: The head should be refined and reflect alert intelligence, and demonstrate quality and beauty. Nostrils should be large and sensitive, and the muzzle should be small with a firm mouth. Well developed jaws give the impression of strength. Quarabs may have a slightly concave, or dished facial structure hinting of their Arabian ancestry, without being extreme; the amount of dish will vary with the type of individual.

Eyes should be large and expressive; they are generally dark, but may be blue (double dilutes or Pintos) or hazel (champagne colored horses). They should appear bright and clear and be set well apart on the head.

Ears should be small, finely pointed, and curve in at the tips. They should be set well apart and carried alertly.

Neck: Manes and forelocks should be full. The throatlatch should be clean and well defined, but never thick, allowing for easy airflow when working. The neck should be smoothly joined to the shoulder and deepest at the point of attachment. It should also be long and refined, but not so much as to appear weak. Thickness of the neck will vary somewhat with the type of individual. The neck should display a natural arch. Stallions tend to have a more fully developed crest than either mares or geldings.

Body: The chest should exhibit good depth and width, with well sprung and close ribs. Heart girth should be wide and solid to allow for ample lung and heart space. The barrel should be large and round, yet trim in the flank. The overall body should be deep and full in the mature Quarab.

Withers should be well defined and of medium height, slightly higher than the point of the hip, and extend well back. This allows them to hold a saddle well. The shoulder should have a deep slope and be strongly muscled and of good length.

The back should be compact, broad, and deep in the girth, as well as close coupled and full and strong across the kidney.

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This Quarab stallion is gentle, quiet, and easy for his young rider to handle. Hans-Peter Marquardt

The hip should be quite muscled with a somewhat horizontally built pelvis. When standing with hind legs slightly apart (as in the Halter class), the croup should appear nearly horizontal with little slope, yet should not be extremely flat, as seen in many purebred Arabians. When moving or at work, the croup will appear more sloped, allowing for good engagement of the hindquarters. Overall, the hip and hindquarters should show great strength, with the hind leg being muscled inside and out to provide good driving power.

The tail should be set fairly high with a natural arch and carried gaily, especially at the trot.

Legs: Legs should be long and sound, made up of flat bones and solid, large joints. The forearm should be broad and well muscled, tapering to the knee. The Quarab should possess a short to medium length cannon bone that is free of meatiness. Tendons should lie smoothly over the bone, appearing wide and strong when viewed from the side, yet straight, thin, and set well apart when viewed from the front. The placement of the hind legs should allow the Quarab to turn on its hindquarters with the legs well under its body. Pasterns should be clean, strong, and short to medium in length, and their angle should match that of the shoulder.

The hocks shall be neither close together nor wider apart than the fetlocks when viewed directly from the rear. They should be clean, wide, strong, and straight. Hooves should be medium sized, nearly round, and open at the heel. They should be smooth and dense, but never brittle. Hoof size should be adequate for the size and/or weight of the individual.

Gait: Movement will vary with the individual, depending on its type and breeding, however, all Quarabs should move freely. They should work well off their strong hindquarters and move in a collected manner. While the amount of action will vary with breeding type, extreme Park type action is to be avoided.

Types: Body types may be customized, as there are definite preferences among breeders for the different types. As an example, western ranches tend to prefer the stock type with higher percentages of Quarter Horse and Paint traits. Endurance riders prefer the Pleasure type, favoring Arabian traits. The majority of breeders prefer the 50/50 Straight type, which is a blending of the best of both worlds. There is something for everyone with the diversity in types.

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The Pleasure Quarab more closely displays attributes of the Arabian. Hans-Peter Marquardt

Straight or Foundation type Quarabs should be a good blend of both the Arabian and the Quarter Horse or Paint traits. They should not be over-refined, but should exhibit a strong influence from both bloodlines. The Quarab Standard is that of the Straight type Quarab.

Stock types will demonstrate more of the traits commonly associated with the Quarter Horse or Paint, but should retain elegance from the Arabian.

Pleasure types will more closely resemble their Arabian ancestry with more refinement, especially in the head. The body, however, should still show a strong influence from the Quarter Horse or Paint blood.

As for the Quarab’s temperament, Tishyno’s owner, Hans-Peter Marquardt, comments, “I’m happy to own this unusual horse with a cool mind and a big heart. Tishyno always tries to do his best. He is a perfect all-rounder horse. He can do it all and is now a famous stallion.”

Credit: International Quarab Horse Association

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