“Long way back for the Syrian arabhästar”

“Malnourished and tovig is the eleven-year-old arabstoet Karen a shadow of the beauty she once was.”

“She is one of the thousands of horses that have been severely affected by the war in Syria, and who now receive care under a state program to get the tribe to recover.”

“– Karen was the most beautiful of all horses, ” says veterinarian Ahmad Sharida while he carefully sticks a hypodermic needle through the india the fur in her neck.”

“the Mare, who Sharida before the war helped to redeem, is too weak to even cope whinny. She was stolen from a stable in the eastern Ghouta 2012, when rebels took control of the area, and was recovered in October of last year.”

” I was shocked. She was just skin and bones, could barely stand up, ” says Sharida.”

“The enormous human suffering in the war in Syria is overshadowing most of the time. But also other living beings have been hit hard: Arabhästarna was once a bedouin pride, and completed with care in order to maintain the clean blodslinjerna.”

“Of the 8 500 horses in Syria that was registered with the World’s arabhästorganisation WAHO at the krigsstarten 2011 3 000 were lost during the war, according to the syrian authorities.”

“– the Horses suffered much, just as we are. They have also been stolen, killed, and have gone astray, ” says Mohammed Ghaith al-Shaib, the head of the state authority responsible for arabhästarna.”

“Since the government forces regained control of the area after area, the authorities are attempting to recreate the strain of the arabian thoroughbred to what it once was. Horses that have been rescued from the withdrawn areas are now grouped together in a state stall outside the capital Damascus for rehabilitation.”

“Horses are sensitive to noise, and many of those who survived the war are traumatized by their experiences. Mares which were subjected to an air attack in the town of al-Dimas, west of Damascus, is an example, tell the coach Jihad Ghazal on rehabiliteringsstallet.”

“A year afterward born a foal, which was paralyzed or dead, because their mothers have become so terrified,” he says.”

“the Mare Karen, the last horse in the life of a rare syriac bloodline, will hopefully be able to get a new offspring when she eventually recovered. The vets are hoping for a little filly, in order to preserve the bloodline for the future.”

“the Conflict in Syria broke out in march 2011, in connection with the so-called arab spring, when several governments in the region challenged by demonstrations and rebellious moods. The syrian opposition claimed president Bashar al-Assad’s departure and in the current situation, democratic reforms, but the resistance were cut partly by other interests.”

“the War brought in the day in the practice of regional great powers, by proxy. Bashar al-Assad’s government forces have with Russia, Iran and the lebanese Hizbollahmilisens support forced the rebels and jihadistgrupper from a series of strongholds in the country.”

“Often the regime’s takeover was preceded by long sieges and comprehensive bombing raid, with large civilian casualties as a result.”

“Sources: institute of Foreign affairs, AFP, Reuters”

“The arabian horse is considered to be one of the world’s oldest breeds of horses and is the origin of virtually all warm-blooded breeds of horses. In the highlands of the Nedjd, the Arabian peninsula, has been found petroglyphs with images from around 1 300 years before Christ by a horse of the arab type, and even older images are from about 2 000 bc in Egypt. It is established that the pharaohs bred horses of arabtyp in Egypt, and that such horses ridden by bedouins in the arabian highlands.”

“the Breed has been bred selectively since the 600’s, when the prophet Muhammad ordered that the command would use the clean fullblodsaraber then the small, agile horses were the most resilient and fast. Stona was the most sought after. As with islam, spread the breed, and has been used for the processing of other breeds not least since the weapons and armor became easier.”

“All the arab thoroughbreds that are registered in the WAHO (World Arabian Horse Organization) derived from the originalaraberna in the desert. Used arabian thoroughbreds as sport horses, mainly in endurance and racing, but they are also popular familjehästar.”

“Source: Swedish arabhästföreningen”