Neesha Khan_Celebration Of The Racehorse_Oil_30”x40”x0.7”_2021_© Neesha Khan
This painting is a celebration of the modern racehorse and Thoroughbreds, cited in the Stud Book, who are descendants from three Arabian stallions;[i] the Byerley Turk, the Darley Arabian, and the Godolphin Arabian. The imported Arabians and Barbs were used widely to improve the native stock of racehorses in the 18th century.
Britain has had a tradition of horse-racing, recorded as early as AD 1121 with Arab, Turkish imports used to improve the speed of the native horses in early breeding programmes and ultimately provide the stock for the English thoroughbred, the Paso horses of the conquistadors and the cavalry for the whole of Europe. It is expected that the long-legged more gracile horse from the hot deserts of Arabia and North Africa would gallop faster and are far superior to those of native origin, stocky ponies of the North. A Thoroughbred is any horse whose pedigree is recorded in the Stud Book. This painting is a celebration of the 3 stallions, the Byerley Turk, the Darley Arabian, and the Godolphin Arabian, to which all the magnificent thoroughbreds in the world today can be traced back to.