REPORT MADE AT 2009 WAHO CONFERENCE:

My name is Faisal Bin Mahboob Al-Raisi, Director General of The Royal Cavalry and my co-delegate is my colleague Salem Bin Suleiman Al Mahrooqi, Deputy Director General of The Royal Cavalry and General Coordinator of the WAHO Conference 2009 in Muscat whom I think you all know through your communications with him over the past twenty years.

I would like to present you here with a concise report on the management strategy of purebred Arabians that The Royal Cavalry has adopted in the Sultanate since joining WAHO as a Member in 1979.

Our registration season starts every year in January by the Arabian Registry Office in the Omani Royal Cavalry. Throughout this period the office provides breeders with technical advice and helps them in selecting the appropriate breedings. The registration data is recorded on special forms which are then entered in the Registry Office’s Arabian database. The Royal Cavalry has, in fact, mobilized all that is required of both modern technical and veterinary support to ensure successful and safe breeding. Before registering any foal, an official written identification is made of it. A DNA test for parent verification of foals is also used as well as microchips which have a hidden code in compliance with international norms. After that, the foals are registered in the stud book registry and passports are issued for them including information about pedigree, identification, health and administrative follow up.

Every four years a stud book in compliance with the WAHO norms is also issued. The current Arabian stud book is Volume 6 and it’s actually under printing. Every year about 80 foals are registered. We allow the use of Artificial Insemination and Embryo Transfer.

Oman has witnessed a remarkable increase in the number of private breeders of Arabians which currently exceeds 60 breeders in comparison with the situation at the beginning of the 1980’s when their number was hardly remarkable. We also offer education and seminars on the care of horses.

Concerning exports and imports, we follow all the WAHO rules for this and we exported around 60 horses to Saudi Arabia, to the UAE, to Bahrain and to Qatar, and also to Italy. We imported around 120 horses from the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, USA, Germany, France, Denmark and many other countries.

The Royal Cavalry in the Sultanate of Oman has taken special care of purebred Arabian horses, and many activities are arranged for them, such as:

Local and International races: Annually nine race meetings are held on the Omani racetracks. We have National and International racing and we also have races for lady jockeys. Oman is a member of IFAHR and we have also sent our horses to participate in races overseas. These races, indeed, have witnessed the unconditional support on the part of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos who has always showed great interest in the Arabian purebred horses as part of Oman's cultural heritage.

Arabian horse shows: Omani Arabian horses, in fact, participate every year in a number of International competitions in, for instance, the UAE, Qatar, the UK and France. Endurance races: A growing interest in such kind of races has recently been noticed in the Sultanate of Oman. This interest has culminated in the Sultanate’s participation in the last World Championship in Malaysia.

We also offer many local activities for horsemanship and we take special care to keep many of our traditions alive. You will see some of our traditional horsemanship displays during your stay here. We also have a website, www.rca.gov.om which we invite you to visit, the text is available in English and Arabic. Last but not least, the Arabian Registry Office in the Sultanate of Oman will continue to attach great care to following all the rules and regulations of WAHO. We also attach great importance to maintaining relations of cooperation and friendship with all the WAHO Registries all over the world, this guarantees the best help to the Arabian horse in order to evolve and to develop the status of the breed worldwide. We will also continue to preserve the purity of the Arabian blood and will contribute actively in promoting the Arabian breed on a national level and also worldwide. I thank you all.

REPORT MADE AT 2007 WAHO CONFERENCE:

Oman is now working on issuing the next volume of our stud book, in which there are 679 Arabian horses registered. It covers the period since 2000 and it will be printed by the end of 2007.

Between 60 and 100 foals are born each year in Oman. It is worth mentioning in this regard that since 2000 up until now, 32 horses were imported from England, 6 from Qatar, 3 from Denmark, 1 from Australia, 4 from Germany, 2 from Italy, 25 from France, 1 from Lebanon, 1 from Russia, and 1 from USA. 18 horses were exported in this period.

DNA is used to identify and parent verify all the purebred Arabian horses and micro-chipping is also used. The use of Artificial Insemination and transported semen are permitted, also the use of embryo transfer. Racing and endurance are popular activities in Oman, at present there is no showing. Horses from Oman also take part in shows and races in neighbouring countries and have achieved success in these events.