World Arabian Horse Organisation  Go Back
Author: Arab Horse Society    Date Published: 14 November 2017

 

What is WAHO?

‘WAHO’ stands for ‘The World Arabian Horse Organization’ and has the responsibility of ensuring that standards acceptable to all its Registering Authority Members are established and maintained in the matters of regulations, methods of registration and production of Stud Books.

Composition:

It is comprised of a President, an Executive Committee and a standing Stud Book Investigation Committee. A conference which includes a General Assembly and a Registrars’ meeting is held biannually at various venues around the world. Registering Authority Members are each entitled to send two voting delegates, Associate Members may send one non-voting delegate, and Individual Associate Members may attend as observers. The last conference was held in Poland in 2004 and the next one is scheduled for 10-15 September 2006 in Syria.

Objectives:

• The basic objectives are:
• To preserve, improve and maintain the purity of the blood horses of the Arabian breed and to promote public interest in the science of the breeding of Arabian horses;
• To promote and facilitate the acquisition and distribution of the knowledge in all countries of the history, care and treatment of horses of the Arabian breed;
• To advise and co-ordinate the policies and activities of Members of the Organization;
• To co-operate with any person or body of persons domiciled throughout the world in an endeavour to promote uniformity in terminology, definitions and procedures relative to the breed of Arabian horses;
• To act in a consultative capacity in discussion and negotiation with International, National and other authorities on matters concerning horses of the Arabian breed.

History:

In 1967, the Arab Horse Society of Great Britain hosted the first ever conference of International Arabian Horse Societies and a total of nine nations attended. South Africa was one of these nations, and was a founding member of the new organization. The result of this meeting was that those present agreed that a world organization should be formed to aid in the protection and orderly development of the Arabian Horse throughout the world. The conference was then adjourned for three years so that attending nations would have an opportunity to reflect on the first conference and be better equipped to discuss the future objectives of such an organization.

In August 1970, the AHS hosted a second conference and the main achievement of this meeting was the creation and naming of the World Arabian Horse Organization, and the appointment of an international steering committee to formulate the bye-laws, objectives and purposes of the Organization. At this time, it was also established as a non-profit charitable organization, based in the United Kingdom.

Since 1970 WAHO has held a Conference every second year and the Constitution was ratified at the first full WAHO Conference in Seville, Spain, in 1972. One of the subjects under discussion at this meeting, was the need for a definition of the Arabian horse which would be acceptable to all member countries as there had been many different answers, but never an internationally acceptable solution. Following extensive deliberations and discussion and taking careful consideration of national differences in phraseology and procedure, the Executive Committee recommended an official Definition of the Purebred Arabian Horse. This has been accepted and re-confirmed as a means of determining the purity of an Arabian horse unanimously by delegates over the years. The Definition reads as follows:-

“A Purebred Arabian Horse is one which appears in any Purebred Arabian Horse stud book or register listed by WAHO as acceptable.”

Registries:

WAHO has never made any distinction or discrimination between registries, be they large or small, rich or poor, new or long-established and it is a fundamental premise that every Registering Authority Member is treated with equal respect. WAHO has assisted countries establish new registries and helped others to make their stud books acceptable to all members. It is mandatory that a horse entered in an accepted WAHO stud book or register for purebred Arabian horses must be accepted as purebred by all Registration Authorities of WAHO Members and may not be rejected on a pedigree basis. [Click here for contact details of all international bodies]

Over the past 30 years, WAHO has grown to over 60 Registering Authority Member and Applying Members. Over the years, more than 2,000 people who share an interest in Arabian horses have joined as Individual Associate Members.

Memos:

WAHO Regulation regarding Passports for Imported and Exported Horses.

It has been brought to WAHO’s attention that some Registries are taking away the existing passports of imported horses as issued by their original registry, and replacing them with their own registry’s passports. Then if that horse is later re-exported, they take away the ‘new’ local passport and return the original one. Click here for more info.

WAHO Trophy :

A specially commissioned WAHO Trophy was presented to become a prestigious annual award in each member country in order to promote locally bred Arabians. The winner must be bred and still domiciled in the country and registered in the country’s stud book. Click here for more info.

Click here to link directly to the WAHO website