Arabians in 19th Century Europe
The 18th century marked the establishment of most of the great Arabian studs of Europe, dedicated to preserving "pure" Arabian bloodstock. One example was the Babolna Stud of Hungary, set up in 1789. and the Weil stud in Germany (now known as Marbach), founded in 1817 by King Wilhelm I of Wurttemberg.Arabians were also introduced into European racehorse breeding, especially in England via the Darley Arabian, Byerly Turk, and Godolphin Arabian, the three foundation stallions of the modern Thoroughbred breed, who were each brought to England in the 1700s. Other monarchs obtained Arabian horses, often as personal mounts. One of the most famous Arabian stallions in Europe was Marengo, the war horse ridden by Napoleon Bonaparte.
This century also marked a period of considerable travel to the Middle East by Europeans, and in the process, some noticed that the Arabian horse as a pure breed of horse was under threat due to modern forms of warfare, crossbreeding and other problems that were reducing the horse population at a rapid rate. The most farsighted began in earnest to collect the finest Arabian horses they could find in order to preserve the blood of the pure desert horse for future generations. The most famous example was Lady Anne Blunt, the daughter of Ada Lovelace and granddaughter of Lord Byron.