Guests at Arabian Nights often remark on how beautiful and talented the horses in our show are, so today we want to shine the spotlight on one of our star horses: Confetti, an American Saddlebred.

Confederate Gold, or Confetti for short, is one of the most popular horses in the Arabian Nights show. He is a three-gaited, 12-year-old palomino American Saddlebred. Though he is not trained to rack or slow gait like some other American Saddlebreds, his movement is still unique because of the way he high steps. Confetti is easily one of the most recognizable horses in the show because of his high stepping, but also because of his beautiful golden coloring.

Confetti is slightly larger than the Arabian horses featured in our show, and you will see him performing Dressage and Doma Vacquera – a Spanish style of riding with a 13-foot lance – in the current production. Confetti excels at both riding disciplines because he is a very responsive, agile and intelligent horse.  These are necessary attributes for the Dressage and Doma Vacquera riding disciplines, and these attributes also make Confetti an excellent trick performer.

Confetti performing Doma Vacquera

Confetti can rear, bow and count on command, but it’s a different ability that makes him special. Confetti is trained to work at Liberty, which means he can perform without the physical connection of a rider. This style of performing is more than a rider’s command being followed by a horse. It’s instead a mutually shared partnership between the horse and trainer based on a system of communication both understand. Confetti enjoys this part of the show because it’s his time to really show off!

The audience loves Confetti’s flashy appearance and dramatic movements, and for that reason he is featured on almost all of Arabian Nights’ promotional material. You can even see him rearing on the cover of our current brochure.

In addition to Confetti’s good looks and golden coloring, he also has quite the personality. Confetti is very sweet and affectionate, and he enjoys playing with other horses and with our staff members. Sometimes he makes faces at people as they pass his stall, even sticking his tongue out at them! He typically wears an inquisitive expression on his face and is very curious about everything going on around him.

When you come to Arabian Nights, be sure to keep an eye out for Confetti, our golden American Saddlebred. Look closely though, he might be sticking his tongue out at you!

Been to Arabian Nights and want to share what a great experience you had? Follow this link to leave a review!

Guests and employees at Arabian Nights often remark on how beautiful and talented the horses in our show are, so our featured breed this week is the American Saddlebred.

The American Saddlebred is a very sensitive and alert horse, making it an ideal candidate for various riding disciplines, including Dressage. These are very beautiful horses and their movements are especially graceful, making them a great fit for Arabian Nights.

An American Saddlebred

American Saddlebreds are recognized by their long and lean body type and wide-set, expressive eyes. These horses are usually black, bay, chestnut or brown in color, but grays, buckskins, palominos, pintos and occasionally roans can be found as well.  Saddlebreds are typically 15-16 hh (hand high), but they can also be found as small as 14.2 hh and occasionally as tall as 17 hh.

The origins of the American Saddlebred can be traced back to natural-gaited horses which came to North America from the British Isles. These horses thrived in their new environment, and through selective breeding the Narragansett Pacer was developed along the eastern seaboard. The Narragansetts were crossed with Thoroughbreds imported to America in the early 1700s. By the time of the Revolutionary War the result of that crossbreeding was recongnized simply as the American Horse.

These horses possessed the size and beauty of the Thoroughbreds, but retained the ability to learn the easy-riding gaits of the Narragansetts. They were used for riding, pulling carriages and other work. Thoroughbreds continued to be crossed with other breeds including Arabians and Morgans. When the first horse shows were held in Kentucky and Virginia in the early 1800s, American Saddlebreds were generally referred to as Kentucky Saddlers.

Today, the American Saddlebred is known as the ultimate show horse. High stepping and elegant, the breed performs up to five gaits: the walk, trot, canter, slow gait and rack.

This American Saddlebred is performing a rack maneuver in Dressage.

The slow gait is a four-beat gait performed in a prancing motion where the horse lifts its legs very high. The rack is a more ground-covering four-beat gait and is much faster; the horse snaps its knees and hocks up quickly while performing this gait. The Saddlebred’s ancestors were naturally gaited, and many Saddlebreds today retain that natural ability. Most can learn additional gaits, too.

To learn more about American Saddlebreds, stay tuned to the blog because we are going to do a story soon about Confetti, a Saddlebred at Arabian Nights.

If you’ve been to the Arabian Nights show and want to share what a fun time you had, please visit this site and leave a review!