Welcome to Hughes Highland Shagyas, where we specialize in breeding purebred Shagya-Arabians and take breeding the most personable and powerful horses seriously.

The Shagya-Arabian is not a well-known breed, but it should be.  The Shagya-Arabian has its own registry and is not the same breed as what most know as the Arabian. Shagya is not a descriptor of the AHA registered Arabians such as a Polish Arabian or a CMK Arabian, but rather, a Shagya-Arabian is a breed all its own, much the same as Morgans and Quarter Horses. Similar to other breeds, horses can be Purebred Shagyas or Part-Shagyas. Shagyas are frequently crossed with warmbloods for show-jumping and dressage; with Arabians for performance and endurance (registerable as Half-Arabians with AHA); and the purebreds are fabulous for absolutely any discipline.

I officially fell in love with the Shagya breed in 2017. While I had been familiar with the breed since 2015 when I bought my first Part-Shagya, I hadn’t personally experienced the power of the breed until 2017 when I rode the Part-Shagya in a 50 mile endurance ride. Up until that time, I had been a staunch supporter for the Purebred Arabian for endurance. The difference I saw was in pure power (not to mention the calm, friendly, personality). This horse motored up a mountain with several long inclines and never once wanted or stopped to walk. He preferred to trot, and when I got off thinking it would be nice to tail, he cantered! He was not fazed by the difficulty of the trail and easily pulsed down and passed all the vet checks throughout the ride. This horse also has the best personality. He is friendly, stands quietly, and can carry my 6’4’’ husband! After that ride, I decided we needed more Shagyas in this world. I also started looking through the endurance record books and noted the success of the breed among top riders. Many Tevis completers and several FEI riders ride Shagyas. I decided that breeding these amazing horses is something I wanted to do.

The Top 10 Reasons You Need a Shagya

  1. You’re looking for a serious performance horse but also want it to be safe and sane. Shagyas are phenomenal competitors with outstanding endurance and ability, but they’re not hot, excitable, or reactive.
  2. You want a horse that is big enough to carry tall and heavy riders.
  3. You want a horse suitable for a beginner.
  4. You want a horse that just stands and waits for you to help it when it gets caught in something.
  5. You want a horse that effortlessly loads and backs out of a rear-tack, step up, slant load trailer – on the first try, even when it has never been hauled before.
  6. You want a tough, Tevis-quality endurance horse that is fast, cools itself, and pulses down as fast as a purebred Arabian.
  7. You want a horse that greets you at the gate and drinks out of the hose.
  8. You want a horse that stops and waits for you if you fall off.
  9. You want a horse that lives to please you.
  10. You want a horse that you would ride into battle.

Shagya arabian endurance horse

Photo courtesy of David Honan Photography at www.davehonan.com.

Visit the Stallions at Stud page to learn more.