How can I become a Member of Al Khamsa?
Al Khamsa Inc. does not have formal membership. For an explanation of how you can be a, "Supporter" of Al Khamsa  click here.

What is an Al Khamsa Arabian Horse?
The horses of primary interest to Al Khamsa, which are called Al Khamsa Arabian Horses, are those horses in North America that can  reasonably be assumed to descend entirely from bedouin Arabian horses bred by horse breeding bedouin tribes of the deserts of the Arabian peninsula without admixture from sources unacceptable to Al Khamsa. Al Khamsa reserves the right to determine which horses are called Al Khamsa Arabian Horses.  Source:Al Khamsa bylaws (Amended 9/93)

How can I tell if my horse, or some of its ancestors, are Al Khamsa eligible?
In 1993, Al Khamsa published a 671-page reference volume, Al Khamsa Arabians II, with Pedigree Index and Progeny Listings covering eligible horses through the Arabian Horse Registry of America registration number 450,000, complete with all the ancestors. If your horse's registration number is larger than 450,000, it will not be there, but if all 4 grandparents OR all 8 of all his/her great grandparents appear in the book, then your horse qualifies as Al Khamsa. Our latest resource book, Al KHamsa Arabians II Update, was published in 1998. Click here to see Foundation Horses and their resulting get added since that time.
You may now look on Arabian Datasource online for the Al Khamsa Marker or contact the Al Khamsa Business Office if you are in doubt (info@alkhamsa.org).

What are Foundation Horses?
Horses eligible for Al Khamsa have come to North America from a variety of sources and by way of many other countries.  To simplify the understanding of the sometimes complex ancestry of our horses, the Foundation stock has been divided into groups designated "Ancestral Elements." An Ancestral Element refers to the country, stud farm, person, or group who imported or was primarily associated with the Foundation Horses within that group. Ancestral Elements do not necessarily conform to modern breeding programs. 
Click here for a list of the Al Khamsa Foundation Horses
Click here to see a full copy of the information sheet, "About Your Al Khamsa Arabian."
Click here to order a pedigree certificate certifying your horse  as Al Khamsa

What are Ancestral Elements? What is their purpose?
The Ancestral Element (also referred to as "AE") concept was developed for organizational efficiently, and to help people identify the bloodline history of the horses listed in the Al Khamsa books. Al Khamsa traces pedigrees back to their end ancestors and calls them Foundation Horses. These Foundation Horses left the Bedouin over a period of more than a century. They were acquired by people in Egypt, England, American, Argentina, etc. Probably each had his or her own ideal Arabian horse in mind.

As listed in Al Khamsa Arabians II, the main body of the Al Khamsa Foundation Horses includes 140 horses * acquired by non-Bedouin from more than 18 tribes between c.1840 and 1966. In order to broadly identify the history of the Foundation Horses in any given living Al Khamsa horse, Al Khamsa decided to divide the Foundation Horses into groups based on some common denominator such as the county, and farm, person, or the group who imported or was primarily associated with the Foundation Horses concerned.