I only have about 5 years of experience with my own horses….and most of them have been Arabians so I may just be prejudiced when writing this but here is my opinion on Arabians, Quarter Horses, and Paints.
I grew up in Iowa and always heard from the horse community about how high strung Arabians were and how hard to handle they are.   I took care of a few horses down the road when I was in high school. They were Quarter Horses and had the normal build of a Quarter Horse.   Big, blocky heads, very muscular and quite a large rear end.   I hadn’t ever met an Arabian in person so I didn’t realize the very big difference in just appearances alone. I thought the Quarter Horses were beautiful. Sure the boy would bite if you didn’t have an eye on him at all times and sure they didn’t really bond as strongly as my dogs but I thought that was normal with horses.  Eventually I was able to get my own horses and boy did my opinion change.
The property we were purchasing came with 3 horses from the past owners. They had 1 Arabian and 2 Paints.  I chose the 2 paints based on what I had heard growing up but when I got here the Arabian was still here as well. I met the 3 and found that the Arabian had the prettiest face of the bunch and seemed to be the sweetest one here. The paint gelding didn’t respect space and was aggressive towards the Arabian mare. I was handing out treats and the gelding didn’t like it when I ignored him and gave a treat to the Arabian…I got kicked through the air about 10 feet. I realize that you can’t hold it against the breed, it was a training issue more than anything else but I chose the Arabian…she was so sweet. 
The 2 Paints were sold elsewhere by their owner and I purchased the Arabian. I ended up getting another Arabian yearling stud colt and he showed me the true Arabian bonding ability. Arabians bond as strongly as your pet dog does. He will follow me anywhere, loves attention, and is very friendly towards other people but won’t let just anyone halter him unless I’m there then its ok…like a dog ;-). I bought a Quarter Horse mare with a 6 month old filly at her side. I had the Quarter Horse mare for almost 2 years. She never bonded like my Arabians have. She liked the attention, loved brushing, but never seemed to love ‘me’ specifically. I still have her Paint filly….I’ve had her since she was 6 months old and haven’t treated her any differently than I did my Arabian yearling yet still to this day she is far more aloof than any of my Arabians or Half-Arabians.
I believe that Arabians form stronger more obvious bonds than most Quarter Horses.  I think if you want a pet horse and not just a working horse you should look into the Arabian breed. In the right hands they are wonderful horses who love to make you happy…but they need to be treated with respect not just abused and expected to obey.
I would welcome any other opinions on Arabians, Quarter Horses, and Paints….please email them to me