Photo of the day: Labwah al-Shaykhah, new hope for the Shaykhan strain

This little lady, Labwah al-Shaykhah (DB Krush x HS Marayah),  represents a new ray of hope for the endangered Shaykhan (a branch of Ubayyan, formed in Lebanon and named after a Ubayyah mare called al-Shaykhah) strain. Only two or three mares of breeding age are know to be alive today, in the USA, one of which is HS Marayah, Labwah’s dam, owned by Jenny Krieg of Maryland. Labwah, whose name means lionness in Arabic, has the long ears for which the Shaykhan strain was known for back in Lebanon. Photo of Labwah courtesy of Jenny. July 20th update: By the way, Jenny and I have an article on that strain in the next Khamsat issue. You should subscribe!

Kuwait launches new State Arabian Horse Stud

Kuwait recently announced the launch of its brand new state stud, Bayt al-Arab, to replace its older Arabian Horse Center. Their nice website includes an interesting — but too sketchy — historical timeline. Most of the founding stock is of Egyptian bloodlines, and was imported from Germany, Qatar and the USA, mainly from Ansata Arabian Stud.