A couple introductory words on the Arabian horses of Iran
Monique Brandenburg from the Netherlands sent me this picture of a chestnut Arabian stallion from Iran, along with some information.
Before delving into discussing these extremely interesting horses, let me say a couple things upfront: first, Iran is not an Arab country; it is an ethnically diverse country populated by ethnic Persians (who speak Farsi, among other tongues), Turkmen and Azeris (who speak Turkic dialects) and Kurds (who speak Kurdish), among others. That said, Iran does have a small Arab minority of about 1 million people (who speak Arabic), mainly but not only concentrated in its south-western province of Khuzistan. Many of these Arabic speakers belong to long-settled tribal groupings like Bani Kaab and branches of Bani Lam. The latter are originally from Central Arabia way back and are well known breeders of asil Arabian horses.
So in many ways Iran is like Egypt: neither are in Arabia Deserta, the homeland of the Bedouin and their desert Arabian horse, but both nonetheless have a very small population of settled peasant Arabs tribes in the parts of the country closest to Arabia Deserta (e.g., Egypt’s peasant Tahawi tribe in the Sharqiyah province). These tribe kept breeding Arabian horses, and neighboring Persian tribes like the Bakhtiaris also bred Arabians. The late Mary Gharagozlu, who bred some of these horses for a long time, has a well known article on the Arabians of Iran.
Monique Brandenburg tells me about two hundred Arabian horses are left in Iran. Many are of the Wadnan Khursan (a strain originating from the Bani Lam), the ‘Ubayyan Sharrak and the Hamdani Simri strains. Monique herself has leased a mare that traces partly to these Iran horses. Her pedigree (disclaimer: it’s from allbreedspedigree.c0m) is noteworthy is the sense that it is exceptionally long, almost as long as Crabbet and Egyptian pedigrees (1880s). Monique will be sending me more information on these horses over the next few days..
I have to say wow! Fabulous coupling, strong, strong back, ample bone, high set neck. The desert horses are emphatically it. They need to be preserved.
Fantastic boy! And look at all that chrome, he is simply beautiful. And what a surprise to find out he is from Iran.
Beautiful, is it for sale?
Hi Georges,
From what country are you?? He might be for sale and there are more for sale. We are planning a trip in May to have a look at them.
Monique
Hi Monique,
can u please send me the full details to my email address? gjsofia@hotmail.com and i will send u my details as well and brief u.
hello, i am the photographer of this photo on show. but my signature removed !
this stallion is alive now.
Dear Monique,
although this post is some years old, I am hoping you or somebody else may be able to help…
I am an English traveller, and 2 and a half years ago I set out from North Italy to walk to India.
Now I feel it is time for a change and I would like to travel by horseback.
Iran is my next destination and I would like to follow the Old Royal Road from the Turkish Border – Susa – Persepolis on horseback.
Do you have know anybody who can help me to find a suitable horse? And if there is anybody from Iran who might be interested in joining me, as a companion, that is also an option.
I am looking to change my journey a little to keep everything fresh, and am open to all possibilities.
I hope to hear from you,
KInd regards
David
Hello David;did u materialize ur plan of traveling to India on horseback.I m an Arab horse enthusiast from Pakistan n may help u in some areas if u r yet to hack.Tc
I am so happy to announce i Acquired Wadnan Soraya a Persian/Egyptian mare, she is by Hadban-Mokhtar and out of DB Montasirah, if anybody knows Persian stallions available by AI please let me know.
And what happened to Inta, the Persian stallion standing at stud in the USA many years ago?
Dear Brigitte,
Congratulation to Wadnan Soraya!
I saw some pictures about this sympatic dunkle chestnut (fast black)mare of the very exotic strain Wadnan Khersan. Her dam, the black mare, DB Montasirah is half iranian asil on the damside.
I have not too much exact informations of this strain,but the Khersani horses originated from the iranian Khuzestan, I think.
I remember the small chestnut stallion, Inta , perhaps he was from the same strain.
Wadnan Khursan/Wadnan Khersan..
Best wishes,
László
Thanks Laszlo! I am in love with her color!! It is so striking. Think Inta was also from the same strain. Imported into Europe is also the Khersan Haji Shihab which is basically the same bloodline, Wadnan Khersan named after Haji Shehab.
Hello,
I fell in love with the horse breed. I am looking for a persian arab mare from/in Iran, age 2-5, to buy. Does anyone know any breeders / contact person?
I appreciate any information.
Sincerely yours,
Lea
Speak to Amirhosein Ghasemi.
Hi Edouard,
Would you like more photos of Iranians and Iranian-Egyptians residing in Europe? In Spain they are still bred by Ulrike Marcik. Some won international endurance rides.
Kind regards,
Brigitte
with pleasure
Ooh, please do send Edouard photos of the Iranian horses in Europe! I’d love to know more about the endurance horses in particular myself, but it would be wonderful to see any of them.