Laszlo sent me pictures of Saralee, who is still recovering and still in poor shape, some of which are below.

I also found some pictures of one of Saralee’s ancestors in the tail female, the beautiful and very desert-like Courthouse mare Somra II (Fedaan x Safarjal by Rasim). He sire was the desert-bred Saqlawi Jadran of Ibn Zubayni stallion Fedaan, imported by Mr Clark of the Courthouse Stud to the UK in the 1920s.  With desert-bred, well authenticated, beautiful grey horses like Fedaan and Mirage in the UK in the 1920s, there was really no need for Skowronek. Oh well.

The purpose of the trip of Mikhail el Haddad to Ottoman Iraq (Mesopotamia) was apparently to access alternative sources of desert blood than the ‘Anazah blooflines that Babolna already had access to. His trip first followed the Damascus-Palmyra-Deir-ez-Zor axis, then it followed the Euphrates valley to down to Fallujah  and Baghdad. From there, Haddad went along a large circular route south of Bagdad that included Najaf, Kerbala, the ‘Amarat Bedouin (a branch of the ‘Anazah) pastures and then crossed the Euphrates river eastwards until he reached the Tigris river.

From top to bottom, and left to right: Photo 1: In Tell Kalakh, which is west the city of Homs (my mother’s town by the way) in Syria, with Abdallah Agha al-Dandashi from whom the stallion O’Bajan was bought in 1885; photo 2: with some ‘Anazah Bedouins, top, and at the Sultan stables at”Al Waziria” near Bagdad, bottom; photo 3: the mare Ferha of the Shammar; photo 4: Mikhail’s three uncles, all Maronite clergymen in Beit Shebab, in the Mountains of Lebanon.

She actually very much looks like the the Kuhaylat al-Sharif of Ibrahim Dawwas al-Saadi, who was registered in the first Syrian Studbook as a Kuhaylat al-’Ajuz. It would be interesting to do a mtDNA analysis of the descendants of these two mares.

I don’t have more information on this importation, but I am sure Adrien can say some more to that, and it may be of one of the missions with which Fadlallah El Hedad was associated. The mare sounds like she is from the Khdili marbat of Kuhaylan al-Ajuz, judging from her name. This is the same branch of Kuhaylan which both Carl Raswan and Lady Anne Blunt refer to as ”Hedeli”.

Click on the image to enlarge it.

The second, Sulayman Bagdady is out of the Farag II daughter Soraya B (Farag II x 204 Ghalion) and was born on the 10th of April. Both are from the Kuhaylah al-Shaykhan line of 60-Adjuse, and combine old Babolna, Egyptian and Davenport bloodlines. Laszlo says little Sulayman moves like a dancer.

Kuhaylan:

1) 60-Adjuse, Kuhaylat al-Shaykhah (a branch of K. al-’Ajuz), imported to Hungary in 1885, with female descendants only through 25-Amurath Sahib, from the Sba’ah (Anazah)

Hamdani:

2) Sobha, Hamdaniyah Simriyah, imported to the UK in 1891, a handful asil descendants in Austria now.

No Strain recorded:

3)  Murana I, imported to what is now Germany in 1816, female descendants through Soldateska only, mainly in Germany.

All three lines are accepted by Al Khamsa, including n. 2, which has lines to the Courthouse desert-bred stallions Nimr, and Fedaan, who were accepted by Al Khamsa in 1987.

He traces to the mare 60-Adjuze, imported from the Arabian desert by Austro-Hungarian Empire official Fadlalla El Hedad. Adjuze was reportedly bred by the Sba’ah Bedouins, her sire being a Kuhaylan al-’Ajuz and her dam a “Schecha”, the transliteration of which is “Shaykhah”.

“Shaykhah” is either a mare’s name or a strain’s name, depending on the context in which it occurs. In that case, it is likely to the strain of the mare, the full strain being Kuhaylat al-’Ajuz al-Shaykhah, a lesser-known strain primarily owned by the Sba’ah and Fad’aan Bedouins.

This morning Laszlo Kiraly of Hungary sent me this picture of his young Sahara (Sabek ibn Saher x Shahhra by Wahhabit), a Kuhaylat al-’Ajuz that combines some of the best asil bloodlines from the world over:

Her sire Sabek ibn Saher (picture bel0w), from the German Government Stud of Marbach, has not one but two close lines to Soldateska (1911), and so plenty of that precious old Weil blood of Ghadir, Amurath 1881, and Tajar.

Her grand-sire Wahhabit (Siglavy Bagdady VI x Delicate Air by Laertes) is half Davenport bloodlines from his dam and half old Babolna bloodlines from his sire Siglavy Bagdady VI (Siglavy Bagdady V x 250-Kuhailan Haifi I), which is a unique combination. He brings in the equally precious blood of Kuhaylan Haifi and Kuhaylan Zaid.

Her grand dam 225 Sheherazade B (Ibn Galal III x 220 Ibn Galal I) brings in the tail female to the Babolna asil mare 25-Amurath Sabib, as well as the Egyptian lines to Hanan that Dr. Hans Nagel breeds.

Laszlo, can you find a good stallion from Syria or Saudi Arabia to breed to her?

This is one if from Jeanne Craver.

The discussion on asil Arabian facial features expands as more and more readers and contributors send pictures of beautiful profiles without the prominent ‘dish’ now so common in show horses. Laszlo Kiraly of Pecs, Hungary, sent me this stunning photo of the asil Babolna stallion Siglavy Bagdady VI (Siglavy Bagdady V. – 250 Kuhaylan Haifi I), taken in 1967. Laszlo tells me it reminds him of Bahrain’s horses’ heads. It also reminds me of some of the best Lebanese horses of the olden days; and of the best desert breds from Syria; and the Saudi Arabian horses; and some many Tunisian horses; and of the Egyptian horses before most of them  became show toys. All these are one and the same horse.

Look at this picture and look well. There are not many horses like this left in the West. This is probably one of the best photos ever posted on Daughter of the Wind. Thanks Laszlo.The discussion on asil Arabian facial features expands as more and more readers and contributors send pictures of beautiful profiles without the prominent ‘dish’ now so common in show horses. Laszlo Kiraly of Pecs, Hungary, sent me this stunning photo of the asil Babolna stallion Siglavy Bagdady VI (Siglavy Bagdady V. – 250 Kuhaylan Haifi I), taken in 1967. Laszlo tells me it reminds him of Bahrain’s horses’ heads. It also reminds me of some of the best Lebanese horses of the olden days; and of the best desert breds from Syria; and the Saudi Arabian horses; and some many Tunisian horses; and of the Egyptian horses before most of them  became show toys. All these are one and the same horse.

Look at this picture and look well. There are not many horses like this left in the West. This is probably one of the best photos ever posted on Daughter of the Wind. Thanks Laszlo.

The blood of legends like Kuhaylan Zaid, Siglavy Bagdady, Kuhaylan IV, Amurath 1881, Jussuf,  Tajar, and Ghadir, to name but a few, flows in the veins of this mare and her living descendents, who are “living history” as far as the Arabian horse (in its asil and non-asil forms) is concerned.

I am never tired of repeating that the blood of the descendents of this mare constitutes one of the last hopes for an outcross to the heavily inbred European asil bloodlines.

Tzviah, I like them all, and feel that you’ve been doing an outstanding job, but I can’t help feel that there is something extra special about Hila B and her progeny.

PS — social networking sites are all over now. I never thought I’d be linking to Facebook on an desert Arabian horse blog..

The proposal passed a first round of voting at this year’s Al Khamsa convention in Tulsa. If it passes the next round at the 2009 Oregon convention, then the eligible living descendants of these horses are in!

What a bonanza of great horses in one pedigree, so close: Kuhailan Zaid (featured here), Kuhailan Haifi, Amurath Sahib, Kuhailan Haifi I (here), Siglavy Bagdady II, Koheilan IV (here), etc. 

Photo courtesy of the mare’s owner, Laszlo Kiraly, who is certainly one lucky man. 

The Asil Club recognizes 25 Amurath Sahib (and hence 225 Scheherezade) as Asil, and by next year Al Khamsa will vote on whether to include 25 Amurath Sahib in its Roster too. The mare unanimously passed a preliminary vote this year. 

225 Scheherezade, you truly are a princess of the Arabian Nights. 

Here’s Zientarski’s account of his purchase: “At last they bring a stallion of Kuhailan Zaid strain; bay, stripe, black legs over the knees, a splendid line of the trunk, a long strongly expressive neck, a dry head, legs somewhat worn out, hoofs in awful condition, but on the whole with much type, a first class sire, as created for Babolna… We buy him without any bargain.”

Then there was a time when only, or two, or perhaps three Polish Arabians were Asil. That was in the 1960s and 1970s, not such a long time ago. When Arwila, Rozka, Lassa and a few others were alive. Now that time is gone. 

This new series of posts will feature the last Asil mare from each desert-bred line imported to Poland or the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Lets start with Arwila (Amurath Sahib x Wilga, photo above from Skorkowski’s book, I think), a Kuhaylat al-’Ajuz tracing to the desert bred Gazella, imported by Count Juliusz Dzieduszycki in 1845. Her pedigree is one of the 24 extended pedigrees originally compiled by Ursula Guttmann in her 1968 book

Arwila was born in 1947 and exported to England in 1965. She did not leave any Asil progeny. 

The combination of Amurath Sahib, Ofir, and Kuhailan I help explain how Arwila managed to stay away from the non-Asil lines carried by the likes of Fetysz, Enwer Bey, etc.  Amurath Sahib and Ofir were some of the last Asil stallions in use in Eastern Europe at that time. But luckey crosses like the one that produced Arwila were not the norm after WW II. Arwila’s sister Carmen, who went on to produce Comet, was by Trypolis, which carried non-Asil lines.

Of course it is not. This is Shagya XVII, from the Hungarian Arab-related Shagya breed. You have to give credit to the Hungarians for being honest about the Thoroughbred and other non-Arab blood they infused in these horses.

125 Ghalion is not registered as an Arabian mare. That’s probably because her cross to 30-Maria is in the tail female, which Arabian horse breeders pay particular attention to. (What’s her strain? “Kuhaylan Maria”). Now someone please tell me why Skowronek, with his 9 non-Arabian crosses, would be considered an Arabian horse.

 Koheilan Raschid  :This was his first buy.

5 years .Height 1.61cm   sire a Koheilan Moradi, Dam a Koheilat el Ajuz

He was bought from Raschid Pasha Kaimmakam (governor) of the Holy city of El Najaf.  

He was agift from Ibn El Rashid the Shammari ruler of Hail so El Haddad named him Koheilan Raschid. He was bought for 150 gold pounds.

 Farha : 6 years    Height 1.56cm

Sire Saklawi x Dam Kuhailat el Ajuz 

 Schechan Shammar

6 years  chesnut  Height 1.57cm

Sire Koheilan Ajuz  x Dam Scheha Djilfe

Bought for 50 gold pounds

 Mares from Sheikh Nayef  supreme Sheikh of the Shammar

Em Tiur (meaning  mother of the birds) this name was given to her for her speed..For 130 gold pounds.no further details given.

Ayda:  grey 3 years old bought for 125 gold pounds.

Semrie :grey  5 years old.bought for 80 gold pounds.

Hagyale  (or the grouse) Bay mare taken in war from the Annaze .bought for 220 gold pounds .She became one of Babolna’s most beautiful mares.

Hazem Pasha, the governor of Baghdad, horses.

A deal was made Between the Governor and Haddad to buy as a”package deal “for 1000 gold poundsthe following horses:

Mersuch :4 years old 1.57cm Sire Scmed Koheilan x Dam Hamdania Semria.bred by the Pasha

Siglavy Bagdady :Height 1.56cm Sire Siglavy x Dam Siglavy Gidran.Bred by the Rualla

Mares:

Dalala :golden bay 6 years  height 1.57cm Sire Koheilan Schveni xDam Maneghie bred by Ibn el Raschid of Hail.

Delilah: bay 9 years. height.1.57cm Sire Manehgie x Dam Obaya.Bred by El Sbaa tribe

Kheila :grey 6 years Height 1.60cm Sire Dzselfan XDam Kheila.Bred by Al Zubeidyine tribe

Scheriffe: grey .8 years old. Height 1.58cm Sire Saklawi xDam Gehelt el Scherif.Bred by the Shammar

The horses were bought in a triangle Najaf /Bagdad /Ar Ramadi please look  at the included  map.

My next post will be pictures.Inshallah

There is aproblem to post pictures .Sorry

“Finally I hear a neigh, they guide the stallions… they lead the bay Kuhailan Haifi. My legs buckled under me, it is just the horse I am looking for. Not large, dry, on splendid legs without any trace of cow hocks. A long neck, a noble head, although not very small, with distended, thin and moveable nostrils; a splendid high carried tail. I feel, the first time in my life, that during the purchase of a horse I am fainting…”

Have any of you experience that near-fainting feeling when coming across a unique Arabian horse for the first time?

I have. Twice. I should consider myself lucky. I will tell you about these two electrifying encounters.

Siglavy Bagdady VI left one Asil son, Wahhabit, a 1977 stallion out of the Kuhaylat al-Krush mare Delicate Air. Delicate Air was bred by Craver Farms and traces to the mare *Werdi, imported to the USA by Homer Davenport in 1906.

Pity there are so few of these Babolna Asil Arabians. They are of such a different type than anything else we see nowadays. They remind me of the last Lebanese Asil I used to see in my childhood. They also are a genetic treasure: each one of them traces to dozens of horses imported from the desert by the kings of the Austria, not found in any other current Asil bloodlines (except in the one remaning German Weil line). If you want to know more about the remaining Asil Arabians of Babolna, you can check out this post (dated May 2 2007, 10.44 pm) in the online forum Straightegyptians.com.

This photo of Siglavy Bagdady VI is from the site of Wine Glass Farm, a US Shagya breeder. (There is another one on the horse’s entry in allbreedpedigree.)   

Dad had bought her as a yearling in 1977 0r 78. At that time, he owned some 15 mares and a couple stallions, not all of them Asil.  There were few Asil Arabians left in Lebanon, and Zanoubia was one of the them.  She was a ‘Ubayyah Sharrakiyah from the horses of the Dandashi landowners of Western Syria, who were famed for the beauty and purity of their horses.  The strain came from the Sba’ah tribe.

A couple of the Dandashi horses made their way to Europe and the USA.  The Dandashi were the owners of the 1880 black Babolna stallion O-Bajan, who’s left such an imprint on Asil breeding in Europe.  They were also the breeders of the Saqlawi Jadran, sire of the Asil mare *Muha, imported by Ameen al-Rihani to the USA.  That Saqlawi Jadran was a gift from the Dandashi to the French High Commissioner (de facto ruler) of Syria, General Gouraud.  Ameen Rihani bred his desert-bred mare *Noura, a Ma’anaghiyah Hadrajiyah from Ibn Saud, to this Saqlawi Jadran. *Muha resulted from this breeding. This is the tail female for the renowed mare My Bonnie Nylon (by Raffles, and hence not Asil).

The gound on which Zanoubia is standing in this 1991 photo I took of her is not level, which makes her hindquarter look higher than her withers.  Behind her stand Nowakiat Akkar, another Asil mare of my father’s, and the subject of a later post…