Even more Assyrian horses
By Edouard Aldahdah
Posted on February 25th, 2010 in Uncategorized
Now look at these Assyrian wall panels, from a palace in Nineveh, in Northern Iraq today. Note the short back, rounded croup and arched neck. And the slightly dished profile and inflated nostrils of the one on the left. We should go back to breeding horses like these.
February 26th, 2010 12:28 am
They are “stepping under” pretty well, too! Might have done well in dressage. Three-circle conformation for sure.
February 26th, 2010 10:10 am
For sure it would be interesting to breed horses like the Assyrian horses on the wall panels , but , we have to think carefully before taking such a big strategic design , should we try to breed horses with shorter nicks than we have now ? smaller in size ( as they really look small and short ? do we breed horses for the same reasons they used to breed for ? and we have to answer the big question , why would we do so , I think it is interesting and after a serious talk I could be part of ” getting the Assyrian horses back ”
Kindest regards
Omar ANBARGI
February 26th, 2010 12:43 pm
I agree; I don’t think they are the same as the Bedouin horse we love, but it is fascinating to see that there are some characteristics in common showing in this ancient artwork. If these horses were recreated, they would probably be more worthwhile than many breeds we have today.
Just not at the expense of our Bedouin Arabians!
February 27th, 2010 3:38 am
Well ya know if you look at the famous picture of Hamra as a two year old that Davenport took, you see an asil stallion with hindquarters to rival these two. Also Haleb was of similarly stout build. So its not as if there aren’t lines in the Asils which have substance at least similar to these guys.
But Edouard your point is very well taken. If you go to a show you’ll see a lot of ,’elegant weeds,’ and a few sturdy strong horses.
Best wishes
Bruce Peek
March 2nd, 2010 9:04 pm
If it is permitted to put in an addendum- These assyrian wall panel horses look like shagyas to me…Especially an American shagya stallion named Budapest, whose dam Biala- the last shagya bred by the Poles- has a coupling exactly like that of the Craver Bred Kuhaylan stallion Mandarin CF..As to their necks being short- well maybe, however they are set on rather high. And also keep in mind that these fairly life like panels are of horses in the era of about 800 BC- 350 horse generations ago. Most horse breeders in most cultures have tried to breed longer necks, set on higher because such a neck helps the horse to balance under a rider better. And so by now 3300 years later the usual run of horses have significantly longer necks than these Assyrians do. This has been taken to extremes here in the U.S. with some breeds whose necks sometimes are overly long to the point that they are no longer functional.
Best wishes
Bruce Peek
March 9th, 2010 12:52 am
Bruce, Liked your comment about the similarity to these freizes with Shagyas. Since I’ve seen a number of them at Babolna, must admit there is something in what you say. Fascinating observation.
With best wishes,
Tzviah
March 9th, 2010 5:05 pm
Oh oh oh oh! I just got a copy of Henry Wynmalen’s “Equitation” from 1938, and here’s a quote from the first page: