Iras and Octavia
I am excited because I finally found pictures of two asil mares I had never seen before: the two Kuhaylat al-Hayf sisters Iras (El Alamein x Portia by Tripoli) and HB Octavia (Ibn Alamein x Portia), both bred at Craver Farms and the founders of dynasties of their own within Davenport breeding in the USA.
The photo of Iras below is reminiscent of a type of horses which some old-timers in Lebanon and Syria referred to as a “mares [suited] for kings” (faras muluk). I cannot find the words to describe this type, but it is usually associated with very long ears, a thin long neck, and a muzzle with very delicate nostrils, among other features, as well as an overall regal “poise” and expression, in which you could read some disdain for the insignificant human being they made you feel like as well as infinite feminity and kindness. We owned a desert-bred mare of the Rabdan strain from the Tai tribe that looked just like that.
I guess I had better get into the photo archives again! Both of these mares were gone before digital photography, so I need to warm up the scanner.
Edouard I love your description… my husband’s dear mare immediately came to mind, forget ‘suited for kings’ such mares ARE royalty, they know it and they leave no-one else in any doubt either ! (:
I particularly like the look of Iras(:
Thanks for the post re Dwarka, as you say a leap of faith there then.
A picture of Thea Isis, full sister to Iras, belongs here, too! IIRC, she was given her name due to her ‘goddess’-like attitude.