Lady Anne Blunt’s purchasing criteria
You get a window into Lady Anne Blunt’s selection criteria when purchasing new horses when reading this passage of her Journals, March 15, 1887:
“He [Zeyd, who was sent on a purchasing trip in the desert] is to be very particular about plenty of bone, height of wither, length, of course everything else perfect and origin mazbut.
Everything else perfect, but three points stand out in this concise statement. Where is the bone, and where are the high withers today? Check the withers of DA Ginger Moon, my Saqlawiyah Jadraniyah (back to Basilisk) of overwhelmingly Blunt/Crabbet lines.
I am assuming that this is an old photo, looks like Biel’s place. She does have superior withers, also nice bone structure all around. But she is far too thin! I hope she’s in better shape now. Is she still assumed to be in foal? Here’s hoping!
Unfortunatley that criteria wasn’t followed by her daughter, Lady Wentworth
This was when she just came to Bill Biel’s, and she was indeed in very poor condition; she’s had her teeth floated since, at Bill’s, and has improved much at her current boarding place.
Ginger’s foal won’t be lacking in the withers department. Thank Heaven (Mlolshaan Hager Solomon x Llanys Winddancerl) has a massive set of withers. Been a challenge finding a saddle that would fit her SHORT broad back and high withers. She also has good bone! I will post new pictures of her once she is less of a fuzzy bear.
Hi everybody,
high withers is one of the main qualities of an endurance horse… Hussam al Shamal and Nimr Shabareq get it, and produce it on their daughters. It is one of the particularities of the “old type”
Wither must be high and far on the back. I’m looking for it everyday.
Best wishes
I want to do away with these false claims.
The West claims that the Bedouin would avoid horses with white markings.
But contradicted by much good stuff:
I have here Hadith that I want to post. These are the oral traditions of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), with respect to the colors of horses:
” The best of horses is black with a white forehead and having a white upper lip, next to that a black horse with a white forehead and white legs. If it is not black, it is a bay(ie.reddish brown colour- approaching chestnut) horse with these marks.” (Tirmizi)
” You should get a bay horse with white forehead and white fore and hind legs, or red horse with white forhead and white legs, or black horse with white forehead and legs.” (Abu Dawood, Nisaai)
” The fortune of horses is in it’s redness.” (Tirmizi, Abu Dawood)
Interesting Teymur B, all my Arabs have been chestnut with a LOT of white, all high % Crabbet, it’s not that I choose or even particularly like a lot of white just that so many really good Arabs, Crabbets at least are that colour.. a bit hard to explain in terms of genetics had Bedouin breeders been averse to it!!