Photo of the Day: Lysander, asil Kuhaylan Haifi, USA
This picture is from the Craver photo collection, courtesy of Jeanne Craver. It is another one of my favorite pictures of Arabian stallions of Davenport lines.. Lysander (Sir x Dhalana by Salan), was one of the main stallions at Craver Farms in the 1970s and 1980s.
Well !! as I said a couple of days ago that the more that I see these horses, the more I like them !!! 😉
I read Davenport’s ‘Quest’ a year or so ago and though I enjoyed it, it didn’t ring true… I now know that there may be reasons for that… does anyone know where I can find the ‘annotated quest’??
On the subject of books,I have now read Robert Mauvy’s ‘Le Cheval Arabe’… Thanks for the recommendation Edouard! Obviously there are dubious bits that with the passage of time and more knowledge available to us we can now put to one side, but the spirit of the book is absolutely wonderful. I found myself agreeing out loud with so many passages. His thoughts chimed exactly with my own and he clearly expressed what I also consider the most important virtues of the Arab… his beautiful flowing paces, particularly canter, sensitive intelligent character and bottomless endurance, which should be tested for in every generation.
He seems to have had the kind, humble heart of a true horseman, I think his comments regarding competition should an alarm bell to everyone involved with horses.
It is a book that I will reread.
It would be marvellous if the ‘timeless’ passages from this book and others such as excerpts of Lady Blunts later writing and more importantly the King Abdullah book you mentioned as well as other original works in Arabic, written by those who knew the horse in his (her) original and defining role as a warhorse, could be collected into single volume ‘comments on the Arabian horse’ or something. That would act as a reference or benchmark, a record of the authentic virtues of toughness, loyalty, speed and endurance (as well as beauty) that define the Arab, just in case(!) these are lost sight of in these days fashionable show stallions covering huge numbers of mares despite the fact that they have never been asked to do anything more demanding than walk and trot in hand!!
Thanks, Lisa. The Annotated Quest is available most easily for you through the Al Khamsa website, alkhamsa.org.
Your idea about a compilation of “comments” is a good one. Charles did one for both the 1983 and 1993 volumes of Al Khamsa Arabians, but just the English-language sources….
This is the photo that made me want a Davenport. And while I missed out on owning a Lysander daughter, I do have a Lysander granddaughter, Capucine (Capulet x Reminisce).