Wujra Al Arab

On July 27 — my birthday — Wadha foaled a chestnut filly, sired through artificial insemination by the Bahraini stallion of Jenny Lees, Shuwaiman Al Rais (photo below). Further news about this loooong-awaited filly will be shared once she is out of the woods (i.e., the U Penn vet hospital in New Bolton, PA), so no photos just yet. In keeping with the W line back to her granddam Wisteria CF and her great-granddam HB Wadduda, I named her Wujra — which in Arabic means “the one fed or medicated by mouth”. She will pull through.

New-to-me photo of stallion Basil, Kuhaylan al-Mimrah from Syria

This new-to-me photo of the Syrian Kuhaylan Mimrah stallion Basil (Mahrous x Halah), of the breeding of the late Mustapha al-Jabri was taken at the Damascus Government Stud . It recently appeared on one of the many Facebook pages now focusing on Syrian Arabians, one hosted by “Alhorane”. I remember being struck by this horse the first time I saw him in 1990. He oozed Arabness.

Belle’s 2023 foal

I am so taken with Belle’s new colt by Jamr, born a couple months ago at the farm of their new owner Moira Walker. Moira named him Belisarius. He is a throwback to the USA Arabians of a hundred years ago, those you find in black and white photographs of horse magazines and books. At that time, Arabians were good all around horses, not overly specialized in a single discipline, whether halter, endurance or racing.

The Khdili of Abbud Ali al-Amud in the Aldahdah Index

I have not looked at my “Aldahdah Index” in a while. It is a compendium of standardized entries on older Middle Eastern Arabian horses, mostly Syrian and Lebanese, in the style of the Raswan Index. I will publish it one day. I looked up the entry of the Khdili stallion of Abbud Ali al-Amud, who has recently been the subject of discussion on social media (Facebook and WhatsApp groups). I had written this about him back then: AL-KHDILI OF ABOUD ALI AL-AMOUD: an Asil desert-bred stallion; later owned by the Armenian horsedealer Apo in Aleppo. Strain: Kuhaylan Khdili, of the marbat owned by ‘Abbud ‘Ali al-‘Amud, a Bedouin from the Aqaydat tribe; al-‘Amud got his horses from the marbat of ‘Udayb al-Waqqa’ of the Saba’ah tribe. Comments: He was a small horse of such classic Arab type, with such an extreme head, that people in Aleppo were reluctant to use him because they found him to be ‘pretty like a mare’. He is closely related to the beautiful mare Leelas, a Kuhaylah Khdiliyah bred by ‘Abbud ‘Ali Al-‘Amud, and which is a daughter of the Ma’naqi al-Shwaiti al-Najrissi of the Aqaydat tribe. That was what I had about him some…

A turning point

Very happy to announce my acquisition, a few months ago, of this handsome and truly desert-bred jet black Kuhaylan al-Wati stallion [click link for the pedigree] hailing straight from the Shammar Bedouins. Hopefully, he will make his way to the US at some point in the future. He is currently standing at the stud of Shaykh Hashim Al Jarba [Abu Hmud] in N.E. Syria, where he has been put to good use over the past three years. He’s had some ten foals this year only. His offspring, among them the two fillies below, are very promising,    

Some thoughts about the strain of the desert-bred horses *Munifan and *Munifeh

The account of the visit of Dr. Ahmed Mabrouk of the Egyptian RAS to Prince Saud Ibn ‘Abdallah Ibn Jalawi (or Jluwi), Governor of the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia in 1936 can also be used to shed some light on the desert-bred stallion *Munifan. The same reasoning used in the recent blog entry about *Al Hamdaniah also applies to *Munifan. *Munifan was also born in 1940, four years after Mabrouk’s visit. He was gifted to George O’Brien by Ibn Jalawi, and imported in 1947 to the USA by O’Brien. His Saudi export document indicates that he was by an ‘Ubayyan out of a Kuhaylah. His sire could be any of the five Ubayyan horses Dr. Mabrouk saw on his visit two Ibn Jalawi: a 7 year old bay stallion, an 11 year old dark bay stallion, a 7 year old chestnut stallion himself sired by a chestnut ‘Ubayyan stallion, and two bay colts, both sired by a bay ‘Ubayyan, likely the first one on this list, who appears to have been the head sire. Dr Mabrouk’s list of the mares he saw at Ibn Jalawi includes several mares of strains typically classified as branches of the generic Kuhaylan strain.…

Dosage

Today, my Barakah was bred to Monologue CF. I love this young mare of mine, and I am looking forward to the outcome of that cross. In general, I find that this particular branch of the *Nufoud damline is a diamond in the rough. It has plenty of desert type, but some defects too. Barakah’s dam Belle is the most deserty mare I own, but the girth lacks some depth, the back is a tad long, the forehead a little narrow and the barrel — the rib cage — is not round enough for my taste. But she has plenty of bone, long ears, a proud carriage and the croup and tail set are just the way they should be. The addition of Wadd — Barakah’s sire — fixed the girth, the longish back and the ribcage, all structural features that I have found hard to fix in one generation, but it messed up the croup. Barakah inherited her sire’s short droopey croup and short-ish hip, although when moving like in the pictures below, this does not show. So I am hoping Monologue will now fix the croup with his long, straight hip like in the photo, without affecting the…

Dahjani Al Arab spring 2022

Dahjani Al Arab, a Kuhaylan Da’jani born in 2008, is one of four authentic, desert-bred Syrian stallions in France. The other three are Mahboub Halep, a grey Shuwayman Sabbah; Nimr Shabareq, a chestnut Ma’naqi Sbayli, and Dahess Hasska, a chestnut Kuhaylan Nawwaq. Photo of Dahjani taken earlier this month by owner Arnault Decroix in Normandy. I love the arched throatlatch and the small pricked ears on him.  

Muddy yet magnificient Wadhah

Wadhah is now 11, and looks truly magnificent. She is in foal to Monologue CF, and due in mid-May for her first foal. She really looks like the Thadrian daughter that she is. She has fully transitioned from the zarqa (darker, blue-grey) to the safra (light grey, almost white, with yellowish mane and tail) shade of grey. That’s when you wish you had brushed her before the photoshoot.

Barakah yesterday after two years

I was pleased to see how my 2016 mare Barakah Al Arab (Wadd Al Arab x Jadah BellOfTheBall) had developed over the past two and a half years. I left her a gangly two year old, and she has filled up since. She certainly has some more growing to do. Wadd improved the shoulder angle and the length of the shoulder, added much needed depth of girth and breadth of ribcage; he left the head pretty much the same as her mother’s, except for adding more distance between the eyes, the ears are as long and prickled as her mother’s. On the other hand, Belle’s beautiful level croup and highly set tail are gone; instead Barakah inherited Wadd’s slightly sloping croup and the short hip which is a legacy his dam Wisteria. When going you don’t notice it as much. I did not pay as much attention to her feet as I should have. Overall, Barakah is an improvement over Belle, without having lost her “desert” look. By the way, I feel breeders needs to be as openly candid about their horses as they can, if they want to improve on them in the long term, especially if they do…

Climate and terrain variation in the USA and its impact on horses

The dry, arid climate and terrain of the South Western USA are much closer to that of the steppes of Arabia than the wetter climate and more lush pastures of, say, the mid-Atlantic region or the plains of the Midwest. I have observed that these drier conditions are resulting in Arabian horses that look much closer to the horses raised in Syria and Arabia, and to those raised in Namibia and the drier parts of South Africa. Drier skin, stronger, more solid bone, more visible tendons, and something different in the way the eyes shine that I cannot describe. This observation is a central tenet of the writings of French master breeder Robert Mauvy, based on his empirical observations. I would like to read any scientific papers on the climate and terrain impact on horse phenotypes, if anyone knows of any. The mare below, Roxana Star (Personic LF x Jauhar Al Khala by Sportin Life), a Kuhaylah Hayfiyah of Davenport bloodlines born in 2005, illustrates this observation. She is in the Southwestern USA, with Christine Emmert. Photos by Christine.

Account of the Kuhaylan Da’jani horses of Khidr al-Ahmad al-Husayn, by Hammad al-Jaddu’ al-Jaz’ah of the tribe of Tai

This account recorded in early 2021. It reads like a testimony of the Abbas Pasha Manuscript. My translation: I, Hammad Jaddu’ al-Jaz’ah, of the tribe of Tai, clan of al-Jawwalah, I am the owner of the strain of Saqlawi Dari, the horses of Jaddu’ al-Jaz’ah, in the township of Abu Hujairah, district of al-Qahtaniyah, province of al-Qamishli, governorate of al-Hasakah:   Concerning the marbat of Da’jani Kashir, the horses of Khidr al-Ahmad al-Husayn al-Juburi, they came [to Syria] at the end of 1958 or the beginning of 1959. It was the father of Khidr who came [to Syria]; his name was Ahmad al-Ali al-Juburi (of the Jubur); he was the direct son of the daughter of Ahmad al-Taha; his maternal uncle was Ahmad al-Taha. The man came from Iraq, with blood on his hands [Edouard’s note: he had killed two men there]; That’s why he crossed into Syria. There were two mares with him, a red one (bay) and a light grey one, both of the Da’jani Kashir strain, which was the marbat of his maternal uncle Ahmad al-Taha. He settled in Syria, from the beginning of 1959 until his death. To this day, his son Khidr al-Ahmad al-Juburi is…

كحيلة الخدلية من مربط عضيب الوقاع السبيعي

فرس شقراء كحيلة الخدلية يعود مربطها الى عضيب الوقاع السبيعي ابوها الصقلاوي الجدراني من خيل دريعي الاحدب من عشيرة شمر ابو امها المعنقي السبيلي حصان الشويطي من خيل النجرس من عشيرة العقيدات

Dahjani Al Arab for 2022

This year I will be using for the first time frozen semen from one of the Syrian stallions now in France. I chose Arnault Decroix’s Dahjani Al Arab (same prefix as my horses, by chance). He is a Kuhaylan Da’jaani from the old Syrian desert bloodlines I have known and loved for three decades (sheesh!). He traces directly to the Kuhaylan Da’jaani marbat of Ahmad al-Taha, the Shaykh of the large Juhaysh tribe in Northern Iraq. This is the same breeder as El Nasser’s, the Kuhaylan Da’jani which Egypt’s Royal Agricultural Society (RAS) used in the 1940s. These bloodlines are quite prized for racing in Syria today. Just look at the striking similarity between El Nasser and Dahjani Al Arab, 80 years apart.  

Little Bassma

A quick snapshot of little Bassma from two weeks ago. She is unfolding slowly. I will be back in the USA in July and will take good pictures. I just love the combination of bloodlines this filly brings. A Saudi tail female to *Nufoud with a cross to *Turfa in the bottom, a female line to *Wadduda on her sire’s side, plenty of Davenport blood all over (11/16), and a dose of Doyle lines (3.5/16) for good measure. So proud to have been able to continue this wonderful *Nufoud line, walking in the footsteps of the late Carol Lyons.

Samura, a Kuhaylat al-Jallala, in Russia

Samura (below) was the 1895 daughter of the desertbred Kuhaylat al-Jallala mare Saeeda. Samura’s dam Saeeda was foaled in 1884, bred by the Misrab tribe of the Sba’ah. Imported by Stroganov on his first joint expedition with Prince Shcherbakov in 1888, Saeeda produced eight foals between 1891 and 1902, all but one by desertbred stallions; her eighth foal was sired by Abeyan. Samura’s sire was the Krush stallion Emir-el-Arab, bred by Muhammad Ibn Smeyr of the Wuld Ali. At the time the Russian stud book was compiled, Samura had produced two colts, a chestnut colt by Sherrak in 1900, and a chestnut going grey colt by Sottamm el-Kreysh in 1902. Photo from the History of Russia in Photographs.

Latifa, a Kuhaylah al-Sharif, and her daughter Leyla

Latifa was one of the desertbred imports of Count Sergei Stroganov. Foaled in 1883, she was bred by the Shammar, and bought by Stroganov on his trip to Syria in 1895. She produced two fillies and two colts for Stroganov, three of them by the Krush stallion Emir-el-Arab, and one – her daughter Leyla, below – by Sharrak. Leyla was foaled in 1897, the first of Latifa’s foals in Russia. In 1902, she produced a grey colt by Stroganov’s desertbred Saqlawi Jadran, Sottam el-Kreysh. Photos from the History of Russia in Photographs.

Kehayley, a Kuhaylat al-Ajuz from the Sba’ah, in Derkul, Russia

Kehayley was foaled in 1893, and imported to Russia by Prince Shcherbatov in 1900. Kekhaylan Adjus strain. Bay mare imported, born in 1893. In 1895 was secretly bought by Akhmet Beg (citizen of Hama town) and Bedouin Simran from Kkhrissa tribe (of Fedhaan Anazeh) from Bedouin Jaetnee from Abadat tribe (of Sebaa Anaze). Sire of Dagkhman Umm-Amr strain. Bought personally by Prince A.G. Shcherbatov in Hama city from Akhmet Beg in 1900 and imported to Russia. Stud Book of Arabian horses with their pedigrees present in Russia In 1902 she foaled a colt, Dervish, by Dachman. Photo sourced from the History of Russia in Photographs.

Prince Shcherbatov’s desertbred stallions

Prince Alexander Grigorievich Shcherbatov was one of the Russian aristocratic horse breeders, who established an Arabian stud in the late nineteenth century. Together with his brother-in-law, Count Sergei Aleksandrovich Stroganov, Prince Shcherbatov, inspired by the Blunts, journeyed to Syria in 1888, in order to purchase Bedouin Arabian horses. They succeeded in buying horses from the Anazah and the Shammar, and in 1900 made a second trip to Syria. Neither Shcherbatov nor Stroganov’s studs survived the upheaval of the Russian Revolution, though part of the Tersk stud is situated on Stroganov’s farm. El-Kader (above), a Kuhaylan Swayti stallion from the Ruwalah, by a Ma’naqi ibn-Sbayli. Born in Arabia in 1882 at Bedouin Mis’ar Ibn-Moadjil of Ashadjaa tribe (from Roal Anaze). The said Bedouin sold the horse to Ahmet Pasha Shaaman in Damascus where it served as a sire for Roala tribe. Sire of Manegi Ibn-Sbeiyel strain. Purchased by Prince A.G. Shcherbatov in person in Damascus and brought to Russia in 1888. Stud Book of Arabian horses with their pedigrees present in Russia Faris (above), an Ubayyan Sharrak stallion from the Shammar, by a Kuhaylan Ras-el-Fedawi. From Abeyan Sherrak strain, from Gkhenedish family (of Selga Shommar). Pebble grey stallion, imported, height 2…

كروش الناعم من الافحل المهمة بالجزيرة السورية

الفحل “الاشهب” المعروف بكروش الناعم ابن حمداني الدعبو ابن دهمان عامرمن خيل عجيل الياور مواليد عام 1988 توليد اسعد سليمان الحسن قرية عكرشة صاحب ام كروش وملك عبود عواد المضحي قرية الناعم امه كروش البيضا لونها ادهم مالكها اسعد سليمان الحسن ابوها المعنقي الحدرجي حصان ظاهر العفيتان لونه أصدأ وامها كروش صاحبها سليمان الحسن ابوها كروش وامها كروش من مربط مطلق عبد الكريم اللهبا من قرية الباردة

قصص كحيلة كروش البيضا في الجزيرة السورية نقلًا عن الشيخ هاشم حمود الجربا وتدوين محمد معصوم العاقوب

كروش البيضا سلالة عريقة ترجع كحيلة العاجوز . اشتُهرتْ في نجد عند الدويش شيخ قبيلة مطير وعند ابن رشيد حاكم حائل انذاك وتحظى هذه السلالة بتقدير عالي عند البدو وقيل فيها الكثير من الأشعار. أمّا تاريخ هذه السلالة في نجد وشبه جزيرة العرب فهو معلوم وما يَهمّنا هو كروش في الجزيرة السورية ذكر الشيخ هاشم حمود الجربا أنّه بعد اعدام صفوگ الجربا 1847 م وابنه عبدالكريم صفوگ الجربا 1871 زمن الدولة العثمانية فرّت عمشة الحسين زوجة صفوگ بابنائها واحفادها وكانوا صغاراً أكبرهم فارس الصفوگ وقضوا بضعة سنين في حائل بضيافة ابن رشيد وعند عودتهم الى الجزيرة السورية أهداه ابن رشيد فرس من رسن كحيلة كروش البيضا وهذه الفرس أنسلت وتكاثرت عند ابناء فارس واحفاده وبالأخص عند علي العبدالرزاق ومنه انتقلت الى العبدالمحسن والعبدالكريم لأنه لم يكن له ذريّة من الذكورأمّا خيل العبدالمحسن أو ما يُعرف بكروشات العبدالمحسن فقام عليهن عيادة الگُرطة بعد انتقالهم من الريف الى المدينة وفي تسجيل منظمة الواهو تم قبول الخيل باسم عيادة الگُرطة وفي عام 1982 تُوفّي النوري الجربا وفي مجلس العزاء لمحَ جدوع السعدي مُهرة كروش دهماء فطلبها من راكان النوري فأعطاها إيّاه وبعد عِدّة سنوات أرسل راكان النوري الى جدوع السعدي فأخذَ مُهرة وبيعت ثلاث افراس إلى الداخل الأولى لقبها العرجة ذائعة الصيت وهي…

Whitehouse Bint Yakouta, an asil Rosina-line mare

Continuing on with the Courthouse elements in asil South African breeding, below are photos of the Rosina granddaughter, Whitehouse Bint Yakouta (Anchor Hill Omar x Sahiby Yakouta). Foaled in 1986, Whitehouse Bint Yakouta is the head of the second of the three branches of asil Rosina-line horses in Southern Africa, with representation in Namibia and South Africa both. She has nine asil foals on record, five sons and four daughters, all by the EAO-bred import Mefdal (Zahi x Marzouka). Her first foal, the stallion Kamarie El Omar (foaled January 1994). Another of her sons, Kamarie Anter (foaled December 1994). Kamarie Anter again. Whitehouse Bint Yakouta (on the right) with her daughters Kamarie Yosreia (foaled 1995), Kamarie Bint Bint Yakouta (foaled 1997), and Kamarie Yasmeena (foaled 2000). Photos courtesy of Wilton Burger and Maretha Garbers Coetzee.

Kuhailaan Al Adiyat Hashal, from Bahrain to Texas

PJ Altshuler and Marwan Abu Suud received this precious gift from the Bahrain Royal Stud.  He is currently the only Bahraini stallion alive in the USA. I s The earliest known source of information on the strain of Kuhailaan Al-Adiyat Hashal is Judith Forbis’s article “Pearls of Great Price” as it appeared in a 1971 issue of the Arabian Horse World (AHW) magazine, republished in her book “Authentic Arabian Bloodstock” (1990). Judith Forbis visited the studs of the ruling family of Bahrain in March 1970 and mentioned the following: “Kuheilah Al Adiati is another strain rarely heard of before, but deriving from the Kuheilah family. She came from Saudi Arabia, and was presented to Sheikh Hamad when he was a prince, together with a letter of presentation from the offering Sheikh of Al Ajman: “I send to you this mare which fulfills Al Adiat […] When Sheikh Hamad saw her racing and found her exceedingly swift, he happily declaired: “Truly she is of Al Adiat” The strain is evidently a branch of the Kuhaylan family, and appears to have come to Bahrain in the period between 1923 and 1932, the period when Shaykh Hamad bin ‘Isa Aal Khalifah was deputy…

Sanniesguns Sahara, a Kuhaylah Mimrahiyah with Courthouse elements

(By Kate McLachlan and Moira Walker) Below is a photo of the rising five-year-old mare, Sanniesguns Sahara, a daughter of the asil Rosina-line stallion Jauhar El-Zar and the Kuhaylah Mimrahiyah Sidi Maschata. Her sire’s dam, Whitehouse Yashma, is by the stallion Anchor Hill Omar, bringing in Babson-Sirecho-Gainey breeding. Yashma’s dam, Sahiby Yakouta, is a daughter of the Courthouse mare Rosina, who has one line each to the stallions Atesh and Nimr. The Courthouse Stallions have been featured before, with barely surviving asil lines posted about 1/ here, 2/ here, 3/ here, 4/ and here. For functional purposes, the lines of descent have broken into two branches: the Austria branch, consisting of Nimr and Fedaan; and the South Africa branch, consisting of Nimr and Atesh. The preservation of the considerably more endangered Austrian branch has been spearheaded by Laszlo Kiraly, who rescued the 1994 mare Saraly El Shahin and 2015 daughter, Salome Hamdaniya, who both carry the unique tail female line going straight back to the Blunt mare Sobha. Hopefully this continues to thrive, as it is currently the only known line to carry forward Fedaan. The South African line, on the other hand, is a little more robust, although it…

قصص كحيلة الربدا عن محمد معصوم العاقوب من شيوخ حرب طي

حدثنا محمد معصوم العاقوب من شيوخ حرب طي قال  الربدا كحيلة عجوز والربداء من أسماء النعامة وتميّزت بهذا الاسم لأنها طَرحتْ ذَكر النعام والنعامة معروفة بسرعته في عام 1810-1815 للميلاد غزتْ قبيلة اعنزا باشات الاكراد مرتين في منطقة قورانشار شمالي بلدة رأس العين السورية في المرّة الأولى استطاع الباشا صد اعنزا وكان اسمه عَبْدي الكَلَشْ وغَنِمَ من اعنزا مجموعة من الخيل والابل وأسير يُقال له في لهجة البدو (( گضيب)) في هذه الاثناء كانت قبيلة حرب في هذه المنطقة لأنها وفيرة بالماء والمرعى وتربط شيخهم جميل الدرويش علاقات قوية مع الاكراد ويلقّبونه جَمّو حسب لهجتهم كان جميل يُحسن الى الاسير الاعنزي ويعامله معاملة جيدة فقال له خُذ تلك المهرة فإن الاكراد لا يعرفون قيمتها فأرسل الشيخ أبنه الصغير خليوي لطلبها من الباشا فأعطاها له وأخبرهم الاعنزي بأنّ هذه المهرة ربدا خشيبي من خيل ابن هذال وأنها من أرفع الخيل عندهم ومنذ ذلك الحين والخيل الربد مع حرب الى يومنا هذا شاركتهم كُل تفاصيل حياتهم وانتقلت معهم الى منطقة القامشلي بعد حدوث خلاف مع الباشا ودخلت حرب ضمن حلف طي في منطقة القامشلي وكان لها مواقف كثيرة معهم لا يتسع المجال لذكرها فأعزوها كثيراً واذكر أنّ عمي عبدالرزاق يحدثني عن فرسهم الربدا بأنهم كانوا في الربيع في بيت الشعر تأتي الفرس…

Qayss, Kuhaylan Junaydi, Syria

I found the photos I was looking for, so I will stop scanning for the night. They don’t do justice to the effect this horse had on you. This is Qayss, by Mahrous out Zabbaa’, a stylish bay mare registered in the studbook as a Kuhaylat al-‘Ajuz, but actually from the prestigious branch of Kuhaylan Junaydi. The authorities in Syria registered many horses from unfamiliar strains under the generic Kuhaylan ‘Ajuz, including horses of the Rishan Shar’abi, Mlayhan, Kuhaylan Junaydi, Kuhaylan al-‘Anz and Kuhalyan al-Sharif strains. According to Abbas al-Azzawi’s masterful ‘Asha’ir al-Iraq (Volume 1, under the Shammar section), the war mare of Beneyeh Ibn Quraymis al-Jarba was a Kuhaylah Junaydiyyah. Beneyeh was killed in war in 1231 Hijri (1815 CE). He was the paternal cousin of Sfug al-Jarba, the Shaykh of the Shammar whom the Ottomans treacherously murdered in 1847. Qayss’ eye was placed high, and his head was plain, but what charisma he had and what impression he made on you! What personality and what strength!

Layth, Kuhaylan Khallawi, Syria

Layth, by Mahrous out of Hallah, was spectacular. He was the prototype of the masculine stallion. I had never seen a neck like that on a Syrian horse. Photo from my 1995 visit to Mustafa al-Jabri’s stud. His strain goes back to the Khallawiyyaat marbat of the Ja’alifah of the Northern Shammar in Iraq, through the Tai. Anything from that marbat is now gone, I believe. I am not sure if the Khallawi strain is a branch of the Kuhaylan strain (the Abbas Pasha Manuscript says it is) or a strain of its own. Below, one of his daughters, out of a Kuhaylat al-Wati mare, either Dawhah or one of her daughters. She was very impressive too. Photo from my last visit to Jabri’s, in 2000.

Saad II, Kuhaylan Khdili, Syria

I have written frequently about this horse. In my opinion, Saad II was one of the three best sons of al-Aawar. He was out of a grand mare, Leelas, a Kuhaylah Khdiliyah of ‘Abbud al-‘Ali al-‘Amud of the ‘Aqaydat. That strain harked back to the Kuhaylaat al-‘Ajuz of the Khdilat section of the Fada’an. It was held in high esteem by all the Bedouins across Arabia. Indeed, I have rarely seen such unanimity about a strain. I took these pictures at Mustafa al-Jabri’s farm in 1997. Saad II was in poor condition then. My father, who really had an eye for picking good stallions for his mares, thought the world of him. He sent his favorite mare, a bay Saqlawiyah Sha’ifyah of Ibn Bisra from Rayak, Lebanon all the way to Aleppo, Syria, to be bred to him. She produced that gorgeous colt, below. Photos at the farm of Michel Pharaon, then leased by Husayn Nasser. I never knew what happened to him. My father probably gave him away to someone.

Dating the strain of Kuhaylat al-Jalala: ca. 1700

Kuhaylan al-Jalala is yet another strain that goes back to the Sharif of Mecca. A mare from this strain, Saida, was imported by Count Stroganoff and Prince Sherbatoff from the Northern Arabian desert to Russia. I had written about this strain ten years ago, here. Back then, my sources were Shammar oral histories through veteran horse merchant ‘Abd al-Qadir Hammami. They were supplemented by information French intelligence officer Victor Muller had collected from the Northern Shammar around 1922. I am now reading the account on Kuhaylan al-Jalala in the Arabic edition of the Abbas Pasha Manuscript, which is very consistent with the oral histories of the Shammar. Here is my translation of the relevant excerpt: Sultan Ibn Suwayt the Shaykh of al-Dhafeer was queried about al-Jalala: “Which of the Kahaayil is she, and what is the original source from which she spread (shiyaa’ah)?” The aforementioned reported in the gathering: “She is a Kuhaylah, to be mated. The original source from which she spread (shiyaa’ah) was the Sharif, of the first Sharifs of Mecca. She passed from the Sharif to Ibn Dayiss of the ‘Ulyan of Shammar al-Jazirah. In ancient times, at the time of Shuhayl [who was] one of our…

Dating the Kuhaylan Mimrah strain: 1495 CE

Some twelve years ago, I wrote several blog entries about the strain of Kuhaylan al-Mimrah. One of these entries, here, summarized the strain’s origin as it was reported in one account in the Abbas Pasha Manuscript. This account traced this strain’s origin to a Kuhaylat al-‘Ajuz mare owned by ‘Ijl Ibn Hulaytim, a celebrated figure in the history of Najd. He was from the old tribe of Aal Mughirah. Aal Mughirah, now vanished as a single tribal unit, was one of the sections of the larger Bani Lam tribe. ‘Ijl was the ruler (amir) of a small but powerful principality in Najd centered around the town of al-Shu’araa, some 200 kilometres west of Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia. The second map zooms in on the black box area in the first map, enlarged. Ignore the red point. According to this account, a precious, ancient line of Kuhaylat al-‘Ajuz had passed in war from ‘Ijl ibn Hulaytim to the tribe of Qahtan, then from Qahtan to al-Maryum, who was from the Dhafeer tribe. From al-Maryum, it had passed to al-Mimrah, who was from the clan of al-Muwayni’ of the Sba’ah. The line has been known as Kuhaylat al-Mimrah ever since.…

Dating the Krush strain: a tough one

[This article was last revised on June 26] My dive into the Abbas Pasha Manuscript — that bottomless treasure — for approximates dates of the beginning of the main strains of Arabian horses continues. The approach remains the same. After the Dahman Shahwan (ca. 1280 CE), Hamdani Simri (ca. 1670) and the Hadban and Harqan strains (both ca. 1650), now is the turn of the Krushan. The Krushan strain is the subject of Chapter 11 of the Abbas Pasha Manuscript. This my translation of the opening testimony: Al-Hamidi Al-Dawish, ‘Abd al-‘Aziz al-Dawish, Husayn Ibn Farz, and Mutlaq al-Dawish, a man advanced in age, were queried in the presence of a crowd from the Dushan and the Mutayr about the Krush. Which of the Kahaayil does she go back to? ?Who did she originally spread from? The aforementioned reported: “She is a Kuhaylat ‘Ajuz; she is the first of the Kahaayil; she was was named Krush after Ibn Karshah of Qahtan, and al-Ghandur after al-Ghandur of the Buqum. She is a precious strain, [they are] authenticated and blessed horses. She first spread from Ibn Ramthayn of the ‘Abidah of Qahtan. The Sharif Abu Srur al-awwal asked for her from Ibn Ramthayn,…

Tracing the Harqan strain to 1650

Another Kuhaylan al-‘Ajuz strain from the sharif. The below account of the Kuhaylan Harqan strain in the Abbas Pasha Manuscript offers some of the clearest indications for dating an Arabian horse strain. The accounts of Kuhaylat al-Ru’ail and her name is al-Harqah: Those present at the gathering of Ha’il were queried about al-Ru’ail, “as it is said it is yours, O Shammar”. Talal Ibn Ramal and ‘Ubayd ibn Rashid reported: “The accounts we have heard from the forebears were that, in early times, al-Suwayt was in the home area [dirah] of al-Jabal [Jabal Shammar]. He [al-Suwayt] would raid the people of Najd each time one of the ashraaf from the people of Mecca took over power [in Najd]. When the Sharif Muhammad al-Harith, the leader of the ashraaf at the time, took over power [in Najd], he [i.e., al-Suwayt] raided Najd [again]. Muhammad al-Tulay’, a son of ‘Abdah, of the Fdayl of the Shammar, unhorsed the Sharif Muhammad al-Harith and took him prisoner. He made many demands over his release. Among his demands was the Kuhaylah. And she [i.e., a mare from that line, not the ransom mare herself] went to Abu Utait, the Shaykh of the Faddaghah [section] of…

Shamikh al Jabri, Kuhaylan al-Wati stallion

This is not a photo I would have shared a few months ago. I don’t remember who sent it to me. It features a member of the Islamic State (IS) on the Kuhaylan al-Wati stallion Shamikh Al Jabri. The background to the photo is the equestrian club of Raqqah with its conspicuous blue gate. The club was destroyed in the US coalition bombings. Many horses perished. Shamikh and a few mares survived. He died last year, but several mares are alive that are in foal to him. His pedigree is one of the best in Syria, and certainly one of the cleanest. The sire of Shamikh is Wesam Halab (Raad x Aaliyah), a Hamdani al-‘Efri of the breeding of Omar ‘Anbargi. His dam is Fattanah (Faris II x Dawhah), a Kuhaylat al-Wati. Dawhah was one of the original Kuhaylat al-Wati mares of Mustafa Jabri, from the breeding of Hakim al-Ghism. Faris II was by the Kuhaylan Mimrah stallion Basil (Mahrous x Halah) out of the ‘Ubayyah Suhayliyah mare Qatheefah. Below, from top to bottom: Halah the chestnut, Qatheefah the bay, and Dawhah the chestnut. Three mares I have known through the 1990s and continue to admire. I don’t think either…

Inaam Al Krush, a Monologue son

It is that time of the year in the USA, where the weather is nice, the grass green, and the cameras out. Kim Davis, who has a talent for taking good photos, recently took these of the 2011 bay Krushan stallion Inaam Al Krush (Monologue CF x HH Noura Krush). At ten years old, he is in his prime. Monologue has another Krush offspring of Davenport lines on the way, from Laura Fitz’s mare HH Karisma Krush.

Ghallaieh, 1973 desert-bred Kuhaylat al-Krush from the Shammar

Another set of old photos I just scanned today features the Syrian desert bred mare Ghallaieh at the farm of Radwan Shabareq north of Aleppo, near the town of ‘Azaz. She was old and lame (you can see the broken front leg) and rather plain in the head, but what a grand and powerful mare she was. I took the first photo in 1998. My father took the second photo in 1996, and you can see a youthful me (the hair!) holding her halter. She was a bay Kuhaylat al-Krush from the breeding of Rakan al-Nuri al-Mashal Basha al-Jarba, from the leading family of the Shammar. Mashal was the son of the famous Faris al-Jarba. The strain reached this family of the Jarba Shammar Sheykhs from their maternal uncles the Sheikh of the Tai Farhan al-Abd al-Rahman sometime in the 1950s or even 1960s. From here, there are two stories. One story is that the Sheykhs of the Tai obtained it from the Shammar who had it since the time of ‘Amsheh and Ibn Rashid (see next blog entry on the black mare). Another story is that Tai got the strain from the Fadaan. Ghallaieh was the daughter of a…

Rare pictures of Mayassah

Jeanne Craver gratified me today with two pictures of my own Kuhaylat al-Krush mare Mayassah Al Arab (Clarion CF x Cinnabar Myst by ASF David). Thank you Jeanne! She is now six years old, and a liver chestnut like her sire. Debbie Mackie boards her for me. She looks good and it seems Debbie has been spoiling her. I like horses built like tanks, and I like Arab horses that look like horses, not dolls. I wish Clarion CF had ten or twenty foals, not two. She is one of two remaining Al Khamsa mares to carry the blood of the three Al Khamsa foundation horses Kesia I, Kesia II and Mameluke. The other mare is Karin Floyd’s Samirahs Adlayah.

Belladonna CHF, Kuhaylat al-‘Ajuz from a Saudi line

RJ Cadranell and Jeanne Craver shared this photo of the Kuhaylat al-‘Ajuz mare Belldonna CHF (Audobon x LD Rubic), which RJ took at Randall Harris’. She is the dam of my Jadah BelloftheBall, bred by Randall. This line is very close to the desert, through *Nufoud, a mare in the stables of King ‘Abd al-‘Aziz Aal Saud. Here is another photo of Belladonna CHF, and a link to an earlier entry featuring her.

Sidi Egyptian Nile, a Kuhaylan al-Mimrah

The photo below, shared with the kind permission of Janien Strauss, is of the Kuhaylan al-Mimrah stallion, Sidi Egyptian Nile (Thee Cyclone x Sahiby Juleemah), whose half-siblings have been featured on the blog before. The story of the Kuhaylan al-Mimrah strain in South Africa is already known to most readers of the blog, but here is a quick recap: in the 1940s, Claude Orpen imported three stallions and two mares to South Africa from Egypt. One of these mares was the three-year-old Barakah (Ibn Manial x Gamalat). In South Africa, she produced two foals by her fellow import, the stallion Zahir (Ibn Fayda x Zahra), a colt, Gordonville Ziyadan, and a filly, Gordonville Zahara. Unfortunately, Zahara died young, and Barakah’s next foals were not asil. The Kuhaylan al-Mimrah strain would have died out in asil form, had it not been for the intervention of Dr Valerie Noli-Marais, who acquired the aged Barakah, and the gift of the Bahraini stallion Tuwaisan, by Sheikh Isa bin Sulman Al-Khalifa. Barakah’s last foal, born when the mare was twenty-seven, was, miraculously, a daughter, Sahiby Bint Baraka. Sahiby Bint Baraka had four registered foals, but only one of her two fillies was asil, Sahiby Noura,…

The entry of the Kuhaylan al-Wati of Diyab al-Sbeih in my Aldahdah Index

KUHAYLAN AL-WATI OF DIYAB AL-SBEIH: a gray (born black, he later turned dark gray) asil desert-bred stallion; born c. 1977 (certainly after 1975 and before 1980); bred by Fawaz Ibn Ghishm, who is a lesser shaykh of a clan of the Northern Shammar; Strain: Kuhaylan al-Wati of the marbat of Hakim al-Ghishm of the Shammar; one of the sons of Hakem ibn Hsayni ibn Ghishm once told us that the father of their father got this strain from the Anazeh tribe. The Ghishm also mentioned they only bred their horses to each other, and that breeding to an outside horse was an exception. Sire: a desert bred Kuhaylan al-Wati bred by Fawaz ibn Hakem al-Ghishm of the Shammar tribe; Dam: a desert-bred Kuhayla al-Wati also bred by Fawaz ibn Ghishm; Comments: Fawaz gifted the horse, who was between one and a half and three years old to his inlaws al-Sbeih. A sister of Fawaz had married Mohammad, the eldest son of Diyab al-Sbeih. Diyab was a Mukhtar of the Shammar, a non Shaykh notable; Muhammad ibn Diyab al-Sbeih died in the uprising of the Muslim Brotherhood in the beginning of the 1980s). There is some disagreement between the four Ghishm…

Rare Kuhaylah mare find in France

Severine Vesco and Amelie Blackwell, wearing their treasure hunter hats, found this gem of a mare somewhere in rural Southern France. Lannilis, the mare, is a 20 year old Kuhaylah Nawwaqiyah, of Tunisian, Algerian, and old, pure French bloodlines. She had a career as a trail riding horse, and is now being used to produce endurance Arabians and Araloosas. This mare traces to one of the lesser known Algerian (Tiaret) tail females, that of the mare Mzeirib, a 1891 desert-bred Kuhaylah Nawwaqiyah from the Shammar. The French imported Mzeirib to Algeria in 1898. The line went to the state stud of Tunisia at some point in the 1920s, then to private hands in France in the 1970s. In France it bred on with crosses to pure Arabian stallions of old Tunisian lines, including some of Robert Mauvy’s breeding. It is the same female line as that of the Tunisian stallion Omran that went to that zoo in Germany. The short back, the deep girth, the high withers, the long hip on this mare are somehow reminiscent of early Crabbet Blunt horses.

Rare strain: Kuhaylan Al-Adiat

The information on this rare strain found only in the Kingdom of Bahrain, primarily comes from the seminal 1971 article of Judi Forbis in Arabian Horse World, later republished in her book Authentic Arabian Bloodstock. Judi visited Bahrain in March 1970, and recorded the following information about the strain, in three different parts of that article. The first reference provides background on the strain: Kuhaylah Al Adiati is another strain rarely heard of before, but deriving from the Kuhaylah family. She came from Saudi Arabia and was presented to Sheikh Hamad when he was a prince, together with a letter of presentation from the offering Sheikh of Al Ajman: “I send to you this mare which fulfills Al Adiat”. That is, to him she embodied all the swift and desirable attributes understood in the beautiful El Adiat, Sura 100 of the Koran [A translation of Verse 100 of the Qur’an follows]. What greater or more meaningful gift could he possibly have bestowed? When Sheikh Hamad saw her race and found her to be exceedingly swift, he happily declared: “Truly She is of Al Adiat.” The second reference occurs during a visit to the stud of Sakhir: “Sakhir, the abandoned palace…