A blog on desert arabian horses, past, present and future
It was a hot and humid summer afternoon in Marseille, France, where I was living at the time, and a rather less hot, albeit equally humid afternoon in Bristol, UK, where my friend (and fellow horse enthusiast) Hazaim still lives. We were in the midst of one of these heated phone conversations about the origin of a particular strain of Arabian horses, … Read more
A nice article by Gudrun Waiditschka about the 2007 WAHO Conference in Syria, with lots of pictures of desert Arabian horses.  I was invited to make a keynote presentation about strains at the conference, but had to drop out at the last minute.  This is the first time I regret not attending a WAHO conference. My friend Hazaim al-Wair, who prepared the presentation … Read more
The longer – and more oblique – answer is that it depends. On what? On personal preference, taste, sentimental attachement, etc. Some Bedouins fancy a particular strain because it was owned by their father or their grandfather; others because horses from this strain ahve achieved fame in combat, and made the name of the tribe rise above its … Read more
The short answer is yes. Because strains are just family names given by the Bedouins to Arabian horses that are related through the dam line, there is no reason why one name should be “superior” or “inferior” to another (Is Smith better than Doe, or than Al-Dahdah?)  It all boils down to the quality of the individual … Read more
This question was one of several that were asked to a virtual panel of American, German and Arab breeders and students of Arabian horses, to be featured in Al-Khamsa‘s flaghship publication, Al Khamsa Arabians III.  You will no doubt have guessed that the question elicited as many different answers as there were ‘experts’. This was my answer to the question: “Strains are typically … Read more