A blog on desert arabian horses, past, present and future
This is another photo of the magnificient Dahman (a Dahman x a Rabda). He is to France what *Haleb, who was bred about the same time, is to the USA. Dahman, a Rabdan by strain, is by the far the best desert horse horse ever imported to France, in my opinion. He was a herd stallion with … Read more
One more picture of old desert-bred stallions from Algeria, from Adrien Deblaise. This is Salamie. I don’t know his strain, nor his breeder. His name suggests an origin around the steppe area east of Hama, in Central Syria, where the town of Salamie lies, and which is a grazing ground for the Sba’ah, Mawali, Hadideen … Read more
Part 3 of Joe Ferriss’ article “Something Old, Something New” is out in the Arabian Essence online newsletter. Check it out. I was with Joe last month in Oregon and I can tell you nobody knows how to describe a horse like Joe. He sees things we average folks can’t see.
The series on desert-bred Arabian imports to North Africa continues thanks to breeder and blog reader A. Deblaise. This is Aziz, one of the earliest desert-breds imported to Algeria by the French. I know nothing about his strain or his original breeder. All I know is that he … Read more
Something tells me that there may a number of asil lines down in South America. A non-negligible number of Arabians of Crabbet, Babolna, and French bloodlines were exported to this part of the world, which to me is terra incognita. There were aslo some direct importations from the desert, such as that of Don Hernan Ayerza. All … Read more
Today French horse-breeder Adrien Deblaise made my day. He sent me a set of very rare, old pictures of desert-bred Arabians imported to France, Tunisia and Algeria in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Some time ago, I started a series of blog entries featuring photos of some these outstanding and so little known desert-breds (Dahman, El … Read more
This is Nauwas, a chestnut mare born in 1967. Her sire is the Hamdani stallion Al-Khobar (Ibn Fadl x *Al Hamdaniah), and her dam is the desert-bred mare *Muhaira, a ‘Ubayyah from the horses of Prince Saud ibn ‘Abdallah ibn Jalawi Aal Saud. Her pedigree is interesting because the sire line is Egyptian, and all … Read more
Adrien Deblaise breeds Arabian horses of Tunisian, Moroccan and Algerian bloodlines in Western France. His father Philippe was a bookseller that specialized in equine literature. Philippe’s inventory contained one of the largest collections in France books on horses in general and Arabians in particular. Below are pictures of two of Adrien’s mares: B’Oureah Marine (by … Read more
The bay stallion, Hadban, the sire of the two Crabbet foundation mares Rose of Sharon and Nefisa, comes from my tribe, ‘Utaybah. His strain was Hadban Enzahi. His breeder was Jafin (not Jakin as recorded) ibn ‘Aqil al-Da’jani al-‘Utaybi. The house of ‘Aqil are well known among us, and are among the Shaykhs of the … Read more
This was taken at StarWest Stables, New Berlin, Illinois USA, in 2001 during the Al Khamsa convention (I think; maybe someone else will correct me). The horse is the 1982 Kuhaylan Haifi stallion Javera Thadrian; the rider is Edouard.
Blog contributor RJ Cadranell with his 1980 Davenport stallion, Atticus. I’m guessing Edouard is having a busy few days, so I thought I’d try to collect photos of participants here on horseback. If you have a photo to share, feel free to mail it to ambar@ambararabians.com. I also realized after my initial posting that this … Read more
Une question qui doit certainement être aussi vieille que l’élevage et assurément son antienne. Sujet controversé qui a fait couler déjà beaucoup d’encre et user de salive. Il est fort probable que cette polémique reste encore longtemps en bonne place au titre des débats alambiqués. Il n’est pour s’en rendre compte de confier au commun … Read more
Don’t ask me how this ancient line made it into the 21st century. It’s a near miracle. Lady Anne Blunt imported the Hamdani Simri mare Sobha (Wazir x Selma) from Egypt in 1891, from a certain Mahmoud Bey who got her dam from the Abbas Pascha collection. Sobha’s line was one of the most represented lines … Read more
In an earlier post, I had written about an asil Kuhaylan Rodan line that seems to have miraculously survived in South Africa. This was the line of Rosina, tracing to Lady Anne Blunt’s Rodania through the latter’s daughter Rosemary. There is another asil line tracing to Rosemary that also survives in the USA. I stumbled … Read more
From The Training and Management of Horses by J.P.F. Bell, published 1904. The colt should be in possession of a small head, broad between the eyes, clean, open jaws, and a small, tapering muzzle. His eyes should be full, generous, and prominent, showing plenty of fire when the colt is put upon his mettle. His … Read more
A fascinating article on volcanic Arabic by Peter Harrigan, in the 2006 issue of Saudi Aramco World. I had the pleasure of meeting Peter at the 2009 Al Khamsa Convention in Oregon, where he gave a talk about the Czech explorer and writer Alois Musil. Peter is a director of Barzan Press, a publishing house “dedicated to promoting awareness … Read more
The video below was shot in Qatar, and the rider is a Bedouin from Bani Hajar, a large branch of the tribe of Qahtan. This way of riding is called “Bdaawi riding”. I believe – but I am not sure – that the mare he is riding is from the from the horses exported to Qatar from … Read more
The archives of Gertrude Bell, sometimes referred to as the “Uncrowned Queen of Iraq” ( how I hate that title!), are at Newcastle University in the UK. If you do not know who Gertrude Bell is, or simply wish to know more about her, then click here. The archives include this first photo of a Shammar … Read more
Dr. Ameen Zaher did a study which found that *Hamrah had the highest relationship to the breed in U.S.A. of any stallion for the period 1907 to 1946. We ran pedigrees on samples of horses in a few of the stud books back in the 1970s and 1980s, and determined that between 88% and 90% … Read more
I just noticed something while clicking through Al Khamsa’s online Roster. Of course, it may be a no-brainer to many of you: the stallion *Hamrah, a Saqlawi al-Abd imported by Homer Davenport to the USA in 1906, is the maternal grand-sire of at least five of the most influential Early American Foundation Arabian horses in … Read more
Joe Ferriss wrote: “But perhaps now is a good time for some of us to free ourselves from the temptation for compartmentalized thinking about asil bloodlines with the aim of producing more Waddudas, or Sindidahs or Old Speckled Jellabis.” I couldn’t agree more. I think that we, and those who came before us, have done … Read more
He was by Prince Hal x Sirrulya. Photo from Jeanne Craver
Here is the info on the Clark desert stallions: Nimr. Arab Horse Society stud book vol. III (1926) says: Foaled 1914. Imported. Brown; blaze, off fore and both hind socks white. Nimr’s sire was a Seglawi Jedran belonging to the late Abdul Hamid II., Sultan of Turkey. Yaz, his dam, was a Seglawieh Jedranieh. The … Read more
To expand on Edouard’s last comment here about our chats in Oregon: I believe that the Asil bloodlines are very flexible and forgiving in that they can be bred for generations in one narrow direction (i.e. show ring, or non-Bedouin riding disciplines), outside the influence of the originating culture, and then they can also be … Read more
This beauty is a young stallion of Egyptian bloodlines who was shown at the 2009 Al Khamsa Convention in Oregon. I don’t know his pedigree (I think Haziz Halim is his maternal grandsire) and I don’t necessarily want to know it. My daughter Samarcande loved him very much and made friends with him. Sometimes, even … Read more
I wanted to highlight an interesting conversation on inbreeding taking place in the comments on Javera Chelsea’s photos. I hope this exchange will serve as a teaser: Lyman Doyle wrote: […] Inbreeding is certainly a fascinating and very complex topic. Googling “inbreeding” can turn up a lot of different information. Granted, you can’t believe everything … Read more
Some time last year, this blog featured the precious asil Kuhaylan al-Mimrah line to the mare Baraka (Ibn Manial x Gamalat) which has been flourishing in South Africa. The series of postings on Baraka and her descendents attracted a lot of attention from South Africa and Namibia, and is by far the most popular thread on … Read more
Since I am back talking about Ma’naghi Sbayli stallions (see yesterday’s short post on RB Bellagio), I thought I’d bring up a picture of the stallion Dakhala Sabiq (Prince Hal x Sirrulya by Julyan), a 1975 stallion bred by Jeanne Hussong, when she was just about to become Jeanne Craver. A coouple of years ago, I was … Read more
One of my favorite stallions on the US East Coast is RB Bellagio (Arabi Fad Onyx x Sirrunade by Faaryan), an asil Ma’naghii Sbayli tracing to the desert-bred mare Haidee, bred by the Sba’ah tribe and imported to the UK in 1874. His maternal grand-dam is Miss Jane Ott’s famous Sirrulla (Sirecho x Drissula by … Read more
Carol Mingst took this beautiful photo of Zachary CF (Zacharia x Recherche by Prince Hal), an asil Kuhaylan Hayfi at Diane Lyons’ open barn in Dallas, Oregon last week. I had seen Zachary back in 2003, but don’t recall that he was nearly as beautiful as in this picture. It makes me want to own … Read more
Amidst last week’s flurry of events, I almost forgot to report that Daughter of the Wind was awarded the 2009 Publication Award at the Al Khamsa Convention in Redmond OR, for “garnering international support in favor of the asil Arabian horse”. That international support is coming from you, dear reader, and it is you that … Read more
Rosemary Doyle and Joe Ferriss at the Doyle open barn on August 28th, in Oregon. We’re so lucky to have them around. Photo courtesy of Karsten Scherling.
To celebrate the inclusion of the Babolna asil horses in the Al-Khamsa Roster, here is a photo of a stallion from these bloodlines, owned by Stephanie Weirich of Germany. This is the chestnut stallion Farag II-3 (by Farag II x 204 Ghalioun, by Ghalioun x 3-Siglavy Bagdady VI). He is also a tail female descendant of 25-Amurath Sahib, … Read more
Karsten Scherling, who takes really good (and free!) pictures took this one of Carver DE (Maloof Najid x Greggan’s Lark LHF by the gorgeous Greggan), one of the main Saqlawi Jadran stallions at the Doyles’, during their open barn last week in Oregon. My friend Lyman Doyle is leading him. For many more beautiful photos … Read more
Hurrah! The Babolna Roster proposal unanimously (41 – 0) passed the second round of voting during the Al Khamsa assembly in Redmond, Oregon. This means, among other things, that the living descendants of the mare 25-Amurath Sahib and the stallion Siglavy Bagdady VI are now accepted by Al Khamsa, following a thorough research process. Below … Read more
Javera Chelsea (by Thane x HB Diandra by Mariner) belongs to Doris Park of Iowa, and she is certainly lucky to have her. This full sister of the grey Javera Thadrian is now at Craver Farms for a full brother-sister mating. Just try to find the slightest defect in this mare’s conformation. I haven’t been … Read more
I finally got to meet Carol Monkhouse at the Al Khamsa Convention in Oregon. Carol was visiting from the UK, with her husband Terry Lee. She has a couple mares, Maloof Habiba (Maloof Habibi x Maloof Sahara by Subani) and Maloof Hadiya (Parnell x Devlin), and their offspring, which she keeps at the Doyle ranch, in … Read more
Sixty years ago, in 1949, a young Terry Doyle and his father, Dr. Joseph Lyman Doyle (“Doc”), hauled the asil mare Gulida (by Gulastra x Valida by Ghawi), a Saqlawiyah Jadraniyah tracing to the marbat of Ibn Sudan, to their farm in Sigourney, Iowa. They bred her once to the asil stallion Nusi (Gulastra x Nusara), a … Read more
I bought back the stallion Taj al-Muluk after having sold him at age 2. His strain is Ubayyan al-Suyayfi, his sire is the old Hamdani stallion Haleem (Saudi Arabian Stud Book #862); his dam is al-Hafna (#1915 in the same), a daughter of al-Barraq and Ghazwa. Here is a recent 6 minute video, the stallion … Read more
Just got back from Oregon yesterday, and I am already swamped with work (yuck!). Of course, once there, and around horses and horse people, tweeting about the Al Khamsa Convention didn’t even cross my mind, and I’ll just have to come to terms with that. I will be writing about the Convention, the CMK Symposium, the barn tours, the … Read more